The Rockets are thinking about signing power forward Al Harrington, who just left his Chinese team because of apparent interest from NBA clubs, reports Yannis Koutroupis of Basketball Insiders. Houston has a full 15-man roster, so the team would have to make a corresponding move if it were to add Harrington.
The 34-year-old veteran of 16 seasons is a sharpshooting power forward who would seemingly fit well within Houston’s perimeter-oriented offense. He’s a 35.2% shooter from three-point range for his career, and he knocked down the long ball with 34.0% accuracy in 34 games last season with the Wizards. He expressed hope that he would re-sign with Washington once he returned from China, where he had been averaging 32.8 points per game for the Fujian Sturgeons, but it’s unclear if the Wizards are willing to consider him at this point.
Terrence Jones, Houston’s starting power forward, is out indefinitely with a peroneal nerve contusion, which is an injury to his left leg. The team has 13 fully guaranteed contracts, and starting point guard Patrick Beverley is on a non-guaranteed deal, as our roster counts show. Tarik Black, who has already earned more than the $50K partial guarantee on his deal for this season, appears to be the most vulnerable Rocket, though that’s just my speculation. The Rockets have reportedly been anxious to make a trade to upgrade their rotation, but perhaps they envision being able to do so with the addition of a rejuvenated Harrington instead.