According to Sam Amick of USA Today, a key duo of the Miami Heat have drawn the interest of title contender the Houston Rockets.
Despite entering the quiet stretch of the NBA calendar, news around the league never ceases to quit.
In a recent tweet, the highly credible Sam Amick of USA Today paid credence to the recent revelation made by Zach Lowe of ESPN that the Houston Rockets have expressed interest with the Miami Heat in a deal revolving around forward Ryan Anderson.
On his Lowe Post podcast, Lowe detailed that the Rockets could be willing to part with Anderson and a future first-round draft selection in order to obtain guard Tyler Johnson.
However, as can be seen from the following tweet, Amick has thrown the name of forward James Johnson into the mix in a potential deal:
Now...a possible Rockets deal sending Ryan Anderson to Miami for James Johnson or Tyler Johnson, or someone else the Houston brass thinks can help? That’s definitely something they’d have interest in (no specific position targeted). But Bazemore isn’t part of their discussions.
— Sam Amick (@sam_amick) August 8, 2018
Thus far, the Rockets have had a rather underwhelming offseason considering the team is fresh off a 65-win season and was just one game away from a trip to the NBA Finals.
Not only did they lose starting small forward Trevor Ariza, they also lost a key rotation piece in defensive wizard Luc Mbah a Moute. Despite the impending addition of 10-time All-Star Carmelo Anthony, the Rockets are seemingly on the lookout for further talent to round out their roster.
In 72 games last season, Tyler Johnson averaged 11.7 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists in his role as a bona-fide combo guard.
With a terrific burst speed, and ability to shoot from long range as evidenced by his 36.7 percent shooting clip, Johnson’s overall energy and style of play would be a tremendous fit on the Rockets, and would provide a great relief to the backcourt rotation of James Harden, Chris Paul and Eric Gordon.
As for James Johnson, following a career season in 2016-17, the 31-year-old suffered a drop in his productivity, as evidenced by his recent sports hernia surgery. Despite this, Johnson still managed to average 10.8 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists.
At 6-foot-8, Johnson provides a unique option for the Rockets, with his versatility at both ends of the floor enabling him to be just as adept in either a starting or second unit role.
https://twitter.com/MiamiHEAT/status/976096020269383680
The other part of the deal is Anderson, who after posting his lowing scoring output since his second season in the league in 2009-10, clearly doesn’t feature in the Rockets’ blueprint moving forward.
Given his defensive limitations, Anderson’s potential role with the Heat would be unclear at this stage. However, if James Johnson were to depart, Anderson could certainly find some playing time at his natural spot as a stretch-4.
Furthermore, while his productivity and playing time may have diminished, Anderson still managed to shoot at an efficient 38.6 percent clip from long range last season on 5.1 attempts per game.
For the Heat, the main attraction of the deal is the addition of a future first-round draft selection.
In terms of the individual contracts, if Tyler Johnson were to be included, he and Anderson’s contracts are virtually a wash, with Johnson owed $38.5 million over the coming two seasons and Anderson owed $41.7 million during this time.
With James Johnson, while his average earnings are less, the Heat would avoid paying the final year of his deal in 2020-21 when he is owed $15.8 million.
So while a deal won’t assist them initially from a financial perspective, the addition of a future first round selection could be vital if the Heat front office have some other potential deals in place.