NBA Rumors: Best free agent every team in Southwest Division should target

NBA Mid-Season Review: Top Free Agent Picks for Each Team in the Southwest Division

Utah Jazz v Charlotte Hornets
Utah Jazz v Charlotte Hornets | Jacob Kupferman/GettyImages
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Houston Rockets: George Hill, PG/SG

Well folks, this is awkward. I was planning on going with Goran Dragic as the player the Houston Rockets should pick up. Come to find out, the ole Slovenian has retired from the NBA, calling it a career. What is there to do? You choose the next best option, someone who moderately resembles the first option, and that would be George Hill.

Sometimes all you need is a veteran point guard who can come off the bench, run the offense effectively, play solid perimeter defense, and hit open threes. Hill does all of these pretty well, which is why the Rockets should invest. Fred Vanvleet is a smaller guard and we have seen pretty consistently, that smaller guards eventually break down. The wear and tear on them seems to be a bit more prevalent than bigger-bodied players.

Well if that's the case, you should have a bigger backup. Unfortunately, Aaron Holiday is the backup and he is smaller than Vanvleet. All of this is to say that George Hill is a 6-foot-3 combo guard who can help limit the wear of their smaller guards, especially in the regular season.

Hill holds Per-36 minute career average of 14 points, 4.1 assists, and four rebounds per game with a shooting line of 45.7/38.0/80.6. He has been efficient his entire career. With a gritty, defensive-effort-loving coach like Ime Udoka, having a veteran guard who can help mold the minds of some of the younger players could play big dividends for their short-term career developments as well. As it stands, the Rockets are one injury at point guard away from being very thin at their floor general spot. It would make sense to pick up Hill for insurance later, and a reliable, vet presence now.