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Report: Rockets add more defense, sign Luc Mbah a Moute to one-year deal

Los Angeles Clippers v Houston Rockets

HOUSTON, TX - MARCH 16: Trevor Ariza #1 of the Houston Rockets looks to pass the basketball against Luc Mbah a Moute #12 of the Los Angeles Clippers during their game at the Toyota Center on March 16, 2016 in Houston, Texas. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Scott Halleran/Getty Images)

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If the goal is to knock off the Warriors, you can never have enough wing defenders.

The Houston Rockets have set themselves up as the main challenger to the dominance of Golden State, and they just added some wing defense and some solid three-point shooting by signing Luc Mbah a Moute to a one-year deal, something first reported by Chris Haynes of ESPN.

Free-agent combo forward Luc Mbah a Moute has agreed to sign with the Houston Rockets, league sources tell ESPN.

It is believed to be a one-year, veteran minimum arrangement.

Mbah a Moute, 30, played the last two seasons with the LA Clippers as the team’s starting small forward. He declined a $2.3 million player option for the 2017-18 season to hit free-agency this summer. He shot a career high of 39 percent from the beyond the arc last season.


It is a veteran minimum contract, that’s all the Rockets have to give out.

The Rockets now will start Trevor Ariza on the wing next to James Harden and Chris Paul, but they can bring Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker, and Mbah a Moute off the bench. That’s good depth at the position most needed to try and match up with the Warriors. Mbah a Moute has his limitations on offense — he shot well from three last season but can’t create or do much of anything but if he stays in his lane things work out well.

This is a good signing by the Rockets.