On February 2, Beijing time, the Rockets traded Oladipo, the next three second-round picks (two second-round picks in '24 and one second-round pick in '25) to the Grizzlies in exchange for Steven Adams.
It's a deal that doesn't improve the immediate power of either team, with Adams not playing a game this season and being reimbursed for the season, and Oladipo not playing a game this season and reimbursing for the season.
So, what does this deal mean for both teams, and why did these two teams make this deal?
For the Grizzlies, this season has determined the strategy to abandon this season, in the case of many core players due to injury season reimbursement, the Grizzlies' goal has been placed in this summer's draft, from this logic and link, after a period of giving up the team's "meritorious" inside, logically does not make sense, Adams season reimbursement, will not affect the Grizzlies.
The Grizzlies gave up Adams, more to consider salary space, the current salary pressure on the Grizzlies is extremely high, Morant this season is $34.01 million, Jaren Jackson Jr. is $27.11 million this season, Smart is $18.84 million this season, Kennard is $15.42 million this season, and Bane will be renewed this summer. After all, Oladipo's $9.45 million expiring contract is smaller and shorter than Adams' $12.6 million contract, and after Oladipo's contract expires, the Grizzlies can use Oladipo's contract to release salary space to facilitate the renewal of Bane, Dierman, etc., and other operations.
Adams belongs to the traditional center, the current traditional center is basically a non-mainstream type of player in the market, the league prefers a space-based interior line, Adams is a type of player with strong substitution, due to the existence of a large number of reserve centers in the 2024 draft market, after the Thunder traded Adams, the cost and cost performance of strengthening the center from the draft market and the free market are higher, and the rookie bonus of the non-top 5 pick center is far more cost-effective than Adams, and the Grizzlies dare to trade Adams in this time period, It shows that the Grizzlies did their homework in the scouting report for today's draft and knew which interior players might be their favorite targets.
The Grizzlies value the next 3 draft picks, the next 3 picks can be replaced with a draft pick at the end of the first round, the Grizzlies can report these picks for trading, or they can keep the draft for their own use, the players selected in the second round are generally not very high, and these second-round picks can be traded upwards, and these second-round picks can be traded again, and these second-round picks can provide more space and possibilities for the Grizzlies to operate in the future.
For the Rockets, this is a ** behavior, Adams's injury, according to the official statement is a cruciate ligament strain, does not belong to the level of tear and rupture, and even he began to inject stem cells, wanting to be conservative **, fighting with injuries, during the preseason, Adams tried to play with an injury, but the state of his body prompted Adams to decide to have surgery **, and Wallace, the current head of the scouting department in the Rockets, has a long-term tenure with the Grizzlies, It's not hard to get a real injury report from Adams on his Grizzlies connections, and from the severity of the injury and the recovery period, the Rockets have some risk, but not a big risk.
If next season, Adams can meet the Rockets' expectations and enter the Rockets' rotation, the Rockets can renew his contract in the summer of '25, and if Adams doesn't perform as expected next season, then the Rockets can trade him before the trade deadline next season, at which time Adams can be traded as an expiring contract, which is also very easy to trade.
At present, Adams is 30 years old, which is the year of play for a center, and there is no risk of degradation in a short period of time, and it is very suitable for the Rockets to strengthen players of this age.
In terms of adaptability, the Rockets' current lack of frame protection, card position, off-ball cover and rebounding protection are Adams' strengths and advantages, Adams' existence can greatly activate Jabari Smith Jr. and Jalen Green, the Rockets traded to Adams, basically announcing that Jalen Green should not be moved in a short period of time, at least 25 years ago, the Rockets will not move Jalen Green.
The Rockets traded to Adams, is it not going to strengthen the interior this season?
No, since Landale's contract is only guaranteed for this season, Landale has trade value as an expiring contract, and if the Rockets trade Landale before the trade deadline, it is possible to step into a backup interior line, but it is likely that it is also an interior line of the expiring contract, or the possibility that the Rockets will sign a backup interior player with a base salary in the free market.
The Rockets traded Adams, announcing that the focus and focus of the Rockets this season is not to compete for the championship, but to let young players cultivate a good winning culture and the right way to play through the game, because the Rockets' first-round draft picks are in the hands of the Thunder, the Rockets will not deliberately lose and go all out to win, that is, whether the Rockets make the playoffs this season should not be a key goal.
So, will the Rockets trade next?
Jeff Green and Landale's contracts were originally signed for trade, and there is a possibility of a trade for Tate and Bullock.