Inside The Rockets

Rockets Center Swirling in Trade Rumors

The Houston Rockets could trade one of their big men.

Jeremy Brener

Nov 20, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Jock Landale (2) dunks the ball during the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
Nov 20, 2024; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Rockets center Jock Landale (2) dunks the ball during the first quarter against the Indiana Pacers at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images / Troy Taormina-Imagn Images
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The Houston Rockets are less than two months away from the annual trade deadline, and they will have to make some decisions as a team looking to make the playoffs.

Those decisions could include finding some upgrades for the roster going into the latter part of the regular season as they fight for playoff positioning.

The Athletic's Law Murray believes Landale could be someone the Rockets end up trading.

"The Rockets should certainly be interested in improving their rotation if they want to make a playoff push. They are benefiting from their commitment to defend, but also because they have been healthy. Whom to trade is the question. I would have put contract-year center Steven Adams here, but his availability is a question mark, and he has been valuable for his intangibles. Landale still has multiple years left on his deal, but a center isn’t what Houston needs. It needs a reliable source of offense — kind of what Reed Sheppard was drafted to be," Murray writes.

Landale is in the second season of a four-year contract he signed back in the summer of 2023, but the arrival of Steven Adams negates his need to be on the roster. Landale is a strong depth piece, but if the Rockets could find someone who better fills a need on the offensive end of the floor, they should consider making a deal.

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Jeremy Brener
JEREMY BRENER

Jeremy Brener is an editor, writer and social media manager for several Fan Nation websites. His work has also been featured in 247 Sports and SB Nation as a writer and podcaster. Brener has been with Fan Nation since 2021. Brener grew up in Houston, going to Astros, Rockets and Texans games as a kid. He moved to Orlando in 2016 to go to college and pursue a degree. He hosts "The Dream Take" podcast covering the Rockets, which has produced over 350 episodes since March 2020. Brener graduated in May 2020 from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor's degree in Broadcast Journalism minoring in Sport Business Management. While at UCF, Brener worked for the school's newspaper NSM.today and "Hitting the Field," a student-run sports talk show and network. He was the executive producer for "Hitting the Field" from 2019-20. During his professional career, Brener has covered a number of major sporting events including the Pro Bowl, March Madness and several NBA and NFL games. As a fan, Brener has been to the 2005 World Series, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 NCAA National Championship between the Villanova Wildcats and North Carolina Tar Heels. Now, Brener still resides in the Central Florida area and enjoys writing, watching TV, hanging out with friends and going to the gym. Brener can be followed on Twitter @JeremyBrener. For more inquiries, please email jeremybrenerchs@gmail.com.

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