NBA Free Agency 2017: One signing every team should make

Houston Rockets: JaMychal Green

Talk about changing your free agency plans overnight. The Houston Rockets were obviously going to try and make a big move after their fantastic 2016-17 season to try and get over the hump. By trading for Chris Paul, they were able to do that. Though it remains to be seen how well two ball-dominant players in Paul and James Harden will coexist in the same backcourt, they undoubtedly have the star power now to compete with the best teams in the league.

However, the sneaky truth of the Rockets after the Paul trade is that they robbed themselves of a lot of depth while also putting themselves in a tough spot financially to replace it. Thus, they’ll have to be frugal in their spending in free agency while still being able to fill glaring holes that they have left on their roster. Looking specifically at the departure of big man Montrezl Harrell, they could use a high-upside player like JaMychal Green moving forward in their frontcourt.

No one is going to mistake Green, who’s spent the last two full seasons with the Memphis Grizzlies, as a superstar. While he has upside, it’s definitely not on that level considering he’s 27 years old at this point. However, he’s a player that could undoubtedly provide the same services that Harrell would have prior to the Paul trade. He averaged 11.8 points and 9.3 rebounds per 36 minutes last season, and has proven to be a solid team defender. When slotted into a reserve role in Houston, he has the athletic ability to really thrive in the frontcourt and help the Rockets not be too crippled by the depth they lost in the CP3 trade.