The Houston Rockets have overcome a disastrous start to the season but are still heading nowhere fast. Stephen Silas' group jumped out of the gate with a 1-16 start and currently sit at an improved mark of 12-31 yet are not even within an earshot of a playoff spot.
The Rockets will be sellers ahead of the February trade deadline and the Nets, despite holding claim to the NBA's most efficient offense in league history last season, are struggling to produce points against elite teams.
No timetable has been given for Joe Harris' return from ankle surgery and Kyrie Irving's part-time status is helping fill the scoring void, but not entirely.
Enter Eric Gordon, who is in the final year of a four-year, $75.6 million deal he signed in 2019. At 33, Gordon is still chasing an NBA title. Gordon was James Harden's running mate in Houston for several title pushes that fell short, but he remained loyal to the organization through the rebuild.
Gordon was less than complimentary regarding Harden's unceremonious exit from the Rockets, but if R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish can patch up a rocky relationship from their time with Duke, now as teammates on the Knicks, so too can Harden and Gordon in Brooklyn.
The Rockets' shooting guard is averaging 14.8 points on 50 percent shooting from the field and 45 percent from 3-point range.
Harris' return to the Nets is still up in the air and its clear Brooklyn is missing a knockdown perimeter shooter to space the floor and creative driving lines for Harden, Irving and Kevin Durant to attack the paint.
Gordon is also an underrated defender and has playoff battle scars from several deep Western Conference Finals runs with Houston. With still heavy money and two more years left on his current deal, the Rockets are very likely to try and move him and will have a modest asking price to take on that type of contract for an aging sharpshooter.
For the likes of Brooklyn, Golden State and Phoenix, Gordon makes a ton of sense. The leader in the clubhouse from a fit standpoint remains the Suns as he'd reunite with Chris Paul and flourish in that offensive system, but with ownership turmoil in the Valley of the Sun and organization's refusal to extend big man Deandre Ayton, Gordon might land elsewhere. Depending on interest in Gordon, he could be a buyout candidate as his most productive years are behind him.
Nets' GM Sean Marks has been very creative around the trade deadline to improve the team and given the heavy minutes Harden and Durant have amassed, an inconsistent supporting cast and Irving being ineligible for home games, netting a perimeter defender like Gordon with a smooth shooting stroke is something to strongly consider in Brooklyn.
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