NBA Trade Rumors: Houston Rockets Orchestrate Large Four Team Trade

A massive trade might just go down, and the trade deadline is making it all the more exciting. Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN reported that a four-team trade agreement is in the talks. Initially, Wojnarowski reported that the deal includes the Denver Nuggets, the Houston Rockets, the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Atlanta Hawks.

The Golden State Warriors were supposed to be part of the deal but they backed off recently.

In a recent report, Wojranowski updates imply that the Warriors will not be a part of the four-way trade. The Houston Rockets, the Minnesota Timberwolves and Atlanta Hawks are going steady.

Shams Charania of The Athletic first reported that the four clubs were close to reaching a deal.

The Trade Rumors: Four Way

Recently, it was revealed that the Atlanta Hawks were searching for a center in the trade market. The Rockets’ Clint Capela looked like a good fit. Similarly, the Housten Rockets had shown interest in forward Robert Covington.

The four teams: the Nuggets, the Rockets, the Timberwolves and the Hawks, have the capacity to fulfil each other’s needs. Adrian Wojranowski revealed that this trade is a 12-player trade. The biggest one since the Knicks moved Patrick Ewing to Seattle in 2000.

According to Wojnarowski, the deal has gone down. The players are currently being informed.

Houston Rockets: How This Would Work

The Houston Rockets get their man in Robert Covington He is a three-and-D specialist who is on a team-friendly contract that’s worth $11.3MM this season and runs through 2021/22.

The Rockets gave up two valuable assets in Capela and their 2020 first-round pick to bring in Covington, Bell, and a second-round pick. By moving Nene and Green in the deal, the team will also move well below the luxury-tax line, which would be a favourable outcome for ownership — while Tilman Fertitta has claimed to have signed off on the club being a taxpayer, it looks like this could be the second straight season that the Rockets sneak out of the tax at the deadline.

Wojranowski emphasised the structure of the deal would allow Houston to take back up to another $12MM in salary. So until the trade is made official, there’s a window for the Rockets to potentially get another team and player involved. If they find a suitable target, agree on compensation, and are willing to go back into the tax they can complete their roster.

The Rockets will get Robert Covington, Clint Capela and Nene will go to the Hawks. Minnesota Timberwolves will get Malik Beasley, Juancho Hernangomenz and Evan Turner from the Hawks, ATL 1st round pick via Nets. The Denver Nuggets will get Gerald Green, Houston FRP.

Bell could play some minutes at the five, but the Rockets will remain on the lookout. They need a more reliable replacement for Capela. They can get this either via a trade or on the buyout market.

The move will reduce the Rockets’ roster count to 13 players on standard contracts, so the team will have two weeks to get back up to the NBA’s required minimum of 14 players.

How this affects the other three teams involved.

The Denver Nuggets were seeking a first-round pick for Beasley and a second-round pick for Hernangomez, their two restricted-free-agents-to-be. They won’t quite meet that asking price.They will, however, get the first-rounder they were looking for, acquiring Houston’s 2020 pick in the deal.

Several centers have been linked to the Atlanta Hawks. They have reportedly expressed interest in Andre Drummond, Steven Adams, and Dewayne Dedmon. In recent days, the club appeared to be zeroing in on Capela, a big man whose rim-running ability will complement Trae Young on offense and whose rim-protecting ability could help bail out Young on defense.

The Warriors were preferred by the Timberwolves so that they could acquire Russell. They will, however, get a handful of intriguing assets in exchange for Covington. They will also get several low-cost role players (Bell, Bates-Diop, Napier, and Vonleh).

Four-Way trades are rare and complex in the NBA, however, the results of this one will be intriguing.