The Rockets Daily – July 17, 2013

by John Eby | July 16, 2013 at 10:15 PM

This Kid - From a reader, this is pure win:

Good people. Good times. Right on. Rock n’ Roll.

(If you don’t know why he’s mad at Shaq, read here).

Meet Your 2013-2014 Houston Rockets - Within the past week or so, the Rockets have signed 6 free agents/rookies/rookie free agents. So it’s time for a good look at the newcomers, and how the roster is likely to look as free agency seems to be winding down.First off, even though the Rockets don’t have another late lottery pick to talk about this year before he gets shipped off to another team, they still have three new rookies: Isaiah Canaan, B.J. Young and Robert Covington. Check the team’s official site for the quick and dirty on these guys.

Canaan was the only draft pick; a diminutive point who can make it splash from anywhere in the gym. Young and Covington are probably strangers to anyone who wasn’t glued to summer league.

Via DraftExpress, Young is a 6’3″ combo guard who can score, but can’t shoot. He’s an excellent athlete (best case scenario: Eric Bledsoe) with a 6’8″ wingspan who regressed in his sophomore season. While Young played well enough in Summer League for the Rockets to sign him, he’ll probably need to clean up his shot and amp up his defense (0.7 steals last year despite those long arms) if he wants to play anywhere other than the D-League.

As for Covington, a 6’9″ power forward who stayed all four years in college, it’s not too hard to see how he fits in Houston. Take it away, DraftExpress:

Covington’s biggest appeal as a prospect revolves around his jump shot, which comprises nearly 56% of his overall shot attempts. He converted 37.5% of his nearly five 3-point attempts per game, down from 45% last season and 46% as a sophomore. Though his mechanics are a bit unorthodox, his high arcing shot is difficult to block and he has proven to be one of the nation’s top perimeter shooting big men throughout his entire career, hitting 183/430 of his overall attempts, or 43%. He shows the ability to make shots with his feet set, off the dribble, and with a hand in his face, which bodes well for his ability to operate as a floor spacer at the professional level, something that is increasingly coveted in modern basketball.

Covington will play for Houston because Dwight Howard is ta’veren. And if you understand that reference without having to Google it, you and I can be very nerdy friends.

The other three FA’s to sign with Houston this week are Francisco Garcia, Omri Casspi, and Reggie Williams. Garcia and Casspi are both long, lanky forwards capable of filling in as stretch fours or 3-and-D wings, while neither truly excels at either role. Williams used to be a great shooter before being sent to ~~purgatory~~ Charlotte. If you want to know more about Reggie than you ever wanted to know, check out the Dream Shake.

So if you’re scoring at home, here are all 15 of your 2013 Houston Rockets by approximate position:

PG: Jeremy Lin, Patrick Beverly, Isaiah Canaan

SG: James Harden, B.J. Young, Reggie Williams

SF: Chandler Parsons, Francisco Garcia, Omri Casspi

PF: Terrence Jones, Donatas Motiejunas, Robert Covington

C: Dwight Howard, Omer Asik, Greg Smith

Barring any trades, that’s what we’re going to war with. If you want to embitter yourself by looking at NBA.com’s handy list of which free agents are still out there, be my guest.

Dork Elvis Dishes Wisdom: Huge thanks to 2016Champions for posting this interview in the forums. Daryl Morey tells J.A. Adande what’s going on.

Got any sweet links or suggestions? Email them to jeby901@gmail.com or message @EbyNews on Twitter.

About the author: John Eby got on the Rockets bandwagon in 1994 and never got off. He is a public relations guy and recovering TV journalist living in South Carolina.