As part of the box office trade that James Harden sends to Brooklyn, the Houston Rockets take Victor Oladipo from Indiana, Dante Exum from Cleveland and Rodions Kurucs from the Nets.
As for the places on the list, that means three players come in and only one comes out, which would put the Rockets above the NBA limit. So someone else should opt for the job to be legal and it looks like someone will be Bruno Caboclo, a 25-year-old man.
Per Jonathan’s figs of the Houston Chronicle, the Rockets will give up Caboclo Thursday before the trade ends.
Caboclo, who re-signed with Houston during the offseason, had only played on mop-up service since the return of veteran center DeMarcus Cousins in his 40s. Between Cousins, starter Christian Wood and the smaller formations with Jae’Sean Tate or PJ Tucker in the center, there didn’t seem to be any way to Caboclo to break Stephen Silas ’rotation. At 6 feet-9 and nearly 230 pounds, Kurucs could also fit into that equation.
In six games this season, Caboclo averaged 2.8 points (47.1% FG) and 2.3 rebounds in 6.0 minutes. His minimum wage would not have been fully guaranteed until February 27th, so the launch of Caboclo also helps the Rockets stay below the wage cap and luxury tax thresholds.
A fitting end to an era. The Rockets traded James Harden to Brooklyn in a multi-team deal, getting Oladipo and selecting. (With update of the next modification of tomorrow’s list.) Https://t.co/0aweTMXOMs
– Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) January 14, 2021