With interest falling in Dwight Howard, the Houston Rockets are still trying to pull off roster trades at the deadline. The team has been actively shopping the center and while teams have shown interest, the price tag is too high to acquire Howard at the deadline. Instead, the Rockets have been looking to move other assets and with Donatas Motiejunas and Marcus Thornton now gone, is Ty Lawson next?
According to ESPN's Brian Windhorst, while the Rockets wait on a deal for Howard, they have acquired a first-round draft pick for 2016 and Joel Anthony from the Detroit Pistons in exchange for Motiejunas and Thornton. The draft pick is a top-8 protected pick this year and then top-10 protected the next two years. That got the ball rolling before the deadline hits, but the Rockets might not be done just yet.
Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports then reported the Utah Jazz gave up a second-round draft pick for Shelvin Mack of the Atlanta Hawks. That helps the Jazz with their scoring needs and lessen the need for another trade.
According to ESPN's Marc Stein, the Rockets and the Utah Jazz were progressing on talks to deal Lawson in exchange for Trey Burke. This is not the first time that Lawson has been shopped in potential trades. He has not been the playmaker the Rockets thought they would be getting when they signed him over the summer. With Patrick Beverley the favored point guard, Lawson has been trying to play backup, but is only averaging 6.3 points and 3.6 assists per game.
With Mack now on the roster, Stein is now reporting the Jazz are not interested in getting Lawson in a trade. As a result, Stein is reporting the Rockets will likely waive Lawson after the deadline if no deal is made. The Lawson experiment has not worked the Rockets and the team has no need for him with Jason Terry playing better behind Beverley. Lawson has told the media he hears all of talk about around his name and is just ignoring it.
"There are rumors every day," Lawson said, via ESPN.com. "You can't really feed too much into it, and we'll see what happens. I want to right the ship and finish the season out strong and definitely want to stay here."
The Rockets will retain Howard for the remainder of the year while Lawson might not be so lucky. It is unclear if these changes are enough to get the team into a better position for the postseason. If it does not, more roster shakeups are on the horizon.
