Tag: Rodions Kurucs

Rockets agree to trade PJ Tucker to Bucks for DJ Wilson, DJ Augustin, draft assets

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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Victor Oladipo joins Rockets on road trip as trade becomes official

Oladipo was not active for Saturday’s game in San Antonio, but he could make his Houston debut on Monday night in Chicago.

The Houston Rockets announced Saturday that their original three-team trade with Brooklyn and Cleveland (centered around James Harden) was amended into a four-team trade involving Indiana. With that revision, two-time All-Star guard Victor Oladipo is officially a Rocket, along with guard Dante Exum and forward Rodions Kurucs.

Originally, the plan was for two separate trades, with the Rockets taking Exum, Kurucs, Caris LeVert, and draft considerations from Brooklyn and Cleveland before flipping LeVert (and a future second-round draft pick) to Indiana in a separate deal for Oladipo. By taking in LeVert, rather than Oladipo, in the Harden trade, Houston would have generated a slightly larger Traded Player Exception (TPE) for future use.

However, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic, Indiana took issue with something found in LeVert’s physical. To compensate for this, Brooklyn is sending them an extra second-round pick and cash considerations, which required Indiana’s inclusion in the original trade.

Houston did not have any cash to offer, since the Rockets already spent their full allotment for the 2020-21 league year as part of the offseason sign-and-trade arranagement with Detroit for Christian Wood. Also, the Rockets may have prioritized a future second-round pick over the slightly larger TPE, since many TPEs expire without being used.

With the revision, Houston’s TPE is worth approximately $10.65 million, as opposed to $15.45 million under the original construction of two separate trades. The TPE allows the Rockets to take in a salary of up to that amount in trades for up to one year without being subject to the NBA’s usual salary-matching rules (for teams above the salary cap).

In a picture shared on the team’s social media channels, Oladipo was seen joining his new Houston teammates in San Antonio. From the press release, here’s how the Rockets describe his NBA career:

Oladipo (6-4, 210) is in his eighth season and is a two-time All-Star.  In 430 career games with 370 starts, he is averaging 17.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.7 steals.  Over the past three seasons, he was the only player to have averaged at least 20.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.0 rpg, and 1.90 spg.  In 2017-18, Oladipo was named Most Improved Player, All-NBA Third Team, and All-Defensive First Team.

Oladipo was not activated in time for Saturday’s game, while Kurucs was. However, Houston coach Stephen Silas said pregame that he anticipated having more roster reinforcements by Monday’s game in Chicago, and presumably that would include Oladipo — who is not injured.

In what should be Oladipo’s debut, Monday’s tipoff between the Rockets and Bulls from United Center is set for 7:00 p.m. Central. Oladipo should start at shooting guard as the lineup replacement for Harden.

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Here is the projected rotation for the Rockets after trading James Harden

The Houston Rockets traded away 2018 NBA MVP James Harden in a blockbuster deal. But what will the new version of this team look like?

The Houston Rockets traded away 2018 NBA MVP James Harden in a blockbuster deal. But what will the new version of this team look like?

Under first-year head coach Stephen Silas, Houston will run their offense through John Wall and Christian Wood. They will also incorporate two-time NBA All-Star Victor Oladipo, who was acquired from the Indiana Pacers in the deal as well.

Overall, this move was more focused on the future than the present, as the Rockets landed a total of four unprotected first-rounders and four unprotected pick swaps.

There were also immediate financial implications considering, as noted by our own Yossi Gozlan, Houston went from $5.2 million over the luxury tax to $3.7 million under the tax. Houston can also generate a traded player exception worth $10.7 million if they want to continue tweaking this roster, per Gozlan.

Below, however, as what the rotation looks like for the Rockets after trading away their longtime superstar:

Here is the projected rotation for the Rockets after trading James Harden

The Houston Rockets traded away 2018 NBA MVP James Harden in a blockbuster deal. But what will the new version of this team look like?

The Houston Rockets traded away 2018 NBA MVP James Harden in a blockbuster deal. But what will the new version of this team look like?

Under first-year head coach Stephen Silas, Houston will run their offense through John Wall and Christian Wood. They will also incorporate two-time NBA All-Star Victor Oladipo, who was acquired from the Indiana Pacers in the deal as well.

Overall, this move was more focused on the future than the present, as the Rockets landed a total of four unprotected first-rounders and four unprotected pick swaps.

There were also immediate financial implications considering, as noted by our own Yossi Gozlan, Houston went from $5.2 million over the luxury tax to $3.7 million under the tax. Houston can also generate a traded player exception worth $10.7 million if they want to continue tweaking this roster, per Gozlan.

Below, however, as what the rotation looks like for the Rockets after trading away their longtime superstar:

Rockets trade James Harden to Brooklyn in deal landing Victor Oladipo, draft assets

The Rockets are getting two-time All-Star Victor Oladipo and significant future draft compensation in the trade sending Harden to Brooklyn.

One night after his brutal postgame remarks, the Houston Rockets are granting James Harden’s original wish of a trade to the Brooklyn Nets to join forces with close friend and former teammate Kevin Durant.

In a four-team trade involving the Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers, and Indiana Pacers, the biggest motivation for the Rockets is the four future first-round draft picks and four pick-swap rights that they are receiving (all unprotected). Those picks are Brooklyn’s first-round selections in 2022, 2024, and 2026; pick-swap rights from the Nets for 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027; and a 2022 first-round pick from Milwaukee (via Cleveland).

To absorb Harden’s $41.3-million contract, the Nets had to send out significant salaries (Caris LeVert, Jarrett Allen, and Taurean Prince) to make the deal permissible under the NBA’s collective bargaining agreement. However, the Rockets are not actually taking in any of those three players. Houston is redirecting Allen and Prince to Cleveland for Milwaukee’s draft pick and defensive-minded guard Dante Exum, presumably as salary filler at $9.6 million on an expiring contract.

The Rockets are also moving Levert to the Pacers for Oladipo, a two-time All-Star in 2018 and 2019. A versatile 6-foot-4 guard, Oladipo is averaging 20.0 points, 5.7 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 33.3 minutes per game this season, but he’s set to become a free agent this summer — which likely played a role in Indiana’s willingness to move him.

It isn’t yet clear if the Rockets have had discussions with Oladipo’s representatives about a potential extension, but for now, he should slide into Harden’s spot as the starting shooting guard next to John Wall.

The Rockets had said they wanted significant draft compensation and a “young franchise cornerstone” in any deal involving Harden, a perennial All-Star and MVP finalist, and it could be argued that they received it in this trade. At 28 years old, Oladipo is several years younger than the 31-year-old Harden, and the four unprotected future first-round picks and pick-swap rights are a significant haul for new GM Rafael Stone.

The Nets also sent Rodions Kurucs, a second-round pick in the 2018 NBA draft, to Houston as part of the massive transaction. In three NBA seasons, the lanky 6-foot-9 forward from Latvia has averaged 6.5 points (44.8% FG) and 3.4 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game.

It’s unclear when Oladipo, Kurucs, and Exum will be cleared to play for the Rockets, since the presence of four teams in the transaction will require a significant amount of physicals to be passed.

For the Rockets, though, it’s the end of an era — with Thursday’s game versus San Antonio representing the first time since April 2012 that Houston has played in the regular season without Harden on its roster.

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Rodions Kurucs’ brother among players who have withdrawn from 2020 NBA draft

Nearly two dozen basketball players from overseas withdrew their names from the pool of players eligible to be drafted into the NBA in 2020.

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Only 60 players can be selected each year in the NBA. Up until late Monday night, 109 players had declared for the 2020 NBA draft.

But now, that number has dipped down to 86 players with 23 deciding to withdraw their names. Of those 23 players, 21 are international prospects — one of which has a tie to the Brooklyn Nets.

Among the players to withdraw from the 2020 NBA draft was Rodions Kurucs’ younger brothers, Arturs.

The 6-foot-3, 20-year-old guard spent most of last season with VEF Riga of the Latvian Basketball League but changed clubs toward the end of 2019-20, now playing for TD Systems Baskonia of Liga ACB and the Euroleague.

After averaging 12.9 points per game on 44.5% shooting (40.4% from deep) in 40 games last season, Arturs Kurucs is off to a slow start in 2020-21. Through 15 games, the guard is barely averaging over one point per game on 31.8% shooting (15.4% from long-range) while only playing 7.1 minutes per game — over 20 fewer minutes per game than he averaged in 2019-20.

New trade proposal from The Athletic has John Collins joining Nets

Rodions Kurucs is part of another trade idea from The Athletic. This one delivers the Brooklyn Nets a standout forward from Atlanta.

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Brooklyn Nets general manager Sean Marks didn’t make any moves at the 2020 NBA trade deadline, but quite a few rumors involved the team still floated around.

Some teams inquired about Spencer Dinwiddie and the Houston Rockets reached out about DeAndre Jordan. Turns out the Nets contacted the New Orleans Pelicans about Jrue Holiday, though that didn’t surface until recently.

But there was a report involving the Nets reaching out to a team that did surface right around the 2020 deadline. Brooklyn contacted the Atlanta Hawks about John Collins.

Of course, nothing came of the deal in the end. However, it’s something Alex Schiffer and John Hollinger of The Athletic think is worth revisiting — because Collins was among the recent targets mentioned among their trade ideas for the Nets.

“Collins would be a good fit at power forward to complement DeAndre Jordan down low and would give the Nets a post player who can hit 3s and guard stretch-forwards, which they need badly,” Schiffer said. “Collins missed 25 games last season after violating the NBA’s anti-drug policy, but doesn’t have a worrisome injury history. A trade like the one above would deplete the depth behind Jordan, but new coach Steve Nash could get creative with Collins and use him as a smaller center in a five-out lineup.”

In The Athletic’s deal for Collins, Brooklyn would have to give up Jarrett Allen, Rodions Kurucs and the 2020 first-round pick the Nets received from the Philadelphia 76ers. Hollinger also mentioned Dinwiddie could be involved instead of the pick.

If the deal involved Dinwiddie, that’s too high a price. While Allen has quite a bit of upside, especially with Amar’e Soutdemire now on the coaching staff, Collins has been able to take greater advantage of his chance to grow in Atlanta. Allen can still be part of the solution in Brooklyn, but this has the makings of a good move for the Nets.

RELATED: The Athletic proposes deal that delivers Rudy Gay to Nets

The Athletic proposes deal that delivers Rudy Gay to Nets

If the San Antonio Spurs are looking to make some moves, there’s a deal they should consider making with the Brooklyn Nets.

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If the Brooklyn Nets do wind up making a move or two this offseason they’re certainly going to add proven veterans who can complement Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving. Brooklyn has several younger players who might be able to do the same, but those individuals could also serve as trade pieces to help bring in other players who the Nets feel are more of a sure thing.

Among the young players who could be moved are Taurean Prince and Rodions Kurucs.

Prince turned a lot of heads in last preseason, but then never managed to live up to the hype after quickly earning a two-year contract extension.

Kurucs’ sophomore got off to a rough start before it even began as the forward experienced troubles off the court. It wasn’t until the Disney bubble that he managed to find his flow again.

Alex Schiffer and John Hollinger of The Athletic think these two forwards paired together, along with a 2021 second-round draft pick could deliver Brooklyn a different forward who’s been in the league since 2007: the San Antonio Spurs’ Rudy Gay.

Schiffer points out Gay is in the final year of his deal with San Antonio, he’s coming off a year in which he shot 40.2% from deep and he “could be re-signed to a more team-friendly deal after next season if he proves to be a strong role player next to Durant and Irving.

“Gay has more potential to be an offensive fulcrum for the second unit than Prince does,” Hollinger writes, “and with the Nets in win-now mode, his age (34) shouldn’t be a big turn off.

“Come playoff time, the Nets could put together an interesting look with Gay and Durant as the ‘bigs’ and no true center. The Spurs actually fiddled with Gay at five during some of the bubble games. But for it to really pay off in the regular season, the Nets need to be cool with Durant and Gay playing the two forward spots at the same time, requiring one of them to defend 3s.”

Latest B/R trade proposal has Nets acquiring Buddy Hield for core piece

Bleacher Report continues to propose trade ideas for the Brooklyn Nets that involve one of their young core players.

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If the Nets don’t feel Jarrett Allen is part of the solution in Brooklyn, then this offseason may be the time to move on from the young big man. But that seems like a big “if.”

Yet, Blecher Report continues to include Allen’s name in their trade ideas that involve the Nets, the latest being a potential move between Brooklyn and the Sacramento Kings.

Grant Hughes of Bleacher Report proposed the Kings send Buddy Hield to Brooklyn in exchange for Jarrett Allen, Rodions Kurucs and Taurean Prince. Additionally, the Nets would get a 2022 second-round pick.

While adding a sharpshooter helps Brooklyn, this move is only great for the Nets if Joe Harris doesn’t stick around.

Brooklyn’s going to have a tough time finding another big who can protect the pain like Allen. And while Hield is an offensive upgrade as compared to Prince, the forward brings much more on the defensive end.

The Nets need perimeter shooting, but having wing defenders will also be important. Remember, Steve Nash has expressed that his focus right now is more on the defensive end — he knows the offense will come with this roster.

RELATED: B/R trade suggestion has Nets acquiring Blake Griffin, sending Spencer Dinwiddie back to Detroit

RELATED: B/R somehow thinks Joel Embiid to Brooklyn could happen

Nets 2019-20 season report card: Rodions Kurucs

With the Brooklyn Nets’ 2019-20 at an end, it’s time to look back at the good and the bad from the season in preparation for 2020-21.

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The 2020-21 Brooklyn Nets are going to look much different from the 2019-20 team with Kevin Durant returning to the floor, Kyrie Irving being his No. 2 and Steve Nash being the rookie who’ll run the show.

But that doesn’t mean — for all the weird things the franchise experienced — 2019-20 was a throwaway year for Brooklyn.

Nets Wire is looking at the good and bad from 2019-20 nd handing out some end of the season grades. Time to look back at the 2019-20 Brooklyn’s Latvian forward had:

Rodions Kurucs

STATS: 4.6 PPG | 2.9 RPG APG | 36.7 3PT%

As much as Kurucs had some impressive days in the Disney bubble, his second year in Brooklyn was not a step in the right direction.

Off-court trouble in offseason had Kurucs dealing with New York courts throughout the year as he spent more time playing for the Long Island Nets in the G League than he did as a rookie.

Kurucs can still hang, especially if he’s going to shoot around league average from long-range while continuing to bring his high energy. But, as the Nets look to tinker more with their roster heading into the start of the Steve Nash era, Kurucs’ future in Brooklyn is unclear.

GRADE: C-

2019-20 BROOKLYN Nets Report Cards

CARIS LEVERT
SPENCER DINWIDDIE
JARRETT ALLEN
JOE HARRIS
TAUREAN PRINCE
DEANDRE JORDAN
GARRETT TEMPLE
TIMOTHE LUWAWU-CABARROT
CHRIS CHIOZZA