The Houston Rockets have a chance at being the team that knock the Golden State Warriors off of their perch atop the Western Conference. While Golden State has made it to the NBA Finals in each of the last three years, Houston seems confident that its dynamic backcourt duo of James Harden and Chris Paul can lead the team to the promised land.
One area where the Rockets could use some help is depth in the frontcourt, especially when it comes to protecting the rim. That’s not really Nene’s game, and while Clint Capela has been outstanding this year, he’s still a young player who can’t play 48 minutes a game.
According to Shams Charania of Yahoo! Sports, the Rockets plan on remedying this situation by getting veteran big man Brandan Wright. It was reported earlier in the day by Chris Haynes of ESPN that Wright, who currently plays for the Memphis Grizzlies, would soon hit the league’s buyout market.
Brandan Wright and Memphis Grizzlies are working toward a buyout, league sources tell ESPN. He’ll be coveted by contending teams.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) February 10, 2018
Charania added some more details, tweeting that Wright will join the Rockets for the remainder of the season once he hits the open market.
Sources: After he completes Memphis buyout, Brandan Wright plans on deal with the Houston Rockets for the remainder of the season.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) February 10, 2018
Wright has been a unique player over his decade-long NBA career. He’s never put up especially gaudy numbers, but he’s always managed to make an impact in the small windows of time in which he takes the floor. For example, he’s averaging five points, 3.4 rebounds, and 0.9 blocks per game this season, but he’s doing that in 13.6 minutes a night. That means his per-36 numbers — 13.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks — are really good, which has been the case for his entire tenure in the league.
This is not to say that Wright is going to step in and become a superstar in Houston or anything, but as long as this deal ends up going through, he’ll be a solid addition for a Rockets team with title aspirations.
