After adding high profile centre Dwight Howard earlier in the summer, the Houston Rockets are not looking to sign another big man who can back up Howard and give him some rest this season. According to a report from Marc Spears of Yahoo! Sports, the Rockets will sign free agent centre Marcus Camby.
Camby, 38, slots in as the third centre on the Rockets depth chart behind Howard and Omer Asik. The veteran centre is heading into his 18th NBA season. He previously played for the Rockets in 2012 when he was a trade deadline acquisition from the Portland Trail Blazers.
Camby spent last season with the New York Knicks where he was limited to just 24 games and an average of just over 10 minutes per game. Camby scored 1.8 points per game and picked up 3.3 rebounds per game in those limited minutes.
The Knicks traded Camby to the Toronto Raptors, the team who originally drafted him 2nd overall in 1996, in the deal that sent Andrea Bargnani to New York. Camby quickly requested a buyout from Toronto, and the Raptors were able to agree to a reduced buyout figure with Camby as he wanted to play for a contender.
Over the course of his career, Camby has averaged 9.5 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. However it is unreasonable for the Rockets to expect anything close to those kind of numbers. Instead Camby will be asked to provide veteran leadership, and small bursts in limited minutes in a big man role for the Rockets. As long as the expectations aren’t too high, he should be fine.
The Los Angeles Clippers and Chicago Bulls were also rumored to be in the hunt for Camby’s signature.
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