Houston Rockets Report: Team Has Traded K.J. McDaniels To Brooklyn Nets
We’re less than half an hour before the trade deadline of 2 p.m. CST and the Houston Rockets have made a move.
We’re less than half an hour before the trade deadline of 2 p.m. CST and the Houston Rockets have made move.
Yes, the move to add Lou Williams to the roster will be signed, sealed and delivered shortly but another one has been made.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of the Vertical, the Houston Rockets have traded K.J. McDaniels to the Brooklyn Nets:
Houston has traded K.J. McDaniels to the Brooklyn Nets, league sources tell @TheVertical.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 23, 2017
This was an expected move for the Houston Rockets as he was the odd man out in the rotation, only playing in garbage time.
He seemed to fit awkwardly in the Mike D’Antoni‘s offense so sending him to Nets was good move for both sides.
He’ll definitely get the playing time he needs as the Nets are 9-47 and are not even close to having any type of playoff aspirations.
Here’s another nugget that Woj dropped behind the initial news of the trade:
Unloading McDaniels to the Nets frees $3M in cap space to use on the buyout market for Houston.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 23, 2017
That’s a little over $3 million in cap space that the Rockets have to work with.
If the Houston Rockets are trying to free up that much money in cap space, then obviously they’re going after a big name that’s in the buyout market currently.
Yes, I’m talking about Andrew Bogut.
I previously wrote about how much the Rockets need to go after Bogut as he’d be a solid add to the team’s front line.
He can block shots, rebound and be the rim-protector that we’ve been lacking with the guys that we have.
He’s also an enforcer with attitude, a big complement to what we already have in Patrick Beverley.
Although Larry Sanders is another big on the free agent market, I’m sure he’s further down the pecking order as bigger names may become available before him.
And that’s already happened.
But what if they don’t land Bogut?
That’s cool that money can be used to go for Sanders or any of the other buyout guys that may be available after the deadline.
But nonetheless, McDaniels will be in situation where he will be able to thrive and look like he did with the Philadelphia Sixers before he has traded here.
An acrobatic, high-scoring forward who could rebound and defend.
I’m not sure if the Nets will be a permanent home for him but at least he gets a fresh start elsewhere, something that he deserves.
McDaniels, 24, is averaging 2.8 points, 1.0 rebounds with a shooting line of .456/.333/.900 in 7.3 minutes per game through 29 games this season.
Go Rockets.