NBA Trade 2018-19 Review: Houston Rockets- added Iman Shumpert, Kenneth Faried to strengthen Playoffs run
The Houston Rockets who were once as low as the eleventh position in the West, are currently standing at the fifth seed in the Western Conference. They are fueled by the genius of the defending MVP, James Harden who has gone to create history with 30 plus points in 30 straight games. Chris Paul and Eric Gordan are back from injuries and are adding to the hustle.
Clint Capela who has already been out for more than 15 games with a thumb injury, is expected to come back late in the season. The Rockets managed to make some good moves before the February trade- deadline. In the aftermath of the situation, they have managed to put together a potential conference winning roster and have shed a lot of unwanted contracts to save a lot of dollars in tax.
In the preseason they were able to re-sign guard Chris Paul and center Clint Capela but parted ways with veterans Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute. They also signed ten-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony and Michael Carter-Williams to boost their offensive sting which went terrible according to Rockets' ways of basketball.
#1 Noticeable moves before the trade deadline
They cut-off Carter-Williams and Carmelo Anthony as they were traded to the Chicago Bulls, who later waived both of them. They traded guard Brandon Knight and center Marquese Chriss to Cleveland last week in a three-team deal that landed them guard Iman Shumpert. They lost a 2019 first-round pick in the aftermath of these complex transactions.
In January, the Rockets signed free-agent Kenneth Faried after he was released from the Brooklyn Nets. He has averaged 15.9 points and 10.3 rebounds over his first 12 games as a Rocket. He has definitely made his space on the Rockets roster and will play as the backup center once Capela returns to action.