The Philadelphia 76ers should gauge the Houston Rockets’ interest in Al Horford.
There is a lot of coaching turnover in the NBA this offseason with the Philadelphia 76ers and Houston Rockets being two of the big-name teams that need new head coaches. The Rockets former head coach Mike D’Antoni has been connected to the Sixers’ coaching vacancy, but there should be another reason why the two clubs could be connected this offseason.
Under D’Antoni this past season, Houston embraced “micro-ball” which essentially left the Rockets without a starting-caliber center on the roster. They traded Clint Capela to the Atlanta Hawks at the trade deadline which left them with Tyson Chandler on the roster as the only true center, who at the age of 37 could retire at any time now.
The Rockets need to trade for a center.
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The Rockets need a legit center moving forward. Without D’Antoni leading this roster, it makes little sense for the team to stay with it’s “micro-ball” roster. Surely Rockets general manager Darryl Morey realizes this, but he doesn’t have too many options to fill that need.
Houston doesn’t have a pick this year’s draft and the Rockets can’t spend money in free agency to get one with both James Harden and Russell Westbrook already having max contracts. The only realistic option for Houston is to trade for one.
Luckily for Houston, the 76ers have a starting-caliber center who doesn’t fit with the rest of the roster. This of course in reference to veteran big man Al Horford. Horford’s first season in Philly has made it clear he doesn’t fit with the Sixers’ core of Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons. However, Horford could be the big man the Rockets need and this isn’t the first time I wrote about Houston being a destination for Horford.
Horford can stretch the floor well enough as he shot 35.0 percent from deep this year. That alone makes him a good fit with Harden and Westbrook. He’s also a solid passer which is only a positive for Houston as they generally like ball movement.
If the Rockets want Horford, they could build a trade package around Eric Gordon to get the deal done as Greg Swartz of Bleacher Report did in the past. Horford is set to make $27.5 million next season and Gordon is set to make $16.9 million next season. The Rockets would need additional contracts to make it work, but it’s not impossible. Trading for Horford is plausible and something the Rockets should consider.
The Rockets need a center and the Philadelphia 76ers have one to spare. Trading for Horford should be an interesting proposition for the Rockets front office to consider this offseason.