NBA Trade Rumors: Houston Rockets Reportedly Shopping Forward Ryan Anderson Before the Trade Deadline
The Houston Rockets seem to be exploring the market for sharpshooting forward Ryan Anderson before the trade deadline on Thursday.
According to Kelly Iko of ESPN Radio 975, the Rockets have reportedly been gauging Anderson's trade value recently as they continue to look for a way to unload his bloated contract.
It is interesting to note that the Rockets have already tried to move him last summer, but they just could not find any takers. In fact, he is the main reason why they failed to acquire perennial All-Star Carmelo Anthony.
As a prototypical stretch-four who can crash the boards and consistently knock down shots from three-point range, Anderson has actually been a pretty decent role player for Houston. With his ability to space the floor, he is the perfect complement to stars James Harden and Chris Paul. However, he also happens to have one of the worst contracts in the league.
As noted by Iko, Anderson is currently in the second season of a whopping four-year, $80 million deal. That means the Rockets are going to be hard-pressed to find a team that is willing to absorb the approximately $41 million remaining on his contract following the season.
"It would be difficult for Houston to get an unsuspecting team to take his contract without additional compensation and the Rockets already owe a 2018 first round pick to the Atlanta Hawks. There are, of course, ways to make it happen without pure draft capital but they are more complicated to be sure and, considering the risk of James choosing to head elsewhere in July, there is likely a limit to just how aggressive Houston would be in dumping Anderson before Thursday's trade deadline," Brad Rowland said in his column for Uproxx.
At any rate, the Rockets will have to get creative if they want to free up enough salary cap space to pursue LeBron James this summer.
