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Rockets sign Pittman for stretch run after giving up on Smith, Camby returns

Spruce Derden / USA Today Sports

The Houston Rockets had to find a Plan C.

Plan A was to hope that injured big man Greg Smith would be able to return from a knee injury in time for the playoffs. When that wasn't going to happen, the team waived Smith. It's nothing personal - he was set to be a restricted free agent this summer, anyway - Houston just needed a roster spot.

Plan B was Marcus Camby, who signed with Houston in the offseason after being bought out by the Raptors. He suffered a torn plantar fascia in the preseason and was subsequently released, but the team was hoping he'd be able to make a return by now. That's not happening either.

Enter Dexter Pittman, who the team signed on Thursday out of the D-League.

"We were holding on as long as we could," Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said. “We wanted Greg to come back healthy. We thought that was our best option, but at this point, it looks like he will miss the season. We needed to have someone who could play the five against certain lineups if Dwight or Omer would take an injury. Dexter right now is the best 5 in the D-League, we think."

The Rockets had the open roster spot and the stated need for a third center on the roster entering the playoffs. Pittman is playoff eligible because he was not on an NBA roster on March 1, though he did spend two games with Atlanta in late February.

The 6-foot-11 Pittman has played in 50 NBA games for three teams over four seasons, averaging 2.3 points and 1.8 rebounds. In 28 D-League games this season, he averaged 19.2 points, 12.1 rebounds and three blocks, shooting 57.7 percent from the floor.

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