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HOUSTON ROCKETS: ONE TRADE THAT EVERY TEAM SHOULD DO

One Trade That Every Team Should Do

Houston gets: PG/SG Goran Dragic, C Miles Plumlee
Pheonix gets: C Brook Lopez, Brooklyn's 2016 second-rounder
Brooklyn gets: SG Jason Terry, PF Terrence Jones, PF/C Brandan Wright, New Orleans' 2015 first-rounder
(via Houston)

Finances: Dragic is on an expiring deal, though technically he has a $7.5 million player option, and for someone of Dragic's caliber, that's going to be treated as an expiring deal. After Dragic declines his player option, Houston can only hope he wants to re-sign, though there is a good chance of that, which would cost them about $12-13 million a year. Lopez is on a pricey 2 year/$31.5 million deal, and Terry and Wright are on expiring contracts worth $6 and $5 million, respectively. PF Terrence Jones has potential, and is still on his rookie deal with about 2 years/$4 million remaining, an absolute steal. Plumlee is still on his rookie deal too, but it's only looking like a minor steal as he delivers a relatively disappointing season. Houston finds a cap-friendly solution to their hole at point guard in this trade.

The Fit: Though the Rockets give up their two main assets: Jones and the New Orleans first-rounder, they get exactly what they wanted for them: a star point guard. Dragic is one of the better floor generals in the whole league, as he's averaging 16 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 1.5 threes, and 1 steal a game, all while making half his shots. He turned in even better numbers last year, and a lineup of him, superstar SG James Harden, SF Trevor Ariza, PF Josh Smith, and superstar C Dwight Howard could become instant favorites to win a title. In addition, the Rockets also get Plumlee in this deal, who's a center full of upside that can also get them through Howard's latest injury. Averaging 4 points on 55% shooting, as well as 5 rebounds and a block in just 18.5 minutes per game, Plumlee can do just that. By pulling the trigger on this trade, Houston could make themselves instant favorites to win the title.

Why the other teams do it: For Brooklyn, this is the package of all packages for Lopez. No long-term money taken back, and they get two assets to help their future in the young, defensive stud Jones and New Orleans' pick. For a team with little interest of winning right away, this is a trade they can only dream of most of the time. For Pheonix, this is also a good deal. Dragic probably won't re-sign anyways, so getting this much value out of him and the disgruntled Plumlee is awesome. That value comes in the form of the future second-rounder, but mainly from star C Brook Lopez. A big body that can score down-low has been on the Suns' wish list for awhile now, and Lopez offers exactly that, averaging 15.5 points while making half his shots, as well as 81% from the charity stripe. He can also anchor a defense, as evidenced by his 1.7 blocks a game, though his rebounding leaves a lot to be desired, as 6 per contest just doesn't cut it for a 7 footer. This can be easily made up for by other big men in Pheonix's frontcourt, namely the emerging C/PF Alex Len. Though Lopez's deal is a little pricey, it isn't so bad and it expires quickly. Either way, getting a player of Lopez's caliber for assets that don't have a lot of value to Pheonix has to be considered a win.
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