HoopsHype’s Michael Scotto and Yossi Gozlan recently previewed the NBA’s looming Feb. 10 trade deadline. Their analysis on the latest edition of the HoopsHype podcast includes potential trades for the Lakers, Celtics, Bulls, Hawks, Rockets, Clippers, Thunder, and Mavericks.
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The Rockets (12-31) entered Thursday with the worst record in the Western Conference and with a clear emphasis on developing young prospects like Jalen Green and Alperen Sengun. Thus, they are viewed as one of a limited number of NBA teams who are already determined to be deadline sellers, particularly for veteran players. Here are some snippets of their conversation, as it pertains to Houston (19:13).
Scotto: Some playoff-caliber teams are monitoring Eric Gordon and Daniel Theis with the Houston Rockets, given where they are in the standings, as guys they could potentially sell.
Gordon, when healthy, has still shown an ability to score and shoot the ball. Theis, what he brings to a team are the intangibles with things like screen assists, doing the dirty work like boxing out, etc. He’s a winner and showed that in Boston. There are playoff-caliber teams that would like to acquire both of these guys.
Gozlan: Despite how Theis’ experience in Houston hasn’t worked out, I still think he’s on a good deal, and there should be other teams that should have interest in him. Same with Gordon. He only has one more guaranteed year left on his deal and has remained good and more efficient on less volume shooting.
Gordon averages 14.8 points and 3.4 assists in 29.2 minutes this season, and he’s shooting a career-high 50.0% from the field and 45.2% on 3-pointers. Gordon is also a capable defensive player, which makes him an attractive “3&D” wing option for playoff teams. Theis has averaged 8.7 points (47.5% FG) and 5.1 rebounds in 23.1 minutes.
Gordon has the larger contract by annual value, at approximately $19 million per season, but it’s also shorter in length, and he’s clearly the more productive player. Gordon’s contract will run out after next season (2022-23) unless his team wins the NBA championship in either of the next two years, in which case an extra season would be triggered.
Theis’ deal runs through 2023-24 with a team option for 2024-25, but it’s at a lower annual amount of below $9 million per season, on average.
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