The Houston Rockets have Ty Lawson and Patrick Beverley as starting point guard options this season, but the team may look at adding Jason Terry as a free agent for more depth after giving up Pablo Prigioni to the Nuggets and this comes as the team has also brought back KJ McDaniels and his contract has an option in the final year.
The Rockets brought in Lawson in a trade with Denver last week, giving up Pablo Prigioni, Joey Dorsey, Nick Johnson and Kostas Papanikolaou along with a draft pick. Houston had been looking for more point guard depth after bringing back Beverley and they brought in Lawson after the Lakers also showed interest in a deal. According to the Houston Chronicle, Beverley is expected to be the starter after getting a new four year deal, but if Lawson plays well he could get significant minutes as the backup.
The deal gives the Rockets an experienced point guard, but it also took some depth away from the bench overall the team may end up bringing back Jason Terry. According to Mark Berman at Fox 26, Terry said last week that he was "close to a contract agreement to return to the Rockets." Pro Basketball Talk reports that since the Rockets have the Bird rights to Terry, they are permitted to go over the salary cap to bring him back on a deal. Marc Stein later reported that the Lawson trade makes it "even more likely" that the Rockets will sign Terry.
Terry gives the team some options as a reserve player, as he can play both guard spots and he helped the team in the playoffs last year as Houston made it into the conference finals. Terry averaged seven points last season with nearly two assists per game in 77 games played and he also shot 39 percent from three point range. The team has depth at small forward as well with Trevor Ariza, Sam Dekker, Corey Brewer and McDaniels. The team signed back Brewer in the offseason with McDaniels and they added Dekker in the draft. The Rockets also added Marcus Thornton for help behind James Harden.
The team brought back McDaniels on a three-year deal at $10 million and there is a team option in the final year of the contract, according to Basketball Insiders. Last season McDaniels was acquired in a trade and averaged eight points, 3.2 rebounds and one assist per game in 62 games played. The Rockets feel that McDaniels can be a consistent scoring option and he comes in looking to play a key part for the team this season.
Lawson was a low risk option for the team, even though his contract is a bit high, as he is a productive player when things are going right and the team did not have to give up much for him. Beverley and Lawson is some strong depth in a tough western conference and it comes after Beverley has had injury issues in the past. Lawson averaged 15 points and 9.6 assists per game last season in 75 games and he shot over 43 percent overall from the field.
Check here for more on the Houston Rockets offseason moves, the Jason Terry interest, the Ty Lawson trade and more on McDaniels.
