More activity for the Houston Rockets on NBA trade deadline day.

Daryl Morey and company continue to position themselves for the buyout market. After unloading K.J. McDaniels to the Nets, the Rockets sent Tyler Ennis to the Los Angeles Lakers for Marcelo Huertas.

The Rockets will waive Huertas… but the fans are already expressing their appreciation for Huertas.

What’s happening? The Rockets created some cap room in the McDaniels deal and they are making room on the roster to be able to pick up guys who can help them for the stretch run. They have about $3.5 million now to spend, giving them an advantage over other teams that will only have a base exception of around $2 million. The big fish right now that likely will be available is Andrew Bogut, who the Rockets had an interest in acquiring this past summer, but there will likely be other interesting free agents to consider as well.

The Rockets have made another trade on deadline day, sending K.J. McDaniels to the Brooklyn Nets, as first reported by Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski.

The Rockets simply send McDaniels and his $3.3 million salary to Brooklyn, getting nothing of significance back. They are unloading salary to create roster spots and position themselves to spend money in the buyout market that will begin once the deadline passes.

For example, Andrew Bogut, who was just traded from Dallas to Philly, is expected to be bought out by the Sixers. The Rockets will likely be looking for a defensive wing, but they’re not going to be picky when talented players can be scooped up relatively cheaply after the deadline.

McDaniels, who interestingly was acquired by the Rockets in a deadline-day deal in 2015, never could earn a rotation spot with the Rockets. Both Kevin McHale and Mike D’Antoni kept him nailed to the pine. D’Antoni gave him a big opportunity entering this season, looking for McDaniels to be his defensive stopper in the backcourt, but it never materialized. He will likely get a shot at some playing time with the Nets.

Splash! With the trade deadline just under 48 hours away, Daryl Morey and the Houston Rockets have made a trade.

The Rockets have acquired sixth man scorer Lou Williams, sending Corey Brewer and a first round pick to the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski.

Williams is a top candidate for Sixth Man of the Year, currently averaging 18.6 points a night and hitting a career-best 38.6% from long range. Another top Sixth Man of the Year candidate? Eric Gordon. The Rockets now sport two scoring machines off the pine in Gordon and Williams… and Williams can score in a hurry. He put up 38 against Utah then followed that up with a season-high 40 against Memphis.

Historically, Williams hasn’t been a brilliant three-point shooter (34.7%), but he has stepped it up this season, particularly from the corners where he’s hitting 52.5%. By comparison, Brewer was shooting 26.2% from the corner three this season.

There also was a steep dropoff for Rockets at the guard spot after James Harden, Patrick Beverley and Gordon, so with the team’s injury issues in the backcourt, this is a strong addition to the squad.

Thanx for the love L.A, I've enjoyed my stay.

— Lou Williams (@TeamLou23) February 22, 2017

The team also unloads Corey Brewer, who was a very poor fit for Mike D’Antoni’s system and has another year and some change remaining on his contract. As a result, it cost the Rockets their first round pick. I’m rarely a fan of moving first rounders and it kills me the Rockets will be without one for two straight years now, but this is a worthwhile move at that price.

So the Rockets are doubling down on offense, giving D’Antonio plenty of weapons to try to make something happen in the West.

Eric Gordon shot his way to victory in the NBA’s Three-Point Contest Saturday night against Cleveland Cavaliers guard Kyrie Irving.

All contestants were able to choose the location of their money ball rack and Gordon chose the top of the key where he shoots 47.1 percent for the season.

In the first round, Gordon beat out contestants with his highest score of the night at 25. In the second round he tied Irving at 20 which led to the tiebreaker round.

Gordon came out victorious beating out Irving’s score of 18 with a his own score of 21. The video below is the tiebreaker championship round, where Gordon pulled away for the win.

Gordon is currently sitting at fourth in the league in three-pointers made behind Stephen Curry, James Harden and Kyle Lowry.

Wednesday’s game against the Heat could see super sub Eric Gordon back in action after sitting out the last two games due to a sore back.

Gordon is expected to attend practice today.

“I think he should be OK tomorrow,” Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni said of Gordon on local radio Sports 790. “He was almost ready to play Saturday. If it was Sunday, he would’ve probably played. We’re not going to rush it for sure and if there’s any hesitation, we won’t do it, but I expect him to play tomorrow.”

The Rockets could use him as the Heat, while losers of their last two games, are recently off of a 13-game winning streak.

Gordon’s back isn’t the only injury the team has been dealing with. Ryan Anderson, who cut his finger on a piece of glass while taking out the trash, participated in Rockets practice today.

“I was pushing something down the trash chute and a piece of glass chunked a whole piece of my thumb off,” Anderson said to the Houston Chronicle. “It was bleeding for about an hour. I had to go to the emergency room. I’ll live though.”

Wednesday’s game is the last one for the 40-win Rockets before the All-Star break. They return to action February 23 against the Pelicans in New Orleans.

“I’m very, very honored and proud to be here,” said Hakeem Olajuwon before the game.

During the game, the fans of Houston showed how proud they were of him.

The Rockets honored Olajuwon Tuesday night, playing this tribute video after the third quarter in their 128-104 win against the Orlando Magic. The fans couldn’t get to their feet fast enough once it was over, giving Olajuwon a long and loud standing ovation.

Take a look.

Olajuwon also spoke with us before the game, answering questions ranging from his favorite memories in Houston to President Donald Trump and the current political climate regarding Muslims.

It’s now time for the greatest Rocket of them all.

Hakeem Olajuwon will be honored at tonight’s game against the Orlando Magic as the Houston Rockets continue to celebrate the achievements of the organization’s 50 year history.

Our #Rockets50 honoree tonight is the great Hakeem @DR34M Olajuwon! Visit our Instagram page to find out how you can win this signed poster! pic.twitter.com/UsKFGhhZpc

— Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) February 7, 2017

The Rockets have called Houston home since 1971 after relocating from San Diego. Since the beginning of the season, the organization has honored some of their best alumni at home games throughout the year. Shane Battier and Yao Ming were honored earlier this month at their respective games.

“Fifty years – it’s an incredible milestone, but being part of the community is both historical and aspirational based on where the organization is,” Rockets CEO Tad Brown said to the Houston Chronicle last September. “Having won the only major sports championships in the city, you have this connection with fans that historically is celebratory.”

Olajuwon, who originally won over the city while playing college ball at the University of Houston, was with the Rockets for 17 years and led the team to back-to-back championships in 1994 and 1995. The first 3,000 fans at tonight’s game will receive this Hakeem hat.

#Rockets are giving away this cap to the first 3,000 fans at the game against the Magic this Tuesday when Hakeem Olajuwon is honored. pic.twitter.com/41qVhQ8TON

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) February 3, 2017

The Rockets retired Yao Ming’s jersey Friday night at halftime of their game against the Bulls, and the whole thing was first class all the way. The Rockets brought in Tracy McGrady, Steve Francis, Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, Shane Battier and Yao’s family for the occasion.

But the intro video telling the story of Yao that opened the ceremony? Phenomenal. It got a little dusty in here at the end.

Here’s my recording of it:

If you want to watch my fan recording of the entire ceremony, here it is: