Rockets FINAL Roster Spot Up For Grabs | Will Malcolm Brogdon And Ime Udoka REUNITE?

Rockets FINAL Roster Spot Up For Grabs | Will Malcolm Brogdon And Ime Udoka REUNITE?

On today’s show, the Houston Rockets can add one more significant contributor to their roster ahead of this upcoming season. What are the biggest needs from this final edition? Is it shooting, defense, more ball handling? We’ll get into all of it on today’s Locked on Rockets. This is mission control Houston. Ignition sequence start. 6 5 4 3 2 1 What’s up and welcome to another edition of Locked on Rockets, your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. As always, I’m your host, Jackson Gatlin, native Houstononian and credentialed media member. I’m also the host of Locked on NBA Thursdays. Be sure to follow along wherever you listen to your podcasts or on YouTube. Just search Locked on Rockets, where the best way you can help us grow our show is to listen every single day on a podcast platform of your choosing and then like, comment, subscribe on YouTube. We got a lot to get into on today’s episode. The Rockets have enough enough room salary capwise and they they got to fill that final roster spot after waving Nate Williams. So, we’re going to be taking a look at some of the names, some of the available free agents still out there and kind of addressing what are the biggest needs out of that final spot. Can the Rockets address all three of these needs, be it shooting, defense, and ball handling with one player in that final and 14th spot? Uh, we’re going to get into a bunch of different names on today’s show. First, I want to let you know that today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Take control of your finances with Monarch Money. Use code lockdown NBA at monarchmoney.com for 50% off of your first year. And as always, thanks so much for making Lockdown Rock. It’s part of your day every single day, whether it’s on your way to work, on your lunch break, in the gym. Thank you so much for being an everydayer. All right, so I want to set the set the stage here momentarily. Uh we mentioned it in our episode last week uh very briefly that the Rockets did elect they chose to wave Nate Williams. And what that has effectively done is now the Rockets have 13 players signed to their 15-man roster. Uh that is one below the minimum number of players. An NBA team has to have at minimum 14 players on their roster. They don’t have to have the 15th player signed even though you can have up to 15. and they’re allowed to dip below 14 during the off seasonason. Just like you’re actually allowed to go up to like 20 players signed during the offseason. Um you’re allowed to dip below that 14th number for stretches during the regular season. Um but for only up to two weeks at a time and for a total of 28 days during the regular season. So, the Rockets more than likely will have to have somebody signed to that 14th roster spot uh ahead of the start of the NBA season. Sometimes teams can get away with like juggling, you know, like a, you know, a two-way guy or like juggling 10day contracts and just, you know, recycling them and bringing in more fresh 10-day contracts over and over. But at the end of the day, uh the Rockets do have enough money left over after waving Nate Williams. They have about $3.5 million of salary cap space up to that first apron hard cap. So about $3.5 million that they can spend to go get themselves one more free agent, one more piece of the puzzle, one more addition to an already incredibly deep roster. And I think that myself and many many others are looking at this team and thinking, man, you know, it would be great if they could add just one more like insurance policy kind of guard because the guard depth on this team is not great, right? It’s Fred Van Vleet, it’s a lot of pressure on year two Reed Shepard, and then it’s Aaron Holiday. And that’s what you’ve got. Those are your only three guards and they all happen to be relatively undersized like point guards. They’re not even combo guards. Like you don’t have a legitimate, you know, two guard anywhere on the roster. It’s those three guards and then a billion wings and forwards and then your triple bigs of Shingun, Adams, and Capella. So with that kind of setting the stage there, there are still a number of free agents out there that would kind of fit that bill and be able to be brought in as essentially, you know, kind of a third string point guard, you know, kind of holding down the fort with Aaron Holiday as part of that stay ready crew in the sense that, you know, the Rockets are still very committed to the idea of, you know, Reed Shepard and his role on this team this next season. summer league didn’t change anything about that. Uh, you know, for better or for worse, fans, you know, ride the emotional highs of, “Oh my god,” or, “Oh, this is great.” But, you know, the Rockets are still committed to giving Reed Shepard the opportunity to show that he is ready or or not ready for this role this upcoming season. That being said, it would probably be best case scenario to have that third string guard in place other than Aaron Holidayiday. that is on the off chance that let’s say Reed Shepard is ready and he’s good to go and he’s looks awesome as the backup guard. Maybe there’s a stretch of games where Fred Van Vleet misses some time and you need, you know, a replacement for him suddenly or maybe Reed Shepard misses a little bit of time or maybe Aman Thompson has to miss some games. Like there’s no it doesn’t hurt to have that one more depth piece in there, especially at what is arguably the weakest position on the floor right now for the Rockets, which is that kind of point guard slot that maybe that combo guard slot really just guard in general is kind of the weakest position for this Rockets team after all their subsequent moves this off seasonason. So, with all of that in mind and then looking at I I guess the the skills that we laid out, we talked about this in a previous episode as well, but uh when we were looking at the Rockets free agency options before they settled on Dorian Finny Smith, of these three skills, be it shooting, defense, and ball handling, what would be the most important skills that you could add with this final signing? Is there a possibility to add somebody who can do a little bit of all three of these things at this stage in free agency? Probably a little hard to be able to grab a guy that can shoot, defend, and handle the rock a little bit at this stage. But if you could get a guy who could do two out of these three things with consistency that’s that has a proven track record um as a shooter or as a defender or as a ball handler or a little bit again of of all three or both of those skill or two out of those three skills that would be I think a total win for the Rockets at this stage in free agency so late in you know uh so late in the free agency period. So, with that, um, I’ve got a list of names here kind of compiled, and we’ll talk about each one, uh, what kind of these options represent, going over some of their stats from, you know, their career, their previous seasons, all that stuff. And the first name, and this is the name that seems the most painfully obvious, and I feel like it’s so painfully obvious that it’s it’s not going to happen because it’s that obvious, the first name that I have on this list is Malcolm Brogden. Uh reason being right, he has history with head coach Eay Udoka. The Celtics went and traded for Malcolm Brogden during their uh first finals run with EA as their head coach. Uh he’s so he’s got a you know an existing relationship there. He does fit the bill as kind of a you know combo guard. He clocks in at about 6’4. So you can play you can play him on ball as a primary ball handle. You can play him off ball on the wings. Um he’s a knockdown three-point shooter. Uh career 39% 38.8% from behind the three-point line. Um has had, you know, a a rough past couple years with, you know, being jettisoned to Portland for Drew Holiday and then getting shuffled over to Washington after that. So hasn’t really been relevant, you know, the past couple years. But when healthy, when motivated, when playing, uh, Malcolm Brogden’s a really solid guy. The biggest knock on Malcolm Brogden has been throughout his entire career realistically has been the injury concerns. Um, but if the Rockets aren’t bringing him in to play, you know, a substantial role, if they’re bringing him in as more of an insurance policy, you know, third string guy, uh, to have either in case Reed Shepard doesn’t work out or in case there’s a major injury and somebody has to miss some significant time elsewhere in the rotation, I think the Rockets could do a lot worse than Malcolm Brogden for the money that they have and for the skills that he brings. He’s certainly a knockdown three-point shooter. Uh he’s certainly a guy that you can let handle the offense for a little bit. You know, he can be a primary ball handler um you know, situationally. And again, played on ball or off ball in the at the point guard spot or at the two guard. And then the last question though is defensively, you know, Brogden, he’s 32 now. Um he is getting a little bit older and you know, I I really as far as how he would be able to hold up defensively. uh there might be some questions on that side of the basketball at this stage of his career, but at least with the other two skills, the shooting, the ball handling, you’d be set there. And the way this Rockets roster is constructed, you’d have so many phenomenal defenders surrounding him pretty much at all times, that I don’t think the defense would necessarily be that much of an issue, if at all. Um, so Brogden seems like to me a very clear option for the Rockets to consider for that final 14th roster spot. Um, could could be had for very cheap. He’s currently an unrestricted free agent. No issues there. Um, that’s name number one on our list. Coming up, we’ll get into a bunch of the other names that I have slotted here for us to talk about. But I’m also curious your thoughts. What is the Rocket’s biggest need with this final spot? Is it the shooting or is it more shooting? Is it the ball handling? Is it the defense? What would you like to see the Rockets do with this final roster spot? I want your thoughts in the YouTube comments. Give me some of your names in the YouTube comments. Coming up, we’ll continue going down the list of names that I have sorted out for us here. We’re going to get there in just one moment. First, today’s episode is brought to you by Monarch Money. Ever wish managing your money felt easier? Well, with Monarch Money, it can. Whether you’re growing your savings or planning a big purchase, Monarch puts you in the driver’s seat. It’s like having your own personal CFO, giving you full visibility and control over your finances. 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Thanks for making LOL your first listen each and every single day uh as we navigate through this point of the offseason. All right, let’s get to our next name on this list for the Houston Rockets. And uh another name that I I saw, you know, in passing, saw some other Rockets fans talking about him as a possibility, uh Alec Burks. Now, Burks would give the Rockets a like legitimate like two guard threat off the bench. And Alec Burks has at times in his NBA career been a bit of a Rockets killer. Uh Burks has certainly lit up the Rockets on more than one occasion throughout his career. Um bit of a journeyman. He’s bounced around a little bit. He’s been with a bunch of different teams uh coming off a season with the uh Miami Heat. He also played for the Knicks right before that. He is a career uh 38 and a half percent three-point shooter. So, another knockdown uh you know outside three-point three-point shooter. Uh he is, I think, the oldest name that I have here on this list. Uh at 34 years of age, just turned 34 on July 20th. And shooting is probably his predominant skill here, right? Alec Burks is not a guy that you want running the show. He’s not a guy you want initiating offense for other guys. He’s not a guy that you want walking the ball up. I’m guessing he he could he could do it in a pinch, but he’s definitely not a guy that you want uh initiating the offense consistently with regularity. And then defensively, you know, at 34 years old, you know, Burks has been a solid defender throughout his career, but never really like a hardcore plus level defender. Um, and at this stage, you know, again, when you get a little bit older there, it’s going to be a little bit harder to be able to put forth, you know, your best defensive effort. you might be a little bit limited at times on the defensive side of the ball. And so with Burks, he goes from being a guy that maybe brings you two out of those three skills or or again ideally all three of those skills would be available. Um and I think I think we’ve got one name on this whole list that actually provides all three skills and we’ll get to him in just a moment. Um but Burks gives you at least another knockdown shooter. He gives you a guy that you can slot in at the two guard spot and as long as you’ve got, you know, a legitimate ball handler, playmaker alongside him, be it one of Fred Van Vleet or a men Thompson or if Reed Shepard does work out right, then you you can, you know, play Reed Shepard out there a little bit alongside Burks. Um, gives the Rockets a little bit of a, you know, scoring pop potentially off the bench. Um, maybe some nights they lean more into the defensive side of things with Dorian Finny Smith. Maybe other nights they want to go a little bit more offensive focused and that’s where you could go with a guy like Alec Burks. So, uh, an interesting name for sure. Uh, one that I think warrants at least a little bit of consideration from the Rockets front office, although not one of my overall favorites for what the Rockets truly need out of this final spot. And, you know, maybe not necessarily, you know, at this stage an EMoka guy. At the end of the day, you know, we know that it come defense comes first for Eay pretty much across the board. And I I would find it I I’d find it uh very difficult to believe that the Rockets would go acquire a free agent that isn’t at least a solid to plus level defender out of this final spot. Um, even if it even if this player isn’t going to get consistent rotation minutes, even if this player is going to be like an insurance policy kind of player, defense is such a sticking point for Eay Odoka that if you’re not at least solid as a defender, it’s going to be really hard to envision, you know, Eay wanting to play you, I guess, at this stage. So, uh, which might as well I should have probably gone on that spiel after this next name that I had on the list. Uh, but the next name that I had teed up, uh, Seth Curry. And Seth Curry is easily the best shooter of the five or six names that I have drawn up here. Uh coming off his most recent season in Charlotte, uh 45 12% from downtown. Granted, it wasn’t on great volume, just 2.7 three-point attempts per game, but he’s a career 43.3% three-point shooter, right? Uh the dude can absolutely light it up from distance just like his brother. Um, and you know, actually, I take it back. Alec Burks is not the oldest guy on this list. I thought it would be Burks. It’s actually Seth Curry. Uh, 34 years old. He’ll be 35 um by the start of the NBA season. So, with with Seth Curry, I think that you’re looking at another situation similar to Alec Burks. I think Curry is Seth Curry is a little bit more of a capable ball handler at times than than Alec Burks would be. So, I think you address maybe more more so two of those three needs. You know, even if the ball handling isn’t phenomenal or isn’t as good as some of the other players on this list, um I do think that the shooting is far and away the best like the he is the best available free agent shooter right now probably on the market. And for a Rockets team that certainly struggled with shooting the three ball last year and is bound to command so many double teams with the offensive threat and gravity of guys like Kevin Durant and Alpin Shingun next season. It would really behoove the Rockets to have a couple guys that are reliable like sharp shooting knockdown three-point guys, right? Not guys that are like, you know, high volume hovering around 36 37%. Like I’m talking like some dead eyee snipers, right? DFS fits that mold. He shot over 40% last year. Seth Curry would certainly fit that mold. Um shooting, you know, 43% for his career. You put a lineup of Seth Curry, DFS out there with Kevin Durant, Alper and Shingun, and then pick your poison for that final spot. Could be Jabarius M Jr. could be Tari Een, could be Amin Thompson if you want more of a uh you know a legitimate ball handler out there or want to keep your defensive presence still out there with with Amin Thompson’s defensive capabilities. There’s a lot of lineup versatility there. But, you know, imagine trying to double team KD or double teaming Shingun and then be able to kick the ball out to a guy who’s a knockown 43% shooter or a knockdown 40% plus three-point shooter. Uh that’d be a whole hell of a lot better than what we saw last season with the Rockets kicking it out to guys who were shooting below league average for most of the year from long distance. Uh but a lot of the same holdups with Seth Curry here as what I said for Alec Burks. Um defensively leaves a lot to be desired. In fact, Burks is a better defender than Seth Curry has ever been in his career. Seth is, you know, he’s he’s smaller. He can get he has, you know, a tendency to be able to get abused or taken advantage of on the defensive side of the ball. He’s not a guy that you really want uh being deployed in a switch everything scheme or in a scheme where you at least switch things one through four. In fact, he’s a guy that you oftentimes have to hide defensively and and kind of come up with uh defensive protections for. And is that really the kind of guy that you want to bring in as your insurance policy third string point guard or situational, you know, spark plug shooter off the bench? Maybe not. maybe, you know, the shooting outweighs some of those concerns, especially if, you know, he only plays, you know, five to 10 minutes a night in certain situational matchups or when they really need some outside shooting or if Fred misses some time, then, you know, he becomes the backup point guard instead of the third string guard. Who knows? Um, but Seth Curry, for a lot of the same reasons as Alec Burks, I think would maybe struggle at times to crack, let me rephrase, I don’t think any of these names are truly going to crack the rotation for Eay. I think the rotation is likely pretty set. The idea here though is that if Reed Shepard falls out of the rotation, could one of these names be a better overall fit and a more impactful piece than say Aaron Holiday sliding in for Reed Shepard in place of him in the rotation similar to what happened last season. And I do think from that perspective, Seth Curry better option than Aaron Holidayiday. Alec Burks maybe about the same tier as Aaron Holiday. Um maybe slightly better. He gives you more size, a little bit of an ability to switch better, uh, one through four, things like that. Malcolm Brogden, I think, would be better than Aaron Holiday, but that’s in the vacuum of he’s not getting injured. Um, so the injury concerns are very real with with Malcolm Brogden. Um, but I do have three more names here that I want to get to in our final segment, as well as sharing my thoughts on who I think the best name on the list is for the Rockets to pursue. We’re going to get there in just one moment. And final segment here at Locked on Rockets, your daily podcast, home for everything Houston Rockets basketball. All right. Uh final three names here. First one on the docket. I’ve got Campaign, who just came off a solid season with the New York Knicks. Although with the Knicks adding Jordan Clarkson, it seems like they’re maybe not looking at bringing campaign back. campaign is a very serviceable backup point guard. Um he’s not quite as reliable of an outside shot as some of the other guys on this list. He’s a career 36.8% from downtown. He’s certainly had some years where the numbers have dipped a little lower. He’s had some years where they’ve gone a little bit higher. Um but overall, you get a a steady reliable three-point shooter. Um not a knockdown three-point shooter, but a steady reliable outside presence. You get a guy who can run the offense, who can ball handle. Uh he’s probably the I’d say the second best ball handler on this entire list behind probably Malcolm Brogden. And even then it might be a tossup between Malcolm Brogden and Cam Whit uh sorry not Cam Whitmore Cameron Payne. Hey look they lost one Cam bring in another Cam. Um but I think Cam Payne would be a a very serviceable kind of third string guard. Now the question with campaign and some of these other names on this list right is would these guys be willing to accept that kind of a role? would they be able to accept a role where essentially you’re not guaranteed any minutes whatsoever? And the only chance that you do have at potentially getting minutes is if the two guys in front of you, if one of them either gets hurt or if one of them just doesn’t pan out and can’t meet expectations, right? That being, you know, a Fred Van Vleet injury or Reed Shepard just flat out not panning out or I guess Reed injury, but we don’t want we don’t want injuries at all. That’s the worst case scenario. Um, it takes a sp takes a certain kind of player to be able to accept not having a role on a basketball team. And with where the Rockets are though, with how they’re positioned in the Western Conference with this arms race of the Rockets and the Nuggets and now the Clippers, with adding Beal and Chris Paul, my goodness. Uh, we’ll have to talk about Chris Paul and James Harden reuniting in a future episode because that’s something else. Uh but with with all these teams chasing the OKC Thunder and trying to put themselves in title contention, right? Making these kind of not not quite all-in moves, but championship, you know, uh caliber type moves to make themselves championship contenders. Uh you know, there’s got to be some names out there that are looking at the Rockets and thinking, “Yeah, I I could go play for the Rockets and not have a role and try to win a title with them.” and you know, or I play play a very reduced role and I’m I’m there for veteran leadership or I’m there as an insurance policy. There are certainly guys that would be accepting of a role like that. Some probably more so than others. I think campaign still has enough left in the tank though at only 30 years old. He’ll be 31 when the season starts that he probably wants a legitimate spot uh in somebody’s rotation somewhere and he’s more than good enough to have a legitimate spot in somebody’s rotation as a backup guard. Um, so I certainly think that he gives you he gives you, you know, a capable shooter, a capable ball handler, a capable defender. I think he’s he’s more or less, I think, the I I don’t want to say the most well-rounded of of all, you know, of all these guys with as far as all three of those skills are concerned. Um, just a kind of solid across the board. You know, not anything to super write home about. um but would be a great third string guard to bring in if Reed Shepard didn’t work out or again injury concerns with Fred. Next name on this list and this is the easily the best defender on the list and Rockets fans should be intimately familiar with this name. Gary Payton II and GP2 the Rockets look one thing about the construction of this Rockets roster is their best point of attack defender is Amman Thompson their second best point of attack defender is Fred Van Vleet their third best point of attack defender is Dorian Finny Smith and you know DFS similar to Dylan Brooks although I do think is is slightly more equipped than Dylan Brooks to deal with perimeter players um is still going to struggle at times guarding smaller, quicker, faster guys. That’s where Amin Thompson and Fred Vanble have to really hold down the fort, chasing those smaller, quicker, more explosive guards around the perimeter. And I’ll tell you what, that’s not exactly something you really want Fred Van Vleet doing a ton of either, but he’s the Rocket second best option as a point of attack defensive presence, right? There’s a lot of pressure on Amin Thompson. And there’s gonna be some games where Min Thompson has to guard the bigger, more, you know, more capable wingle level threat guys like uh Luca Donic or LeBron or whatever. And and you know, when he’s guarding one of those guys, who’s left to guard the smaller, quicker, faster player? Well, that’s going to be Fred Vanble’s job. So, the Rockets could, I think, very very much so use one more very solid point of attack defender. um a perimeter oriented defender, a guy who can clamp down on guards and we saw just how frustrating GP2 made life for Jaylen Green and situationally Fred Van Vleet in that playoff series against the Warriors. Now GP2 is not a primary ball handler and he’s certainly not a shooter. So, he’s not giving you two out of the three skill sets here that you’d like out of this final spot, but he is giving you by far the best defense on this list. And if you could get him on a vet minimum deal and have him be your situational, you deploy him some games when you really need to slow down like an all-star guard on the other team and he can go, you know, five, six, seven games in a row getting D&Ps before he gets, you know, gets his number called and then suddenly the Rockets could put out like an absurd defensive lineup of like GP2, Ammon Thompson, Dorian Finny Smith, uh Kevin Durant, and Jabarius Smith Jr. or something crazy like that where you’ve got two elite point of attack defenders, you got three elite wing defenders, you’ve got length, you’ve got size, you’ve got rebounding, like that would be the real version of the Rockets death lineup at that point. Um, I think that that sounds really appealing. And knowing Ian Odoka’s tendency to gravitate towards defensive-minded players, um, I I could see the Rockets maybe kicking the tires on a GP2 offer. Uh, maybe he doesn’t want to leave Golden State. Maybe the Warriors are still, you know, figuring things out financially before they uh decide to, you know, resign him. I haven’t seen anything that said that the Warriors intend to bring back GP2. Um, and I also apologize for any of the other names on this list. Like, I haven’t seen any reports of like, oh, so and so plans to sign this guy and they’re just delaying because of other salary cap implications. Uh, so if I missed one of those on one of these names, I do apologize. Uh, but GP2 presents a very intriguing option there for that final roster spot. uh kind of a defensive specialist I guess that the Rockets could deploy as needed. Um and I certainly think he gives them he would he would immediately become the Rockets second best point of attack defender on the roster behind Amin Thompson. um and give them a guy that they could pivot to if they really needed, you know, and you could you could run double small with Fred and GP2 out there and Amin Thompson at the three for certain lineups and and have GP2 and a men be your two best defenders and still have Fred out there to set the table and do things offensively. Lineup spacing becomes a bit of an issue then because you have to kind of play GP2, you know, out of the dunker spot or if you play him in the corner, then, you know, defenses are going to sag off of him. they’re going to dare him to hit shots from the outside, which he’s capable of doing, just not at a super proficient clip. He’s a career 34% three-point shooter. So, all things to keep in mind with GP2. And the last name that I have here on the list, and this is the one, honestly, that I feel the most strongly about because this is a very like high-risk, incredibly high reward play. I feel like if you’re the Houston Rockets and I think that this is the type of name that you can go after when you’re talking about a third string insurance policy type guy, this is the type of name that they could go after similar to what they did going after Steven Adams and trading for him. He was a non-factor for the half season they had him while he was rehabbing and then they slowly built him up and brought him along this season and he became one of their most impactful players by year’s end and and into the playoffs. Right. DeAnthony Melton, it’s time to bring him home. Right. Rockets former former pick that never really never got a chance to actually suit up for Houston. Um DeAnthony Melton would be, I think, a a fantastic addition to this Rockets team. I will start with the caveat, right? He’s had injury issues the past two seasons in a row. Um, and so for DeAnthony Melon, I don’t even know right now if he’s on track uh to be ready for the start of the NBA season, but you know, I I remember being upset when the Warriors traded for Melton this past season, thinking, “Oh my god, Golden State got the Anthony Melton. Good God, good god, he’s going to be fantastic for them.” Um, great point of attack defender. uh incredibly long arms, great just great great defensive presence overall. And then offensively a serviceable ball handler. Um you know, not really a guy that you want as your primary ball handler, but could be a decent enough secondary ball handler, you know, over the course of a game. And then as a shooter from the perimeter, he’s a career 36.9% three-point shooter. Nice. Um, I think that he would give the Rockets the best bang for their buck out of that final spot. He certainly fits the mold of an Emmy Odoka type player. Defense first. Easily his best skill when he’s healthy and available on the court. Still a reliable shooter from the perimeter. Um, and he’s had some he’s had some seasons where he’s gone he’s gone 39% one year. He went 41% one year. Um, he’s had a couple really solid seasons. These past two though, 37% this last year, 36% the year before that. Every year it’s been on really good volume. Either four attempts per game or more. Uh most years it’s about five, five and a half attempts per game. So there’s volume there to consider. And my favorite part though, he’s young. He’s 26 years old. Um he’ll be pardon me. Um he’ll be he’ll I apologize. He he’s 27 now. He was 26 this past season. So he’ll still be he’ll be you know a little over you know I don’t know about 27 and a half right when the season starts. Um so he’s not one of these you know over the hill 30 plus 32 34 year old veterans uh who you know are kind of in the twilight of their careers. This is a guy that is still I think has a lot to give to an NBA franchise to an organization somewhere. he just needs to see if he can get past, you know, the injury issues that he’s been dealing with these past couple years. And, you know, it’s really hard for a team to take a chance on a guy like this. Um, if they need to be able to rely on him in a sizable role, but for the Rockets, one, they’ve still got Aaron Holiday waiting in the wings, right? So, like, god forbid if they did need to pivot to somebody and Melton was somehow injured again or just not ready to go at the start of the season, they’ve still got Aaron Holidayiday they can pivot to. But I think DeAnthony Melton gives the Rockets like a more souped up version of Aaron Holiday. A considerably better defender than Aaron Holiday. Uh got better length, a little bit better size, um better defensive instincts than Aaron Holiday. Uh not quite the sharpshooter that Holiday is, but I I really like the idea of them going after DeAndy Melton. Um, and I really think that this could be an opportunity for the Rockets to have another situation similar to the Steven Adams experience where they slow played, you know, getting him into the rotation potentially. Um, or or maybe not even at all, right? Assuming if if you know, knock on wood that Reed Shepard pans out. But, you know, allowing him to rehab, allowing him to get to a place where he’s, you know, his body is uh, you know, back to 100% or at least close to 100% to where he feels like he can be a contributor. Um, and so I I like the idea of a of a, you know, I called it high risk, high reward, but I think it’s actually lowrisk, high reward for the Rockets because the risk is simply you sign Melton, you give him, you know, a one-year contract, he gets a chance, you know, on like a prove it deal uh to showcase that he’s still got something in the tank. Uh, hell, maybe if you feel really confident about him, if you bring him in, do a physical, that kind of thing. um depending on where he’s at, you know, with his rehab and his injury progression, uh maybe you bring him on on a two-year contract and you just tell him, you know what, take all the time you need this year. Um you know, we’ll be ready to call your number, you know, in February or March or, you know, or or next season, whatever. Uh, but for a 26-year-old guard who can defend at a very very high level, who can reliably knock down shots from the perimeter and be a ball handler in a pinch, uh, that’s the kind of guy that could be a a potential long-term backup point guard solution. Let’s pretend for a second that Reed Shepard does pan out, right? Imagine Reed Shepard down the line eventually taking over for Fred Van Vleet and then being able to have DeAnthony Melton as Reed Shepard’s consistent backup, assuming he’s able to get his career kind of back on track from the injuries that he’s been that he’s been dealing with. I like the DeAnthony Melton name. I think he’s my favorite name on this whole list. Um, but I’m curious which name stood out the most to you. Do you have a name that wasn’t included on my list that you’d like to see the Rockets go after? Maybe it’s not a guard at all. Maybe you want one more uh wing player added. Maybe you want another big man out there. Maybe you want like a stretch five added to the roster. Who knows? Give me your thoughts in the YouTube comments. Um, that’s going to do it for today’s show. Remember, the best way to help us grow the show is to listen every single day on a podcast platform of your choosing and then like, comment, subscribe on YouTube. But as always, thank you so much for watching. Thank you so much for listening. And we look forward to having you back right here at Locked on Rockets, your daily podcast home for everything Houston Rockets basketball.

Rockets FINAL Roster Spot Up for Grabs | Will Malcolm Brogdon And Ime Udoka REUNITE?

ROCKETS’ ROSTER PUZZLE: Who Will Fill the Final Spot?

Host Jackson Gatlin (@JTGatlin) breaks down the Houston Rockets’ roughly $3.5 million salary cap space and evaluates top candidates like Malcolm Brogdon, Seth Curry, and Gary Payton II. The discussion covers each player’s strengths, from Brogdon’s connection with Coach Ime Udoka to Payton’s lockdown defense. Gatlin also explores how these additions could impact the Rockets’ shooting, ball-handling, and defensive strategies for the upcoming season.

Will De’Anthony Melton emerge as the perfect fit for Houston’s final roster spot? Listen now to uncover Gatlin’s surprising top pick and the potential game-changing impact on the Rockets’ playoff aspirations.

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