The Rockets have signed 30-year old center Samuel Dalembert to a 2-year deal. Dalembert played in 80 games (46 starts) for the Kings last year and he averaged 24.2 minutes, 8.1 points, 8.2 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. He has now played in 662 games (537 starts) in his NBA career and he is averaging 26.1 minutes, 8.1 points, 8.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.9 blocked shots. This was an excellent signing for the Rockets as Dalembert will give them rebounding and shot blocking in the middle.

The Rockets have signed 25-year old forward Jeff Adrien to a 2-year deal. Adrien played in 23 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Golden State Warriors last year and he averaged 8.5 minutes, 2.5 points, 2.5 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He is a high energy player, who will likely inspire the other players on the team when he’s on the court.

The Houston Rockets have claimed 23-year old point guard Jeremy Lin off waivers from the Warriors. Lin played in 29 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Warriors last year and he averaged 9.8 minutes, 2.6 points, 1.2 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals per game. Lin only shot 38.9% as a rookie last year. The Rockets are very deep at point guard with Kyle Lowry, Goran Dragic and Jonny Flynn ahead of Lin on the depth chart.

UPDATE: (12/27/2011) - The Rockets have waived Jeremy Lin and he has been claimed by the Knicks.

The number one need for the Rockets after the lockout is lifted is a starting center. They could look to sign a free agent, but those are going to be pricey. They might try to make a deal using some of their younger players in an effort to acquire a legit center. Hopefully this will be the year that the Rockets break the streak of being the best team not to make the playoffs.

30-year old center Yao Ming has decided to retire from the NBA after all of the injuries he has suffered. Yao played in 5 games (all starts) with the Rockets last year and he averaged 18.2 minutes, 10.2 points, 5.4 rebounds, 0.8 assists and 1.6 blocked shots per game. He played in 486 games (476 starts) in his 8 years with the Rockets and he averaged 32.5 minutes, 19.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.9 blocked shots per game. He retires in 10th place in Rockets’ history in games played with 486 of them. He is also #4 in rebounds (3,261), #2 in blocked shots (920) and #6 in points (9,247) in Rockets’ history.