Rockets Center Swirling in Trade Rumors

The Houston Rockets could trade one of their big men.

Nov 20, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Jock Landale (2) dunks the ball during the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images | Troy Taormina-Imagn Images

The Houston Rockets are less than two months away from the annual trade deadline, and they will have to make some decisions as a team looking to make the playoffs.

Those decisions could include finding some upgrades for the roster going into the latter part of the regular season as they fight for playoff positioning.

The Athletic's Law Murray believes Landale could be someone the Rockets end up trading.

"The Rockets should certainly be interested in improving their rotation if they want to make a playoff push. They are benefiting from their commitment to defend, but also because they have been healthy. Whom to trade is the question. I would have put contract-year center Steven Adams here, but his availability is a question mark, and he has been valuable for his intangibles. Landale still has multiple years left on his deal, but a center isn’t what Houston needs. It needs a reliable source of offense — kind of what Reed Sheppard was drafted to be," Murray writes.

Landale is in the second season of a four-year contract he signed back in the summer of 2023, but the arrival of Steven Adams negates his need to be on the roster. Landale is a strong depth piece, but if the Rockets could find someone who better fills a need on the offensive end of the floor, they should consider making a deal.

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