NBA rumors: 5 teams that should be selling at the NBA trade deadline

1. Houston Rockets

Nobody should be more open for business than the Houston Rockets. James Harden is gone, which means that, aside from Christian Wood, Jae’Sean Tate, Kevin Porter Jr. and maybe Victor Oladipo, all that remains in Clutch City are the last vestiges of a dynasty that never was. And that means pretty much everyone should be available for the right price.

Oladpio unsurprisingly turned down the Rockets’ offer of a two-year extension, and as an expiring contract who probably isn’t enjoying playing on a team that’s lost 13 straight games to fall to 14th in the Western Conference, he could very well be on the move before the deadline.

P.J. Tucker is probably in that same group, only he’ll be easier to acquire than a younger star like Dipo. Tucker is on a minuscule expiring salary of $8 million and provides great two-way value as a corner 3-point sniper and multi-positional defender. Eric Gordon, meanwhile, might have too much baggage on his contract (three years and $58.7 million after this year) to be a realistic trade target.

John Wall’s albatross contract isn’t going away either, but even players like Dante Exum ($9.6 million expiring), Danuel House ($3.7 million this season, $3.8 million next season) or Ben McLemore ($2.8 million expiring) could provide Houston with some value on the trade market. In reality, no one outside of Wood should be safe on this roster, and the Rockets should be the biggest sellers at the deadline.