There is good news and bad news in Houston.

The bad news is that the Houston Rockets are in no man's land right now.  They are a decent team with a solid head coach that really has no hope of winning an NBA Championship.  The good news?  They are a player or two away from joining the league's upper echelon.  

If I'm GM Daryl Morey I would do the following:

1.  Go out and get Chris Bosh.  Houston is the perfect situation for CB4.  Rather than being the go-to-guy, Bosh can simply slide right in and deliver 18 points and 10 boards a night.  With Yao Ming and Kevin Martin around, Bosh won't be expected to shoulder the entire load.       

Will Morey be able to pry him loose from Toronto?  Well, given Bosh's recent actions/statements, GM Bryan Colangelo might be forced to send his star forward packing for the right package of players and picks.  Because of Bosh's current contract situation, a sign-and-trade deal will be required.  What about offering Shane Battier, Jordan Hill, David Anderson, a couple of draft choices and the $3 million Carl Landry trade exception?  According to the ESPN Trade Machine, this potential trade would work under the salary cap.

Because Bosh can simply leave without any compensation, Colangelo knows he's not going to do much better than eighty cents on the dollar.  The Raptors lack capable defenders and toughness along the front line and Battier is seemingly a perfect fit.  Hill is young, but he could develop into the kind of rugged power forward that the Raptors so desperately need. 

2.  In addition to acquiring Chris Bosh, I'd target Baylor's shot blocking big man Ekpe Udoh with the 14th pick in the upcoming NBA Draft.  Udoh won't have to contribute immediately, but should be able to pick up valuable minutes as the third "big" off the bench. 


Morey has pushed most of the right buttons since becoming GM of the Rockets, but he really needs to step up this off-season or the Rockets are going to find themselves on the outside of the playoffs looking in once again next year.