Report: Rockets monitoring free agents Dewayne Dedmon, Ersan Ilyasova

Veteran NBA big men Dewayne Dedmon and Ersan Ilyasova are potentially of interest to the Houston Rockets once DeMarcus Cousins is eventually traded or released, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Both players are currently free agents and eligible to sign with any team.

“The Rockets will continue to keep an eye on the free-agent market, with names like Dewayne Dedmon and Ersan Ilyasova being of interest,” Iko wrote Saturday. No deal appears to be imminent, and the Houston Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen reports that Cousins is likely to play at least one more game for the Rockets before his departure.

A 7-foot-0 center, Dedmon had his best NBA years in Atlanta, averaging 10.2 points (49.9% FG) and 7.7 rebounds in 24.9 minutes per game. In three seasons with the Hawks from 2017-18 until 2019-20, Dedmon also improved as a range shooter, going 35.8% on 3-pointers. Now 31 years old, he has yet to play with any team in the 2020-21 season.

Meanwhile, the 6-foot-9 İlyasova averaged 6.7 points (45.1% FG) and 4.6 rebounds in 17.1 minutes with the Milwaukee Bucks over the last two seasons. Now 33 years old, he’s also viewed as a “stretch big,” with a career shooting clip of 36.5% on 3-pointers over his 11 NBA seasons.

Both İlyasova and Dedmon are more mobile than Cousins, which would seem to fit with where head coach Stephen Silas wants the Rockets to go on the defensive end of the floor. Either veteran could slide in as the backup to usual starting center Christian Wood, who hopes to return from his sprained right ankle within the next two weeks.

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