The Houston Rockets are not in a good place right now. Interim head coach JB Bickerstaff called the Rockets a broken team after an ugly loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. No one is playing well for Houston as the moment as the team falls further and further out of contention in the Western Conference. Houston's window for a championship is closing which could force the team to make trades with the league deadline a month away.
The Rockets already made one trade this season to re-acquire Josh Smith. That has clearly not helped the Rockets as the Warriors, Thunder and Spurs continue to widen the gap between them and the rest of the conference. According to Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com, pressure is growing for general manager Daryl Morey to make a trade at the deadline regardless of what the cost is.
"We're generally an active team," Morey said, via ESPN.com. "I mean we won't force anything. They're not many windows where you get a chance to upgrade your team. We'll have to look at it very closely."
Morey has already denied a trade for Dwight Howard. Despite interest from teams like the Boston Celtics, the Rockets believe they are better with Howard than without if they intend on making a run in the Western Conference. Could Markieff Morris become an option once again?
The Phoenix Suns and Morris are at a crossing point. The forward got into a shoving match with teammate Archie Goodwin during a game against the Golden State Warriors. This is paired with the towel throwing incident earlier in the year and all of the drama in the previous offseason. This could push the Suns to force a trade deal and lower their demands for the forward from other teams. The Rockets have trade assets on their roster. Terrence Jones, Corey Brewer and Ty Lawson could all be included in a deal for someone like Morris if Phoenix is ready to simply cut ties with him.
Watkins suggests getting another strong shooter on the roster. If the Rockets are willing to really make a deal, Tobias Harris is being shopped by the Orlando Magic according to the Orlando Sentinel. He might be too expensive for the Rockets to chase. They could also check in with the Boston Celtics to see who they might be willing to part with as David Lee, Amir Johnson and Evan Turner could all be targets.
According to point guard Jason Terry, chemistry is more of an issue than a lack of talent on the roster. Much of the roster has not lost confidence in their ability to make a run in the conference. He is hopeful the second half of the season can see things turn around for the better.
"If you look at it, the chemistry is not quite where you would like it, and hopefully the break can be what we need to get away from each other," Terry said, via ESPN.com. "It's like a marriage. You might need time away to get back right. I've seen worse."