The Houston Rockets are switching up their swingmen buried on the bench (in hopes the new one is not going to be so buried).
The Rockets have waived Daequan Cook to sign free agent James Anderson, reports the Houston Chronicle. They didn’t get it done in time for Monday night’s game but they will by the next time the Rockets take the court.
He wasn’t really a diligent defender in his time with San Antonio, which is part of the reason the Spurs let the former No. 20 overall pick go after three seasons. He got in just 10 games in San Antonio last season and if you know the Spurs that suggests Anderson was not impressing in practice.
When Anderson did get in last season he shot 44 percent overall and 45 percent from three. He was expected to be a scorer coming out of Oklahoma State but that didn’t happen. Anderson doesn’t really create his own shot well but with James Harden and Jeremy Lin that may not be an issue, he just has to hit the chances he gets in the offense. Something he didn’t do well in three seasons with the Spurs.
Cook has gotten in 16 games for the Rockets this season (starting once after Chandler Parsons was injured) and averaged 3.4 points a game when he did, shooting just 35.6 percent.
Basically, Cook wasn’t doing the job so the Rockets are hoping Anderson can do a better job soaking up some minutes behind Harden. Anderson has gotten a few workouts with teams (most recently the Timberwolves) now we’ll see if he can take advantage of his shot.