And I love how everyone throws out Battier like the Rockets have him on the block. I get why you would want him but he is not so easily available.
I am no Rockets insider, but why would Battier not be available? He's on the last year of his contract, making over $7M, their team is.... holy crap, they are 15-15. How the hell are they 15-15? Haha. Man, I can see why he wouldn't be available.
But even still... they have tons of depth in young players T-Will and Budinger and also Jeffries who all play the 3. I think they should trade Battier, but wait til the deadline and get something good for him. I don't think they want to take on extra years of dead $ though, take a look at what they have locked up next season:
PG: Brooks, Lowry, Ish Smith
SG: Kevin Martin, Courtney Lee
SF: T-Will, Budinger
PF: Scola, Hayes, Patterson
C: Brad Miller, Hayes, Jordan Hill
all locked up for... $36 million!!
They could possibly have $20 mil to improve this roster with. How much will teams be willing to give Yao this offseason? If Houston could lock him up at $6, then have $14 to spend on a SF... would that roster entice 'Melo? If not Yao, could they be interested in overpaying for Marc Gasol? Caron Butler, Jamal Crawford, and Jason Richardson could all be possible signings as well. I wouldn't limit them to a signing though since they have tons of pieces that are trade assets. Maybe even a sign and trade for Gasol? He'd be a great fit for this cast in place.