I said the same when they face a team like LA with Javelle, DH, AD up front or MIL with the Lopez brothers and Freak. They have to be looking for a big Tyson and Hartenstein aren't enough with D'Ants having not played them recently. They left some salary wiggle room, so this trade was constructed with the idea they could make an additional move. Morey is aggressive, I wish I could say the same about Knicks them having made 3 trades since 2017.
Trade Deadline News
- Thread starter mafra
- Start date
Straight from Woj, which means it?s real, Lakers and Clippers are competing with each other to get Marcus Morris. Both teams want him and more importantly, losing out on him means likely having him go to their LA rival.
No wonder Dolan finally realized Mills was a dumbass. How could you not try to take advantage of a situation like this?
No wonder Dolan finally realized Mills was a dumbass. How could you not try to take advantage of a situation like this?
And give up the dream of bringing the Ball family to NYC to torment Dolan? No way!
Lavar for the next GM. lol.
mafra
Legend
Lavar and Dolan would be awesome!
Breakdown of that 12 player trade that went down. Watching the Rox, I'm thinking is D'Antoni the offensive genius I've heard him described as by multiple players or is he just plain crazy. His line up is the ultimate test of the small ball 3 pt shooting lineup that so many here hate, I don't think they have enough horses to win it all but they should be fun to watch.
The revolution is here. Centerless basketball baby!
On a night when the Houston Rockets once again played virtually the entire game without a true big man (Isaiah Hartenstein’s three minutes were the only ones played by a player taller than 6-6), while launching 60 3-pointers in a 120-111 win over Charlotte, the front office went all-in on its unusual strategy.
The Rockets traded centers Clint Capela and Nene to Atlanta in a four-team, 12-player trade (for now – it can still get bigger!) that brought back Robert Covington and Jordan Bell from Minnesota and also sent out injured wing Gerald Green, pending his approval of the trade. We’ll talk more about the other three teams in a bit, but let’s focus on the big story first.
This is a revolution, people. Mike D’Antoni already created one with “seven seconds or less” in Phoenix, but this is next-level. In a way, Houston’s early-season struggles while playing a more traditional lineup have been liberating, paving the way for D’Antoni to experiment with P.J. Tucker at center.
And now we’re here: A full 48-minutes of five-out basketball, with nobody even remotely resembling a traditional NBA big man on the court. The Rockets will throw double teams and assorted junk defenses at the league’s elite bigs (this is you, Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis) and bet they’ll more than make up for it at the offensive end. The hope, too, is that an open middle of the floor can further weaponize Russell Westbrook, who has played much better in January after a shaky start in Houston.
Covington has his weaknesses. He gambles a lot defensively, can’t create off the dribble and hasn’t been quite as good in Minnesota as he was in Philadelphia.
That said, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more perfect system fit for what the Rockets are trying to do. Covington cut his teeth playing this exact style for the Rockets’ G-League team in Rio Grande Valley before the Sixers scooped him up, and played in a fairly similar system in his first few seasons in Philly. (That Rio Grande Valley team, incidentally, was probably the best in G-League history until us NBA guys came in and plucked all the best players — it had Covington, James Johnson, Chris Johnson, Troy Daniels and Isaiah Canaan).
Covington launches early and often from the 3-point line, which in Houston’s system matters almost as much as whether they actually go in (he makes a solid 35.8% career). At 6-7, he’s a capable multi-positional defender with great hands and a knack for steals and doesn’t need to play with the ball in his hands. He provides another high-level 3-and-D guy for the Rockets to place around James Harden and Westbrook.
Additionally, Covington has a great contract — two years left after this one at a total of $25 million. Capela’s wasn’t bad either, but the savings of roughly $5 million a year (including incentives) matter at the margins of the tax line, where the Rockets will be operating for the foreseeable future. It could bring the full midlevel exception back into play for the Rockets this coming summer, for instance.
The only question is whether Covington can play some center. Tucker is strong enough to bang with most NBA 5s and at least fare well enough that the Rockets can make opposing bigs pay for it at the other end. It’s not clear if the wiry Covington has that kind of muscle.
Houston got Bell back from Minnesota, and he could provide a bit of a rim running and shot-blocking presence, but Bell is undersized, mistake-prone and can’t shoot. The expectation is that the Rockets will try to cover their flank by adding another true 5.
The trade wasn’t cheap. The Rockets once again surrendered their first-round pick, an expensive way to engender a swap of two players who on paper have roughly equal value, but this will be a pick in the 20s in a weak draft. Houston also softened the blow by getting back a second-round pick in 2024 from Golden State.
This being Houston, there was a financial component to the deal as well — it took Houston out of the luxury tax, and likely makes it easier for the Rockets to stay under next season as well. The Rockets cut an impressive $6 million from their cap number this season, or potentially more if Capela had earned $1.5 million in incentive bonuses. The Rockets, in fact, could add another player making $5.7 million or less into the deal and still stay below the tax line. Houston also has two open roster spots to pursue talent in the buyout market.
Houston also generated three small trade exceptions — $3,595,333 for Capela, $2,564,733 for Nene, and $1,620,564. Getting Nene off their books wipes away a rare offseason botch by the Houston front office, when the league disallowed using the contract as a $10 million trade exception.
Big picture, I have no idea if this will work. But this is the most revolutionary move that’s been made in the NBA in a long time, and it’s gonna be fun as hell to see how it turns out. Make no mistake: It could change the entire league.
As for the other three teams, it was a pretty interesting day for them as well:
The revolution is here. Centerless basketball baby!
On a night when the Houston Rockets once again played virtually the entire game without a true big man (Isaiah Hartenstein’s three minutes were the only ones played by a player taller than 6-6), while launching 60 3-pointers in a 120-111 win over Charlotte, the front office went all-in on its unusual strategy.
The Rockets traded centers Clint Capela and Nene to Atlanta in a four-team, 12-player trade (for now – it can still get bigger!) that brought back Robert Covington and Jordan Bell from Minnesota and also sent out injured wing Gerald Green, pending his approval of the trade. We’ll talk more about the other three teams in a bit, but let’s focus on the big story first.
This is a revolution, people. Mike D’Antoni already created one with “seven seconds or less” in Phoenix, but this is next-level. In a way, Houston’s early-season struggles while playing a more traditional lineup have been liberating, paving the way for D’Antoni to experiment with P.J. Tucker at center.
And now we’re here: A full 48-minutes of five-out basketball, with nobody even remotely resembling a traditional NBA big man on the court. The Rockets will throw double teams and assorted junk defenses at the league’s elite bigs (this is you, Nikola Jokic and Anthony Davis) and bet they’ll more than make up for it at the offensive end. The hope, too, is that an open middle of the floor can further weaponize Russell Westbrook, who has played much better in January after a shaky start in Houston.
Covington has his weaknesses. He gambles a lot defensively, can’t create off the dribble and hasn’t been quite as good in Minnesota as he was in Philadelphia.
That said, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more perfect system fit for what the Rockets are trying to do. Covington cut his teeth playing this exact style for the Rockets’ G-League team in Rio Grande Valley before the Sixers scooped him up, and played in a fairly similar system in his first few seasons in Philly. (That Rio Grande Valley team, incidentally, was probably the best in G-League history until us NBA guys came in and plucked all the best players — it had Covington, James Johnson, Chris Johnson, Troy Daniels and Isaiah Canaan).
Covington launches early and often from the 3-point line, which in Houston’s system matters almost as much as whether they actually go in (he makes a solid 35.8% career). At 6-7, he’s a capable multi-positional defender with great hands and a knack for steals and doesn’t need to play with the ball in his hands. He provides another high-level 3-and-D guy for the Rockets to place around James Harden and Westbrook.
Additionally, Covington has a great contract — two years left after this one at a total of $25 million. Capela’s wasn’t bad either, but the savings of roughly $5 million a year (including incentives) matter at the margins of the tax line, where the Rockets will be operating for the foreseeable future. It could bring the full midlevel exception back into play for the Rockets this coming summer, for instance.
The only question is whether Covington can play some center. Tucker is strong enough to bang with most NBA 5s and at least fare well enough that the Rockets can make opposing bigs pay for it at the other end. It’s not clear if the wiry Covington has that kind of muscle.
Houston got Bell back from Minnesota, and he could provide a bit of a rim running and shot-blocking presence, but Bell is undersized, mistake-prone and can’t shoot. The expectation is that the Rockets will try to cover their flank by adding another true 5.
The trade wasn’t cheap. The Rockets once again surrendered their first-round pick, an expensive way to engender a swap of two players who on paper have roughly equal value, but this will be a pick in the 20s in a weak draft. Houston also softened the blow by getting back a second-round pick in 2024 from Golden State.
This being Houston, there was a financial component to the deal as well — it took Houston out of the luxury tax, and likely makes it easier for the Rockets to stay under next season as well. The Rockets cut an impressive $6 million from their cap number this season, or potentially more if Capela had earned $1.5 million in incentive bonuses. The Rockets, in fact, could add another player making $5.7 million or less into the deal and still stay below the tax line. Houston also has two open roster spots to pursue talent in the buyout market.
Houston also generated three small trade exceptions — $3,595,333 for Capela, $2,564,733 for Nene, and $1,620,564. Getting Nene off their books wipes away a rare offseason botch by the Houston front office, when the league disallowed using the contract as a $10 million trade exception.
Big picture, I have no idea if this will work. But this is the most revolutionary move that’s been made in the NBA in a long time, and it’s gonna be fun as hell to see how it turns out. Make no mistake: It could change the entire league.
As for the other three teams, it was a pretty interesting day for them as well:
mafra
Legend
The Knicks are asking for Danny Green as the salary filler in a potential Lakers deal, according to Brad Turner of The Los Angeles Times, with the idea that they could redirect Green elsewhere for more assets. In a trade with the Clippers, the Knicks would like young shooting guard Landry Shamet.
Clueless Mills/Perry dont need to be in the NBA ....
Strong-Island NY Danny Green were a FA in the offseason !!!
mafra
Legend
So, for the same amount of cap space we used to sign Portis.... MEM got a first to absorb a pick then get Winslow to flip Iggy.
A 1st and Winslow vs Portis on a 1 year deal? Hmm....
mafra
Legend
Morris not made available to media after practice.... a sure sign he?s a goner.
Perry has a few offers on the table... just a matter of which LA team blinks first.
Will Lakers toss in Green with Kuzma? It can?t be a straight up swap bc of contracts... so either they toss in DG or find a third team.
Will LAC toss in Shamet? We don?t want the 29th pick and an expiring contract....
Another team jumps in?
AI going to MIA a Big help for NYK. LAK wants a floor spacer who can play defense on KL. This isn?t K-Love. They both need and want MM and also want to block the other team from getting MM.
So... using deadline as leverage.... Let?s make some deals...
Perry has a few offers on the table... just a matter of which LA team blinks first.
Will Lakers toss in Green with Kuzma? It can?t be a straight up swap bc of contracts... so either they toss in DG or find a third team.
Will LAC toss in Shamet? We don?t want the 29th pick and an expiring contract....
Another team jumps in?
AI going to MIA a Big help for NYK. LAK wants a floor spacer who can play defense on KL. This isn?t K-Love. They both need and want MM and also want to block the other team from getting MM.
So... using deadline as leverage.... Let?s make some deals...
SSj4Wingzero
All Star
Yeah that's the way to go.
If Perry can come out of this with Landry Shamet and the Clippers' first rounder, I'd say that's a huge win.
Dark Raider
Starter
Where does Kuzma fit in regard to this team? Not a good fit. This is FO grabbing after straws because they are drowning. The player we should have gotten from the Lakers is now a Pelicans. Ingram would have fit well with Knox and MPJ but this FO doesn't have any vision. Just imagine a lineup with Ingram, Knox and MPJ with Frank and MRob.
mafra
Legend
Karl-Anthony Towns voiced his frustration with the current direction of the Timberwolves organization following Minnesota's 13th consecutive loss on Wednesday.
"I've been losing for a long time. I'm not trying to do that $#*! anymore," KAT said. "So every possession means a lot. You obviously see my patience running low with a lot of things. There are no excuses. We gotta get it done." Management is unlikely to deal KAT this season with him being in the first year of a five-year deal, and it seems unlikely that they'll be able to acquire D'Angelo Russell at the deadline, so things probably won't get any better for Towns in the immediate future.
"I've been losing for a long time. I'm not trying to do that $#*! anymore," KAT said. "So every possession means a lot. You obviously see my patience running low with a lot of things. There are no excuses. We gotta get it done." Management is unlikely to deal KAT this season with him being in the first year of a five-year deal, and it seems unlikely that they'll be able to acquire D'Angelo Russell at the deadline, so things probably won't get any better for Towns in the immediate future.