Daryl Morey Works His Magic At Trade Deadline Yet Again
The Rockets are now poised to be in a great position in what will be a loaded buyout market.
What a wacky trade deadline this NBA season brought us. From DeMarcus Cousins to Serge Ibaka, big names were shipped out. Meanwhile, Daryl Morey made some small moves that may be just as crucial moving forward.
Our own Duncan Smith covered the Rockets pickup of Lou Williams brilliantly, so I won’t elaborate on that trade. All you have to know is that I am a big fan of it.
However, Morey wasn’t done there. The Rockets look like a clear winner of the deadline by losing three players and first round pick in exchange for just one player in return. How you might ask? Well let’s take a closer look.
The first move Morey made came with about 30 minutes left in the 2017 trade season. K.J. McDaniels was shipped out to Brooklyn for what will most likely be a heavily protected second round pick that will convey beyond 2020.
It was clear what the real goal for the Rockets today: creating cap space. By trading away McDaniels’ $3.3 million salary, the Rockets automatically became serious players in the buyout market. As Kevin Pelton points in his trade analysis (Insider required), among the top four teams in both conferences only the Boston Celtics can also offer a free agent more than the minimum.
For the Nets, this was a low-risk move. Brooklyn can now see what McDaniels can truly provide in consistent minutes, and with his contract being a team option for next season, the Nets can simply cut loose with the guard for little to no cost.
McDaniels’ lack of shooting ultimately doomed him in Houston, especially when Mike D’Antoni took over as coach. However, McDaniels can still provide solid defense and is a very athletic. This move was a win-win for both teams.
Now, Morey still wasn’t done dealing by this point. With less than ten minutes left before the deadline, the Rockets traded Tyler Ennis to the Lakers (hello old friend Magic Johnson!) in exchange for Marcelo Huertas, who will be waived.
With that move, Morey cleared $3,538,201 million in cap space according to Sportrac. That is enough money to obtain the services of two quality free agents once the dust of the trade deadline settles.
Again, Ennis received little to no playing time once Patrick Beverley returned to the lineup in November, and even during his extended minutes in the first two weeks of the season Ennis failed to show any promise of him becoming a quality rotation player.
For the Lakers, Ennis is another young guard they can try and work with, and giving up the 33 year old Huertas is a low price to pay for such an experiment.
Moving forward, all eyes turn to the buyout market, which should be filled with several quality players, headlined by Andrew Bogut. Bogut is apparently drawing serious interest from numerous contenders, so obtaining his services won’t be easy.
There are also players such as Matt Barnes, Jarret Jack, and Mario Chalmers that should draw interest from playoff teams. The Rockets could still use a wing defender and a rim protector/rebounder, but instead of attempting to use the little remaining assets the team had left, Morey smartly turned his attention to the buyout market.
The two trades Morey made today will barely get a read on the SportsCenter ticker, but could prove crucial to the Rockets’ playoff chances through obtaining quality players on the buyout market. All hail Daryl Morey, yet again.
