The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thunder completed a big trade – at least numbers-wise – on Thursday evening involving eight players and a 2025 second-round pick.
ESPN Sources: The Oklahoma City Thunder are trading Derrick Favors, Ty Jerome, Moe Harkless, Theo Maledon and a 2025 second-round pick via Atlanta to the Houston Rockets for David Nwaba, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquese Chriss.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 30, 2022
The move comes as NBA training camps have opened and preseason is set to begin. On paper, the deal appears to be a lateral move for both teams.
The biggest name involved in the Rockets/Thunder trade is Derrick Favors who may still have some value as a backup center or as an expiring contract at the trade deadline.
The Rockets also pick up a potential long-term project in Theo Maledon who could be part of their rebuild.
For the Thunder, none of the players they received in the deal seem to fit with their plans either immediately or long-term. They are also immersed in a rebuild and have given priority to developing their young talent.
On paper, Trey Burke had been a somewhat productive backup guard with the Dallas Mavericks but it’s unclear if he’d have a role with the Thunder.
Taking a closer look, the true target for both teams appears to be cap-related.
On the Houston Rockets end, they receive a second-round pick via the Atlanta Hawks in exchange for taking on an extra $1 million in salary.
For the Oklahoma City Thunder, they receive a couple of trade exceptions while shedding enough salary to drop $10 million under the luxury tax.
Cap-centric deal for both teams: Thunder gain two trade exceptions and drop about $10M under luxury tax. Rockets get a second-round pick for taking on $1M in salary. Favors will have value as a backup center, or elsewhere on a trade in marketplace too. https://t.co/k8zpgthwOh
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) September 30, 2022
Regarding the second-round pick acquired by the Rockets, it is protected 31-40. Should that not work out, Houston would have the ability to choose from the second-best 2026 second-round pick between the Thunder, Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers.
Sources: Houston's newly acquired 2025 2nd-round pick via Atlanta is protected 31-40. If that doesn't convey, the Rockets would get the second best 2026 2nd-rounder between Dallas, OKC and Philly.
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) September 30, 2022
As it stands, both teams will still have to make roster moves in order to cut down to the maximum number of players allowed on the roster to start the season.
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