The Rockets beat the Pistons at home yesterday, and the whole team played in a good spirit, especially Jalen Green, who finally bounced back after a sustained slump. As of now, the Rockets have a 16-15 record, ranking ninth in the West, and the team's goal this year is to make the playoffs, but according to the team's current strength, there are still some flaws in the roster. Especially on the inside, Shen Jing is strong in attack and weak in defense, and Landale is embarrassed, which makes the Rockets' interior full of hidden dangers and urgently needs to be traded and strengthened.
Today, according to ClutchPoints reporter Brett Siegel, the Rockets are pushing for some trades to strengthen the roster before the trade deadline, and the team wants to use Oladipo as the main body of the trade to bring in an influential veteran with playoff experience before the trade deadline. The reason for this deal is that the Rockets have found that the team is already eligible to compete for the playoffs and will not send any young core to the team around Oladipo's 9.4 million contract.
Oladipo has a nickname for us, "Bitter Mamba", because he always insists on practicing hard, looking at his professional resume, his life is quite hard along the way. He was traded to the Rockets this season after undergoing right quadriceps tendon surgery for a direct reimbursement season. The reason why the Rockets kept him was just to use him as a trade chip to maintain flexibility for subsequent trades. He now has a contract of 9.4 million, and with Landale's contract of 8 million, the Rockets can make a big trade and can also make targeted reinforcements.
Finally, the Rockets lineup has a lot of problems now, but from the perspective of personnel reserves, the interior line is still the biggest hidden danger. In particular, Udoka itself focuses on defense, and the center is the most important link in the defensive system. In terms of starters, Udoka has done his best to cover up Shen Jing's defensive problems with system defense, and in terms of substitutes, Landale can't count on it, after all, the old Green has age and height restrictions, so bringing in a strong rim center, and a veteran with rich experience is almost the only goal. Of course, the Rockets also need high-quality shooters, and it's up to Stone to function next, and whether he can make the playoffs is up to him.