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Aaron Brooks is back with the Houston Rockets

Two years ago, the Houston Rockets traded Aaron Brooks to the Phoenix Suns for Goran Dragic. Today, both players are right back where they started.

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Aaron Brooks Houston Rockets

Good news: Aaron Brooks is back. Better news: Trevor Ariza is not

Two years ago, the Houston Rockets traded Aaron Brooks to the Phoenix Suns for Goran Dragic.

Today, both players are right back where they started.

The Rockets have come to an agreement with Brooks and will officially sign him on Tuesday, as first reported by Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski. The deal will reportedly include a team option for next season. The former Rocket point guard had become a free agent after completing a buyout with the Sacramento Kings on Friday.

I tweeted about this shortly after Brooks was let go by the Kings, but this move made too much sense to not happen. The Rockets are under the cap. They had interest in bringing Brooks back before the season. They need a backup point guard. They play a speed game and like to run in transition. They absolutely love to shoot the three.

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Aaron Brooks fits all of that.

After his “Most Improved Player” season of 2009-10 in which he averaged 19.6 points and 5.3 assists, hitting nearly 40% from beyond the arc, Brooks’ career seemed to be in a downward spiral. The following season, a contract year for Brooks, he suffered this injury and lost his starting job to Kyle Lowry. His attitude went south (just ask Kevin Love) and he was traded to Phoenix. During the lockout he signed to play in China and couldn’t get out of his contract to return for any of the 2011-12 season.

But Brooks can still play — he’s only 28 years old and is shooting 45.9% from the field and 37.8% from distance this year. Though he saw a reduction in minutes the past 10 games or so, he has produced. As recently as December 19th against the Warriors, he scored 23 points on 9-12 shooting and was a perfect 3-3 from deep.

Few Thoughts

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  • This is yet another classic “buy low” move by Daryl Morey, who doesn’t even surprise me anymore. I will say though that I was mildly impressed that he appeared to make this all happen from a Blackberry between panels at the Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Brooks is a little over two years removed from a 20-point per game season and the Rockets are scooping him up for a song. And by the way, if the Rio Grande Valley Vipers are the Rockets’ Triple-A ballclub, that would make the Sacramento Kings their Double-A affiliate. Add Brooks to a list that includes Ron Artest, Kevin Martin and Thomas Robinson as Rocket call-ups from Sacramento.

  • One thing that stuck out to me about the trade deadline of 2013 was that the Rockets didn’t make a move for the present. Last year they moved Jordan Hill for a first round pick, but balanced it out by making a win-now move for Marcus Camby. This year the Rockets traded away rotation pieces in Patrick Patterson and Marcus Morris, but only got back future assets (potential of Thomas Robinson and a future second round pick). Using their cap room and signing Brooks to a deal for the remainder of the season says to me that they’re filling holes and going hard for the playoffs.

  • With Patrick Beverley playing well, where does AB fit in? Good question. Minutes at the point are not going to be easy to come by and they will be earned in practice, but this is not just a matter of making everyone happy. Jeremy Lin has had multiple ankle injuries this year, and though he has not missed significant time, Brooks provides some solid insurance. Brooks can not run a very effective fast break, but he can score and shoot — James Harden is a two-guard that plays like a one and Aaron Brooks is a one that plays like a two. That balance makes him a potential good fit.

  • With Brooks back in Houston and Dragic in Phoenix, the net result of that trade (and the Shane Battier deal) is now simply Donatas Motiejunas in Houston.
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Armed with a bizarre fascination for Mario Elie and a deep love of the Houston Rockets, Dave Hardisty started ClutchFans in 1996 under the pen name “Clutch”.

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Houston Rockets

How the Kyrie Irving Injury Impacts Rockets

Houston’s draft positioning and offseason plans could be impacted by Dallas

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Kyrie Irving Injury

Dallas Mavericks guard Kyrie Irving was injured Monday night and the news dropped on Tuesday that the knee injury is serious — a torn ACL in his left knee that will end his season and a good portion of next season as well.

Brutal. I can’t think of an NBA team that imploded faster than the Dallas Mavericks.

You trade away a 25-year-old phenom who just hoisted you on his back en route to the NBA Finals a year ago. You cashed in that golden ticket to go all-in on a trio of aging stars in Kyrie, Anthony Davis, and Klay Thompson.

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Bold strategy, Nico. Let’s see if it pays off.

(Narrator: It’s not paying off.)

The Mavericks had some interesting potential this year and maybe the next couple of years once everyone was healthy, but now? Their star guard is likely out until the calendar year 2026 and Klay and AD aren’t getting any younger nor more durable. The Mavericks may have actually swapped their future for a present that never arrives — and Dallas GM Nico Harrison has to be feeling overwhelming pressure right now.

So how does this impact the Rockets?

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For starters, Houston has a game remaining on the schedule against Dallas on March 14th at Toyota Center — Davis may or may not be back for that game.

More importantly, Dallas is the 10th seed in the West at the moment, just 3.5 games ahead of the Phoenix Suns (11th seed). The Rockets control Phoenix’s first-round pick unprotected this season via a swap. We need as many West teams as possible ahead of Phoenix to keep them out of the play-in/playoffs and to push them as deep into the lotto as possible.

This complicates that. Phoenix’s remaining schedule is the toughest in the NBA by a good margin, with plenty of games left against the league’s best teams, so it still looks promising overall — but we’re talking about Kevin Durant, Devin Booker and Bradley Beal. They can still get hot at the right time while Dallas may struggle.

So keep a close eye on that. The good news is the Portland Trail Blazers are one of the hottest teams in the league and they are (shockingly) nipping at the Arizona squad’s heels.

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Taking a look ahead to the offseason, the Kevin Durant Pursuit will be big.

This one is a little more complicated for Houston. The Rockets really want Devin Booker but, as of now, the Phoenix plan appears to be to trade KD this offseason and retool around Booker. The Rockets will have interest in Durant but they’re not going to sell the farm (prospects and all the picks) for a 37-year old like they would for Booker.

Three teams that I’ve heard a lot about from Rockets circles that will be in the mix are Houston, Minnesota and Dallas — Timberwolves and Mavericks have been considered the main competition. But, a lot of this will depend on Durant himself and where he wants to play at this stage of his career.

Keep in mind also, if the Suns are “retooling” around Booker and Beal (holding the no-trade clause), then they could be placing a higher priority on win-now players over the return of their own draft assets. The Rockets definitely have the best assets overall to offer up in any trade package between those three teams, but if Phoenix does prefer finding the right ready-to-win players around Booker/Beal, that gives Dallas and Minnesota a real chance.

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This injury “may” take Dallas out of the equation, and they are/were definitely a contender for KD’s services given his past relationship with Kyrie and the way Dallas was positioned to win right now. Does KD at his age want to wait for Kyrie to be healthy?

And one last friendly reminder: The Rockets control that Dallas 2029 first (unprotected).

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Houston Rockets

Rockets Sign David Roddy to Two-Way Contract

Former first-round pick has played with the Grizzlies, Suns and Hawks

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David Roddy Houston Rockets

The Rockets made a move on Monday, signing former first-round pick David Roddy to a two-way contract.

The two-way spot opened up after the front office signed Jeenathan Williams to a standard four-year, $8.2 million contract (with friendly team options all along the way).

Roddy is 6-foot-5 and 250+ pounds but sports a 6-foot-11 wingspan. He was taken with the 23rd pick in the first round of the 2022 NBA Draft — six selections after the Rockets drafted Tari Eason. A standout in college, Roddy averaged 19.2 points, 7.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.2 steals, and 1.1 blocks per game during his junior season at Colorado State.

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Roddy, who turns 24 later this month, is a physical player who can play multiple positions. He’s a solid rebounder for his size/position. He has played in 165 games over three seasons with the Grizzlies, Suns, Hawks and most recently Sixers, averaging 6.2 points and 2.9 rebounds per game.

The guard/forward has not shown efficient shooting, however — he’s a career 30.5% three-point shooter and just 68.4% from the line. His defense is better inside than out.

Ultimately, it will be those two things — three-point shooting and defense — that will determine his chances of carving out a consistent role in the league.

All in all, it’s a low-risk signing and the Rockets get a look at a prospect that fits their age timeline.

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Houston a potential landing spot for Ben Simmons post-buyout?

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Ben Simmons Houston Rockets

ESPN NBA analyst Brian Windhorst said on Thursday’s NBA Trade Deadline show that Brooklyn Nets forward Ben Simmons is working on a buyout and the Houston Rockets is a potential landing spot for him.

“Cleveland and Houston are two situations for Ben Simmons,” said Windhorst.

Rockets coach Ime Udoka was an assistant coach in Philadelphia in 2019-20 when Simmons was with the Sixers, before injuries took a significant toll. In fact, Udoka, when speaking about Amen Thompson earlier this season, brought up some comparisons to Simmons.

“The skill set is there, and it’s something that’s unique with his speed, athleticism, size, passing ability, and all those things,” said Udoka of Thompson. “I coached somebody, Ben Simmons, who had similar traits… as far as size and ability to push the pace, and find guys and finish. There are some similarities there.”

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Both Thompson and Simmons are known for their elite athleticism, defensive versatility, and ability to create opportunities in transition.

However, can Simmons help the Rockets today? That’s the tough question.

Simmons has played in 33 games this season, averaging 6.2 points, 6.9 assists, 5.2 rebounds, 0.8 steals and 0.5 blocks in 25 minutes a night. He does not shoot threes (like, at all) — he has only attempted two threes in the past three seasons combined.

Ideally, he does not play in front of your young forwards of Amen, Tari Eason and Jabari Smith Jr. and on that basis alone, I think I would pass. But, Ime loves defensive dogs and he could use some extra ballhandling on the roster. You can see that there’s little in the way of offensive organization when Fred VanVleet is out.

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There would be a comical full circle moment though if the Rockets did sign Ben Simmons, considering the Rockets were heavily criticized for trading James Harden in 2021 to Brooklyn instead of to Philadelphia for Simmons. The Rockets clearly made the right choice there.

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Rockets pick up another second-round pick in deal with Hawks

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Cody Zeller

The Houston Rockets are working the phones to do a little more asset management.

After acquiring a second-round pick from Boston to take on Jaden Springer’s salary, the Rockets made another similar move, absorbing the contract of Cody Zeller this season to get back a 2028 second-round pick.

Ironically, that pick is Houston’s own 2028 second-round pick that the Rockets sent to Atlanta in 2023.

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The Rockets waived Springer to make roster room for Zeller. They will likely do the same with Zeller in order to make room for a buyout signing in the coming days or weeks.

It’s a small move but it’s another good one on the margins. These second-round picks add up. The two the Rockets got in the past couple of days — Boston’s 2030 second and Houston’s own 2028 second — could be eventually combined in a deal that nets the Rockets a solid role player down the line. Houston did exactly this last season when they acquired Steven Adams from Memphis.

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So quick grade? Easy A. Solid asset management work by Rockets GM Rafael Stone and credit to Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta for being willing to spend millions just to get some extra seconds.

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Houston Rockets

Rockets Pick Up Jaden Springer, Second-Round Pick in Trade with Celtics

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Jaden Springer Houston Rockets

The NBA Trade Deadline is just over 24 hours away but the Houston Rockets have already made a move.

OK, it’s not that kind of move, but Rafael Stone and the front office did make a trade on the margins on Wednesday, picking up Jaden Springer and a 2030 second-round pick from Boston.

The Rockets leveraged their open roster spot and salary situation to take the contract of Springer off the hands of the Celtics, who are saving a ton in luxury tax payments by making the move. It’s smart business by the Rockets, who are doing this for a second-round pick in 2030.

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Now, usually a Celtics second-round pick is not worth much, but this is five years out so it’s a quality asset as far as seconds go. In today’s NBA, these kinds of picks have grown in value as key assets for being in a position to land solid role players. With the Rockets planning on being a playoff team for the next several years, this addition could prove useful in addressing future roster needs.

This trade framework between Houston and Boston may not be new to you. If you watched or listened to the ClutchFans Podcast on Monday, David Weiner, aka BimaThug, literally called out this exact possibility of the Rockets taking on Springer and landing a second-round pick.

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As for Springer himself, this was a player I liked quite a bit in the 2021 NBA Draft and I wanted the Rockets to take him at the Josh Christopher spot. He has not quite panned out just yet. He’s got good size for a point guard (6-foot-4, 200 pounds) but is not a strong playmaker and has not been incredibly accurate as a shooter (25.0% from three).

But he does have good defensive potential. Does that get Ime Udoka’s attention at all? Possibly, but the Rockets likely will get an end-of-the-bench look at him for the rest of the season before his contract expires this offseason.

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