According to ESPN reporter Woshen, the Rockets and Thunder have just completed a big deal involving eight people! Russia City traded Derek Favors, Ty Jerome, Mo Harkless, Theo Maledon and the 2025 second-round pick from the Hawks to Recess in exchange for David Nwaba, Sterling Brown, Trey Burke and Marquez Chris. For the Rockets, Nouba has lost his team position, while the other three are the addition they got from the Lone Rangers when trading Wood, with center Favors, French point guard Maledon and second-round pick being Stone's main targets for the trade.
At the same time, another important reason for the two teams to trade is to save money, because the total salaries of players on both sides are not equal, the Thunder got two trade exceptions, and the total salary is reduced by $10 million from the luxury tax line. Although the Rockets generally ate an extra $1 million in salary, they were compensated by a second-round pick and won the long-desired Favors and Maledon, so they did not suffer losses.
Derek Favors, born July 15, 1991, 2.08 meters tall, 2.23 meters in armband, playing as a center, graduated from Georgia Tech, was selected by the Nets in 3rd place in the first round of 2010. Since entering the league, Favors has taken a place in the interior with excellent explosiveness and super bounce, and he is not afraid of confrontation, the internal footwork is also very good, and the finishing ability is excellent. Although he was unable to show dominance because of his age and injury, he was more than enough as a substitute.
Last season, Favors played in 39 games for the Thunder, averaging 16.8 minutes per game, averaging 5.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game and shooting 51.6% from the field. For the Rockets, who lack a center, Favors can stay as a substitute for Shenjing, or he can sell for a price, after all, the Lakers, Suns and other championship teams need such an experienced interior veteran, and he only has a one-year $9 million contract that will not affect the team's operation.
Born on June 2, 2001, he is a 1.96-meter-tall and 2.04-meter point guard, and is the apprentice of legendary French point guard Tony Parker, who was selected by the 76ers with the 34th pick in the second round in 2020 and was later traded to the Thunder. Maledon averaged 7.1 points, 2.6 boards and 2.2 assists last season and shot 37.5 percent from the field, 29.3 percent from three-point range and 79 percent from the free-throw line. Although the data is average, everyone who has watched his game knows that this is definitely a talented young man, and the swinging Thunder did not make him a key training object.
The lad had scored a career-high score of 33 points, and had scored 20+ in four consecutive games, and more importantly, his impressive control ability and solid passing skills, excellent breakthrough ability and height made his scoring organization surpass most of the players in the same position, which was a big surprise for the Rockets who lacked point guards, after all, Porter Jr. was always unstable, and the Thunder with Gidy and Dion did not cherish Maledon's talent.
In short, after the completion of this transaction, the Rockets not only got the immediate Favors and potential rising star Maledon again, but also won the second-round draft pick by the way, dumped Nouaba and three marginal players, the team lineup is more reasonable, the player trade value is further improved, and the performance of the new season is worth looking forward to!