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The Rockets have made another free agent big man acquisition, and while it’s not as big of a deal as the one involving Dwight Howard earlier this summer, it may be an important one to the team’s ultimate chances nonetheless.

Marcus Camby is expected to sign with Houston today, according to a report from Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports.

Camby was traded to the Raptors in the deal that sent Andrea Bargnani to the Knicks, but negotiated a buyout of his contract in order to pursue an opportunity with a contending team instead.

There were several teams in pursuit of Camby, including most recently the Heat, Bulls, and Rockets.

Camby’s presence gives the Rockets a backup plan if something goes wrong with Howard or Omer Asik, but when healthy, Camby can be a strong contributor defensively, particularly on the boards.

We’ll see where the contract figure comes in on this deal, but it won’t be anything crazy that would tie up the franchise’s spending power in future seasons.

(UPDATE: And it’s not. Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports that it’s a one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, which in Camby’s case will be $1.4 million.)

Besides, after acquiring James Harden last year and now with Howard in place, Houston is in a win-now mode to try and fill out its roster with the right pieces that will allow it to immediately join the ranks of the championship contenders.

Camby holds career averages of 9.5 points, 9.8 rebounds, and 2.4 blocked shots per game over 17 NBA seasons.