Rockets trade rumors: Chicago Bulls guard Richard Hamilton interests Houston

The Houston Rockets are interested in Chicago Bulls shooting guard Richard Hamilton, per Sean Deveney of Sporting News. Here is a snippet from Deveney's piece:

[Hamilton] can be had by any team that has the cap room or trade exceptions to absorb his contract, and the Bulls have gotten plenty of inquiries, most notably from the Houston Rockets.

From The Dream Shake:

For the Rockets, the acquisition would serve two purposes. Firstly, the Rockets would bolster a relatively weak and young second unit with a proven scorer, giving the team a go-to scorer off the bench. Perhaps more importantly, however, the Rockets would receive an asset for their troubles, most likely in the form of a 1st round pick from the Bobcats (protected through 2017) or the rights to European big man Nikola Mirotic.

Hamilton could be a nice addition to Houston's bench mob and could be a nice backup option to James Harden. Hamilton is shooting 43-percent from the floor this season and is averaging 10.6 points. He's a relentless runner on the offensive end and tires out his defender with his constant movement. Hamilton is also a decent defender and has a high basketball IQ. Pairing him with Carlos Delfino off the bench would give the Rockets some diverse bench scoring.

Hamilton is owed $5 million for the rest of this season and can be bought out for $1 million for the 2013-14 season -- where he is slated to make an additional $5 million. With the Rockets in a playoff race and holding on to the No. 8 seed, it would be wise for general manager Daryl Morey to look into acquiring Hamilton.

For more on the Rockets, visit The Dream Shake.