NBA Trade Rumors: Josh Smith To Houston Rockets? Dwight Howard, Terrence Jones Injuries Can Force Texas Team To Consider J-Smoove!

The NBA Trade Rumors have a familiar face with a not-so-familiar team. The Houston Rockets is one team that relies heavily on advanced metrics and Josh Smith is a player being bashed for his hazy shot selection. Will injuries bring them together?

The Houston Rockets have gone 7-2 since Dwight Howard was out with an injury. Starting power forward Terrence Jones is also out indefinitely. Coach Kevin McHale has already admitted that their All-star center would not be back soon. From Rockets fan blog Ultimate Rockets:

"The Rockets' hope that Dwight Howard could be close to returning from his strained right knee seemed to be fading.

While discussing Pat Beverley's return from a strained left hamstring, Rockets coach Kevin McHale said 'It would be nice to get everybody else back, but that won't be happening any time soon.'

McHale had previously said he hoped that Howard, who has been out since Nov. 19, might be ready to return in time to play on the Rockets' road trip Wednesday and Thursday to play Golden State and Sacramento. Asked if he had a better feel for Howard's timetable, he said again, 'He won't be back anytime soon.'"

The Rockets are now weighing their options and there might not be a lot. Since there is no timetable for the return of their frontcourt regulars, inside scoring and rebounding may become an issue. UR also writes:

"Deals for top frontcourt players that will be free agents next off-season such as Atlanta's Paul Millsap or Detroit's Greg Monroe are expected to be much more difficult to acquire so early in the season.

The Rockets, however, would rather bolster the rotation as quickly as possible.. with the Lin trade exception increasingly likely to be used long before the NBA trade market heats up."

Scoring and rebounding are two things that Josh Smith can do. He is also a close friend of D12 so chemistry will not be a problem when Howard returns. While this is not the typical way that Rockets roll, they may be forced to do something when they start losing.

This is totally speculative at this point but the Detroit Pistons are in panic mode. If trading Josh Smith can be the only way to convince Greg Monroe to stay, the Pistons may include a first round draft pick just to push the transaction. That is something that Houston would consider.