Two nights after veteran guard Malcolm Brogdon led the Portland Trail Blazers to an upset win in Houston, are the Rockets interested in bringing him back to town on a more permanent basis?
Now 31 years old, Brogdon isn’t an ideal age alignment with the rebuilding Trail Blazers (13-30). That could make him a better fit in Houston, where general manager Rafael Stone’s Rockets (20-23) appear closer to making a playoff push in the Western Conference.
Jake Fischer of Yahoo! Sports has more:
In addition to the Knicks and Lakers, league personnel believe Brogdon has another team with legitimate interest in his services: Houston, which has plenty of former Boston staffers who overlapped with Brogdon during his (2022-23) season with the Celtics.
Brogdon is under contract with the Blazers through the 2024-25 season at $22.5 million annually. Between the expiring salaries of Victor Oladipo and Jock Landale, Houston could make the matching math work on a potential deal. The question is whether the sides could come to terms on the appropriate asset(s) — likely a draft pick and/or a young player, given Portland’s rebuilding situation — to send with those expiring contracts to incentivize a deal.
"League personnel believe Brogdon has another team with legitimate interest in his services: Houston, which has plenty of former Boston staffers who overlapped with Brogdon during his season with the Celtics. Head coach Ime Udoka’s Rockets are also one of the teams that is… https://t.co/q4OI6kgE9o
— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) January 26, 2024
Talks are likely to heat up with at least some Brogdon suitors in the near future, since the NBA’s 2023-24 in-season trade deadline of Thursday, Feb. 8, is less than two weeks away.
A steady 6-foot-4 guard who can play and defend at either backcourt spot, Brogdon is averaging 15.7 points (42.2% on 3-pointers) and 5.3 assists in 28.0 minutes per game this season.
