Houston is taking in Wilson, Augustin, and Milwaukee’s first-round pick in the 2021 draft, along with an exchange of 2022 and 2023 picks.
The Houston Rockets agreed to trade PJ Tucker and Rodions Kurucs to the Milwaukee Bucks for forward DJ Wilson, guard DJ Augustin, and a vast array of draft considerations over the next three seasons.
Tucker, a longtime defensive stalwart for the Rockets, is in the final year of his contract and recently requested a trade after he wasn’t able to come to terms with the team on his desired contract extension. The Bucks will also offer the 35-year-old a chance to compete for his first NBA title, which Tucker couldn’t realistically do in Houston following the departure of superstar guard James Harden in January.
Per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, here’s what the Rockets are trading and receiving in exchange for a package headlined by Tucker:
Houston gets: DJ Augustin, DJ Wilson, Milwaukee’s lightly protected first-round draft pick in 2021, Milwaukee’s unprotected first-round draft pick in 2023
Milwaukee gets: PJ Tucker, Rodions Kurucs, Houston’s second-round draft pick in 2021, Milwaukee’s first-round draft pick in 2022 [which Houston had owned]
From a draft perspective, Houston is effectively bumping up its second-round pick in the 2021 draft to Milwaukee’s first-round position. The swap is protected if Milwaukee is in the top nine, but at 25-14, that is incredibly unlikely to happen — since the Bucks are currently No. 3 in the Eastern Conference, with over half the season already gone.
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The Rockets are also swapping Milwaukee’s 2022 first-round pick for one in 2023, which is unprotected. With the Bucks led by two-time MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo for the foreseeable future, general manager Rafael Stone likely wanted to push back that pick, since the delay allows more time for Milwaukee’s outlook to potentially worsen. There’s also the possibility that the 2023 draft might be stronger, since that could be the year that high schoolers are once again deemed draft-eligible.
As for the players Houston picked up, Augustin is a 33-year-old point guard who is under contract for approximately $7 million per year through the 2022-23 season. He’s averaging 6.1 points and 3.0 assists in 19.0 minutes per game this season, and at 38.0% on 3-pointers, he becomes Houston’s third-ranked shooter after Christian Wood and Sterling Brown. Augustin played college basketball at the University of Texas, which should make the transition to Houston an easy one for him.
While there isn’t a clear path to minutes for Augustin, since the Rockets have John Wall and Kevin Porter Jr. at point guard, Wall is currently out injured — and reports have indicated that he could undergo a knee scope later this season. That could provide Augustin with an opportunity.
The 5-foot-11 guard could also be traded again before the March 25 deadline, since the rebuilding Rockets (11-27) aren’t prioritizing veterans at the moment. However, since Augustin’s contract can’t be aggregated with others for 60 days following this deal, it would appear more likely for him to become a trade candidate in the offseason.
As for Wilson, he’s an athletic 6-foot-10 forward who is currently averaging 3.6 points and 2.1 rebounds in 8.8 minutes per game. A first-round pick in the 2017 draft, the 25-year-old is in his fourth NBA season and is likely to enter restricted free agency this offseason.
Since the Rockets don’t have much in the way of proven production behind Christian Wood at center, Wilson could get an opportunity late in the 2020-21 season to showcase his value after being buried on the Milwaukee bench for much of his tenure there.
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