Rockets and Grizzlies Agree on Trade, Sending Steven Adams to Houston

In a Thursday night trade, the Houston Rockets have sent guard Victor Oladipo and draft picks to the Houston Rockets in exchange for center Steven Adams. The Rockets needed a big man to pair with young star Alperen Sengun. The trade for Adams was questionable. Adams is out for this NBA season, as he is rehabbing from a season-ending knee surgery.

He is expected to be fully healed for the 2024-2025 NBA season. Adams is one of the most impactful players in the NBA, especially defensively.  In 42 games last season before injuring his knee, he averaged 8.2 points, 11.5 rebounds and 1.1 blocks per game. When Adams is fully healed, I expect the Rockets to play Sengun at power forward and play Adams at center. The Rockets are currently sitting at 22-25 and 11th in the Western Conference. They have some solid, young pieces that could see this team compete in the near future. They need one more star to really start competing. It's going to be interesting to see what the Rockets do when Adams is back on the court. 

The Grizzlies are officially in full rebuild mode, as they lost Ja Morant and are currently 18-29 and 13th in the Western Conference. They were able to get three second-round picks. This is a huge pickup for them as they are looking for good, young pieces to be good in the future. They also picked up Victor Oladipo, who is, like Adams, rehabbing an injury. He is rehabbing from a left patellar tendon repair. There is no timetable for his return. They might try and ship Oladipo elsewhere, as he doesn’t really fit what they’re trying to do. All and all, this was a solid trade for both teams.