Hill Adjusting to Houston After Trade
By Chris Mongelli March 2, 2010In one of the bigger trades to go down at the deadline, the
New York Knicks sent first-round pick Jordan Hill and PF Jared Jeffries to the
Houston Rockets, getting Tracy McGrady and clearing a significant amount of cap
space for the 2010 free agent market. The trade went three ways, as Houston
also received C Hilton Armstrong and SG Kevin Martin from Sacramento, while
sending sixth man PF Carl Landry to Sacramento.
The move reunites Hill with his former Arizona teammate
Chase Budinger. After a stifling first half of the season in New York where he
faced limited playing time, Hill is looking forward to playing for a team
that’s competing right now, and not moving the pieces for success in the
future. He’s also looking forward
to getting more playing time. Anyone following Hill’s journey this year knows
how hard he’s played when given the opportunity, but he was very rarely given
the opportunity under Coach Mike D’Antoni. With Landry’s departure, and Yao
Ming out indefinitely, Hill comes to a Houston team with a well-balanced bench,
and should have plenty of opportunities to showcase his abilities playing
anywhere from a big 3 to a small 5. Fans should look for a greatly expanded role
for Hill in Houston, and fantasy owners might want to pick him up on the cheap
before he starts to become a regular part of their rotation.