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Just hours after acquiring Nik Stauskas and Wade Baldwin IV in a trade with the Cavaliers, the Rockets have sent the duo to the Pacers for a second-round pick.
Sources: Rockets will send only a second-round pick to Pacers, no cash in deal. Pacers will waive Stauskas and Baldwin.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) February 7, 2019
The move opens up two more roster spots for the Rockets to contend in the buyout market. It also puts the Rockets in unusual territory: under the luxury tax.
Rockets are currently $634K below the luxury tax line. At 12 players, they’ll need to add two more within two weeks. At least one of the two will need to be on a rest-of-season (or multi-year) contract. Rockets may initially use 10-days for the other to ensure they stay under.
— Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) February 7, 2019
With this trade, Baldwin and Stauskas will be on their fourth NBA roster since Sunday. However, the pair will be waived by the Pacers and will become free agents.
This trade ultimately gives Houston one of its most important assets: flexibility.
In what looks to be one of the deepest buyout markets in recent memory, the Rockets will have options to sign multiple top buyout candidates.
New York’s Wesley Matthews, Enes Kanter, Dallas’s Zach Randolph, and Phoenix’s Wayne Ellington should be some of the players on Houston’s radar.
It’s a shame that Stauskas and Baldwin are leaving Houston, though. They never missed a shot during their Houston tenures.