As the NBA trade deadline of March 25th quickly approaches, the Houston Rockets are looking for a mutually beneficial deal to trade veteran forward P.J. Tucker. Some of the teams that have been named in the trade talks include the Milwaukee Bucks, Miami Heat, Los Angeles Lakers, Brooklyn Nets, and Denver Nuggets. According to sources, the Nets have withdrawn from trade talks concerning Tucker after signing Blake Griffin.
The Rockets are sitting next to last in the Western conference and are amid a 16-game losing streak. As surprising as that sounds considering the Rockets have sat at the top of the conference for the past few years, it’s not all that surprising considering all the changes the team has gone through as of late. After the close of last year, the team lost a head coach, a general manager, and two MVP/All-Star players. That, in combination with the injuries players have suffered, it’s no wonder the team can’t seem to get over this losing hump. One can only imagine how exhausting this has been for the players who remain on the team. It appears that Tucker is ready to move on.
New head coach Stephen Silas said after last Thursday’s game, “We’re going to try to figure out something that works for him and works for us as far as him not being on the team anymore. I was under the assumption that he was going to play tonight, and he didn’t play. That was disappointing. … He decided that he was just not really with it, and we decided that that’s a good idea. Let’s move on.”