The Rockets attempted to add the Nets to their four-team trade this week, hoping to acquire center DeAndre Jordan, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reveals in an Instagram video.
Brooklyn turned down the offer and elected to hold onto the veteran center, but Wojnarowski’s report indicates two things about the Rockets. The team may not have intended to fully commit to the small-ball approach it has used since trading away Clint Capela, and owner Tilman Fertitta was apparently willing to back up his statement that moves won’t be determined by the luxury tax.
Jordan makes $9.88MM this year and is signed for the next three seasons at a total cost of about $30MM. He’s coming off the bench for the Nets and averaging 7.9 points and 9.6 rebounds per night.
Because of how the trade was structured, the Rockets had the flexibility to add up to $12MM in salary before it was finalized. Fertitta gave general manager Daryl Morey the freedom to expand the deal, Wojnarowski adds, even though it would have cemented Houston as a taxpaying team.
Woj doesn’t say what the Rockets were offering the Nets in terms of players and draft picks.
Houston has the second fastest pace in the NBA, so I’m not sure Jordan was a good fit. Actually I can think of a center who would be a nice fit: Capela.
Ha! Exactly.
Jordan was part the Durant, KI package. Nets weren’t trading him regardless of the merits. Fertitta probably authorized taking on the salary because he knew this.
No way Nets were moving a guy who KD wanted on the team when he agreed to sign there.
The Nets signed Jordan allegedly because he was a fit and bff of Irving and Durant. What happened to that bogus narrative.
Considering they kept him, I don’t think it was that bogus. It’s like, I ask you for all your money and you say no, doesn’t mean you were lying about saving your money.
Excellent analogy, sir. One of the better ones I have seen on here.
Rockets dodged a bullet on this. Should’ve gone for Dedmon.
Dedmon over Jordan?!?!?
Yes. Dedmon can Rebound, defend the rim and shoot it.
Jordan can rebound, defend the rim and dunk it. And he does it better.
That makes almost Zero sense at all. Give up Capela who’s much better player for Jordon. Only value Jordon would have is he makes $4M less. Could have got a 1st back in a package for Thompson on an expiring contract to boot. Heck even Len back from the Hawks.
Strange Brew FO thinking.
Curious. Did they want to dump Capela?– his on/off is down, FT% is still poor, but he cut down fouling. No reason to doubt him, good stats, entrenched. Jordan would not add much, and the Nets would want something, and likely say no anyway.
Why undermine their small lineup conviction with this “leak”?– maybe Tristan is coming! (After a buyout)
From what I get her the Rockets felt Capela clogged the lane paint because he has no offensive game outside dunks and tip ins. This made driving off Harden passes difficult for Westbrook. Capela also did not rotate out on defense or get back against the break fast enough for their system.
Sorry for the continuation in another post but if you watched the playoffs and when we played the top teams Capela is a tweener, he was ineffective under the rim and outside paint. Power bigs pushed him around and smaller centers pulled him out and he couldn’t defend. Yes he gets rebounds but look at the number of 3s the Rockets jack up every night. Going to be lots of rebounds to get.
If the rockets were after Jordan, it was to flip him to another team (probably in the East). He doesn’t for what they’re trying to do, and advanced stats don’t like him anymore.
My guess is that Jordan was a piece they could have turned around and shipped to the Knicks (they wanted him this last season, and that’s a deal Mills would have loved).
Rockets did not want to move Capela, or at least there’s nothing to indicate they did. They needed to move him to get Covington.
Jordan would have been a good replacement for Capela, one of the few guys who had a salary that the Rockets could take back in this deal under the cap. TT and the other guys mentioned wouldn’t fit salary-wise into the deal. There are only a handful of guys that could replace Capela who would have.