Houston Rockets: What the Robert Covington trade with Portland means

There have been numerous rumblings coming out of the Houston Rockets. The trade of Robert Covington to the Portland Trail Blazers is the first move.

The Houston Rockets appear to be in a massive state of upheaval. Both their superstar guards have requested a trade to get out of town. Also, P.J. Tucker has also expressed his displeasure with his contract all season.

This means that the Rockets need to start shedding contracts in an effort to start rebuilding. The first move towards this is trading Robert Covington to the Portland Trail Blazers in return for Trevor Ariza and two first-round draft picks per Adrian Wojnarowski.

Due to NBA rules they are not able to trade first-round picks in consecutive drafts, this deal will not be finalized until draft night. The Trail Blazers will select on behalf of the Rockets and then trade the picks draft rights.

The implications of the trade for the Houston Rockets

With the Rockets being in such bad shape they need to start shedding longer term, large deals. Before the trade, they had $130 million in committed salary. This is with only 10 players signed for next season.

The Rockets would have been well over the $132.6 million luxury tax apron once they finalized their 2020-21 roster. With their owners’ finances in question, this was an untenable situation for a team that is imploding and would not be competitive.

Covington has two years left on his deal, next season is worth $12.1 million, and the final year is worth $12.9 million. This is a lot of money to commit to a 3-and-D player who will help a team win but is not a star.

Covington is a tremendous floor spacer, being a career 35.6 percent shooter from beyond the 3-point arc. His all-around game is more complementary to a team than one to build around. He can play multiple positions, doing what the team needs.

However, what the Rockets got back in Trevor Ariza was a non-guaranteed contract. He is due $12.8 million f the team chooses to take up his deal. However, if they do not decide to guarantee him, Ariza is only due $1.8 million. This is huge for a team about to enter a rebuild.

On top of this, the Rockets got back into the first round of the next two drafts. They traded their 2020 first-round pick when they acquired Covington. This trade actually moves them up the draft board from where they would have been with their own pick.

The Denver Nuggets hold pick 22 in the draft which would have been the Rockets had they not have traded it. Due to the Blazers finishing lower in the standings last season the Rockets get the 16th pick.

They traded the 2021 pick to the OKC Thunder with Chris Paul during the Russell Westbrook trade. With the Rockets most probably conducting a fire sale, this means that they will be able to get another young asset in the 2021 draft to help their rebuild.

With most of the starting unit wanting out of Houston, the Rockets are looking to shed salary and add draft picks as quickly as possible. If they can do it, they are going to make plenty more moves before the draft to free up cap space before free agency.