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Thursday February 21, 2008 6:47 PM


Rockets make deadline day moves for Jackson, Green


Houston at New Orleans, Friday, 7 p.m.



Damien Pierce
Rockets.com Staff Writer
HOUSTON -- The Rockets got the backcourt help and experience they were seeking for a push towards the NBA playoffs.

Before the NBA's trading deadline passed on Thursday, the Rockets made a pair of trades to acquire veteran point guard Bobby Jackson from the New Orleans Hornets and Gerald Green from the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Jackson arrives in the Bayou City after Houston shipped reserves Bonzi Wells and Mike James in a three-team deal to the Big Easy in exchange for rookie Adam Haluska and Jackson.

Seeking veteran help at the point guard spot, the Rockets made the trade in an effort to shore up their backcourt for the postseason. Jackson is expected to play behind starter Rafer Alston and provide a scoring boost of the bench.

"He's made a lot of big shots and been in a lot of big playoff games and deep playoff runs," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. "Except for Dikembe (Mutombo), he's probably the guy with the most playoff experience."

Jackson, who turns 35 in March, has been a key reserve throughout his career, earning the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award in 2003. He is averaging 6.8 points on 38.6 percent shooting this season after splitting backup duties with Janerro Pargo in New Orleans.

The 6-foot-1 point guard will be reunited with Rick Adelman after playing five seasons for the Rockets coach in Sacramento.

Jackson is expected to take Aaron Brooks' spot in the rotation, but Adelman noted that it wasn't because the Rockets are disappointed with the first-round pick's play.

"Bobby has always been a high-energy player off the bench," Adelman said. "It always helps when you're familiar with a player like him. By no means are we unhappy with Aaron or anything else. But (the deal) gives you a chance to have a player who's been through and had a lot of playoffs and had success. It seemed like a good fit."

The Rockets are hoping Jackson's familiarity with Adelman will help them make a strong push into the playoffs.

Houston (33-20) came into Thursday's game riding a season-best nine-game winning streak, but was still seventh in the Western Conference standings.

"He's been in the Western Conference war before," Alston said. "He's had his heart broken several times by the Lakers, but he's a guy that wants to win. He knows how to win and he's familiar with the system. That's great because he can help us more."

In order to make the deal work with the Hornets, the Rockets received a second-round pick in the 2008 NBA Draft and acquired the draft rights to Sergei Lishouk, a forward from Ukraine, from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies received the draft rights to Malick Badiane from Houston and Marcus Vinicius from New Orleans.

Besides making that swap, the Rockets reached a deal with Minnesota to bring Green to Houston. Green, a former NBA Slam Dunk champion from Houston's Gulf Shores Academy, arrives in exchange for reserve swingman Kirk Snyder, a 2010 second-round pick and cash considerations.

Morey said the two deals give the Rockets some financial flexibility to potentially add a free agent after the trading deadline.

"There are several guys that might shake loose," Morey said. "We have the ability to offer as much as most of the teams and we're a pretty attractive situation. These deals were not contingent on that. We thought these were the right deals whether that's true or not."

Green, 22, is returning home. The explosive forward was averaging 5.1 points on 33.3 percent shooting with Minnesota, but played in only 29 games.

Green had his best season in Boston before being included in a trade to Minnesota that sent Kevin Garnett to the Celtics. He averaged 10.4 points in 2006-07.

During the NBA's 2007 All-Star weekend, Green was crowned the league's slam dunk champion. He returned to the event this season, but finished second behind Orlando's Dwight Howard. Green had one dunk where he blew out a candle on a cupcake as he stuffed the ball through the rim.

"Gerald is someone I'm familiar with having him in Boston," said Morey, who was with the Celtics before joining the Rockets. "He was never really in Minnesota's plans. Here, he's going to have a tough time getting on the floor, but he's got as much raw ability as anyone out there. We have a coaching staff that does a tremendous job at bringing young players along so we'll get a real close at him if he's someone who can help us in the future."

Haluska, a second-round pick from Iowa, hasn't seen any action this season with the Hornets. The 6-foot-5 guard was the Big Ten's leading scorer last season with 20.5 points per game. He knocked down 36.3 percent of his shots from beyond the arc.

"He's a great guy," said Rockets rookie Carl Landry, who played against Haluska when he was at Purdue. "He's a great shooter. He works hard and he hustles. He's a great guy to be around. I'm glad that he's a part of this team."

Lishouk, a 6-foot-11 forward, is playing in the Ukrainian League for Azovmash Mariupol. He was selected by the Grizzlies in the second round of the 2004 NBA Draft, but has never played in the NBA.

The Rockets' three reserves in the deals -- Wells, James and Snyder -- are leaving Houston after receiving sporadic playing time.

Wells was the only one of the bunch in Houston's regular rotation. He was Houston's fourth-leading scorer with 9.2 points per game off the bench, but his minutes fluctuated throughout the season because of the emergence of Houston's rookies -- Luis Scola and Landry. Wells was averaging 22 minutes.

James appeared in 33 games after being acquired over the summer in a deal for Juwan Howard. He averaged 6.5 points on 35 percent shooting. Snyder, meanwhile, played in just nine games.

The trades leave the Rockets without a bigger shooting guard with size.

"It's going to change our rotation," Adelman said. "But we have the people here that we can succeed with."