"Though his answer may have sounded as if Hasheem Thabeet had been forced upon him, Rick Adelman meant it much more literally. Pretty soon, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey will likely know how his coach felt.

Asked whether Thabeet might receive playing time, Adelman caused a stir last week when he said, "I don't know what I'm supposed to do with him."

He did not know at the time what Thabeet might be able to contribute or even if he could. With the Rockets still clinging to hope of a playoff run and with more big men than available playing time anyway, Adelman was not ready to experiment with a second-year player who had struggled so greatly in Memphis.

Thabeet was not acquired to bolster the Rockets' late-season hopes. The Rockets were thinking more long-term, and Morey will face a dilemma likely more challenging than Adelman's.

The Grizzlies picked up the option on the third year of Thabeet's contract. The Rockets, however, will have to make a decision about a fourth season before the 2011-12 campaign begins.

With little playing time expected to offer evidence to consider, and a potential lockout likely to reduce off-season and possibly even the next preseason's workouts, Morey would have to take a significant leap of faith to guarantee not just next season, at $5.127 million, but the 2012-13 season at $6.471 million for the second player taken in the 2009 NBA draft."