As part of the sales success that sent James Harden to Brooklyn, the Houston Rockets are hosting Victor Oladipo from Indiana, Dante Exum from Cleveland and Rodions Kurucs from the Nets.
In terms of places in the squad, this equates to three players entering and only one leaving, which would put the Rockets above the NBA limit. So, someone else would have to go to trade to be legal, and it looks like someone will be the grown man Bruno Caboclo, 25 years old.
Per Jonathan Feigen Houston Chronicle, the Rockets will dismiss Caboclo on Thursday before finalizing the deal.
Caboclo, who re-signed with Houston in the off-season, has only played in the cleaning service since veteran DeMarcus Cousins returned from quarantine. Between Cousins, titleholder Christian Wood and minor lineups with Jae’Sean Tate or PJ Tucker in the middle, there didn’t seem to be a way for Caboclo to break Stephen Silas’ rotation. At 1.80 m tall and almost 90 kg, Kurucs can also fit this equation.
In six games this season, Caboclo averaged 2.8 points (47.1% FG) and 2.3 rebounds in 6.0 minutes. Your minimum wage would not be fully guaranteed until february 27, so Caboclo’s release also helps Rockets stay below the rigid salary cap and luxury tax thresholds.
An appropriate end to an era. Rockets swapping James Harden for Brooklyn in a multi-time deal, obtaining Oladipo and picks. (With an update on tomorrow’s subsequent lineup change.) Http://t.co/0aweTMXOMs
– Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) January 14, 2021