What can Joe Johnson and Brandan Wright bring to the Rockets?

Unless a team’s locker room has been irreparably poisoned by chemistry problems, contenders mostly stand pat at the trade deadline. Their flurry of activity comes just afterward, when veterans on lofty deals get bought out and are willing to sign for the minimum for a chance to chase a ring on a high-end playoff team.

The Houston Rockets picked up two such players in Joe Johnson, who was bought out by the Sacramento Kings after being traded there by the Utah Jazz, and Brandan Wright, who was bought out by Memphis after two-plus disappointing years with the Grizzlies. It’s rare that these late-season acquisitions will actually make a difference come playoff time, but there are reasons to think both Johnson and Wright could find their way into Houston’s rotation until mid-April and perhaps in a small role in the postseason.

Johnson is the bigger name of the Rockets’ signings — the seven-time All-Star has had some huge playoff moments over his long career — and has a clearer role. Trevor Ariza doesn’t have a timetable for his return from a hamstring injury and Johnson can slide directly into his hybrid forward role, although the two players have a different style of play.

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Ariza has earned his reputation as a defender who can play the low-usage, high-efficiency offensive role needed to surround James Harden and Chris Paul. Johnson is almost the exact opposite — he’ll never be mistaken for a high-level defender and mostly needs the ball in his hands to be effective. Johnson does have the ability to space out to the 3-point line, but his game has always thrived in the mid-range, where he puts his guile and veteran savvy on display with an array of pump fakes and fadeaway jumpers to deceive defenders. Just the term “mid-range jumper” sets off alarm bells in Rockets headquarters, so it will be interesting to see what Johnson’s offensive role is with the team.

The elephant in the room, however, is just how awful Johnson has played this season. After stringing together more than a decade of relative efficiency (especially given his love for the mid-range), the bottom has fallen out of his game this year. His shooting is down to the worst levels since the third year of his career and it’s not as if he’s making up for it elsewhere — the Jazz’s offense gummed up whenever Johnson was out there and Utah’s trademark dominance defensively and on the boards was heavily impacted by his presence. He’s not quick enough anymore to guard 3s but he gets beat by bigger 4s on the glass consistently.

If he’s not bringing it offensively, there isn’t much reason to have Johnson out there. Still, if he is able to in any way recreate the magic he brought to the Miami Heat in 2016 or to the Jazz in last year’s playoffs, he’ll be a useful player for the Rockets, even if he won’t be able to hold up in deeper postseason rounds. Opposing offenses will target him on every possession if he’s out there against the other top teams in the Western Conference, but he’ll be able to soak up minutes throughout the remainder of the regular season and perhaps even the first round of the playoffs in the right matchup, keeping the rest of the Rockets fresh for a title run.

Wright’s litany of injuries and the Rockets’ depth at the center position makes his signing a curious one for Houston. Clint Capela mans the middle for the Rockets and, while he could be a poor man’s version of Capela at his best, Wright is on the wrong side of 30 and has an injury history that would indicate that Houston would be wise not to rely on him too heavily. Nene has played well as Capela’s backup this season but has fallen off a bit defensively as his age has hit him on that side of the floor. Tarik Black was a big part of the Rockets’ offseason, given that they used their entire Bi-Annual Exception to bring him in, but his lack of versatility and high foul rate may hurt him in a competition for minutes with the new guy.

Wright is by no means a modern center capable of putting the ball on the floor or making a good pass out of pick-and-roll consistently, but he at least has some touch outside the restricted area. On the other end, he controls that same restricted area slightly better than Black and, perhaps most importantly, doesn’t foul everybody who comes within an arm’s reach. (Among regular rotation players, only Ian Mahinmi commits more fouls per 100 possessions than Black).

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Both Johnson and Wright may find themselves in the rotation for Houston, which in itself is a win for general manager Daryl Morey and his staff, as head coach Mike D’Antoni has famously been stingy with minutes for his bench players this season. It’s doubtful that either will see the floor in the playoffs, but if they can eat minutes during the regular season to spell guys like Ariza and Nene, both signings will be well worth the pro-rated minimum deals Houston paid.