Despite remaining one of the top contenders in the Western Conference, with their 28-14 record good for fifth place out of 15 teams, the Houston Rockets are expected by many to consider making a move or two ahead of the February 6 trade deadline. One such move, as recently suggested, might involve a three-way trade that would allow them to acquire Minnesota Timberwolves forward Robert Covington.
As explained on Thursday by Bleacher Report’s Zach Buckley, the Rockets are a team that likely feels “more urgency” despite their solid win-loss record. He opined that since their two superstar guards — James Harden and Russell Westbrook — are now in their early 30s and both have extremely lucrative contracts that will eat into the team’s salary cap for the next few years, the Rockets need to “throw caution to the wind” and make moves that could help them win an NBA championship.
In his trade idea, Buckley suggested that Houston could benefit from Covington’s three-point shooting and defense and acquire him from the Timberwolves in a three-way deal that would also involve the Sacramento Kings. The trade, if it pushes forward, would also allow the Rockets to land Kings center Dewayne Dedmon and Timberwolves wingman Treveon Graham, with the Kings receiving three Rockets players — starting center Clint Capela and veteran reserves Nene and Thabo Sefolosha.
Meanwhile, Sacramento guard/forward Bogdan Bogdanovic and forward/center Harry Giles would move to Minnesota via the suggested trade, along with two assets from Houston — wingman Danuel House Jr. and a lottery-protected first-round pick in the 2020 draft.
Robert Covington is with @MarneyGellner after scoring 11 points in the first half to help the @Timberwolves take a 59-54 lead pic.twitter.com/qtC5YRIxF9
— Bally Sports North (@BallySportsNOR) January 16, 2020
Talking about how each team might benefit from the hypothetical trade, Buckley noted that Dedmon could help the Rockets if he rediscovers his old form prior to his move to the Kings, as he’s a versatile big man who could shoot, rebound, and block shots. He added that Bogdanovic’s shooting would address a key weakness for the Timberwolves, with House serving as a “younger and cheaper replacement” for Covington. As for Sacramento, the 25-year-old Capela was described as a solid “building block” alongside starting power forward Marvin Bagley III and a player who could allow Richaun Holmes to come off the bench as a talented backup at both big man positions.
As of this writing, Covington is averaging 12.7 points, 5.7 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.7 steals and shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 35.5 percent from three-point range, per Basketball-Reference . The 29-year-old forward, who is among the players that have been rumored to be headed elsewhere prior to next month’s trade deadline, has also been linked to a few other organizations, including his last team before joining the Timberwolves, the Philadelphia 76ers .