Because an offseason extension with the Suns was not agreed, champion 3D Crowder refused to play for the Suns, and the two sides jointly sought a deal. Just before the last Suns vs. Warriors, the latest news came from the US media, the Suns' deal with Crowder involved three parties, and the framework was basically negotiated.
However, at that time, the US media did not reveal the names of the other two teams and the players involved, but under normal circumstances, no unexpected transaction will go smoothly, but what I didn't expect was that the 3-way deal involving Crowder turned out overnight. According to the latest news report from Zonahoops, a source told me that last night's deal broke down, including Crowder's deal with the Bucks and Rockets. The main frame is: Crowder to the Bucks, Allen to the Rockets, Gordon to the Suns.
In fact, from the general direction, if you don't consider the balance, this is also a win-win deal, the Bucks strengthen 3D, the Suns take Gordon in exchange for defense and outside projection firepower, the Rockets take Allen and get some draft pick compensation, hoarding future assets for themselves. But unexpectedly, the key party that caused the abort of the deal was the rebuilding Rockets, according to the media, the reason for the failure of the 3-party deal was that the Suns wanted Martin Jr., and then took Gordon to send it over, and the Suns sent draft picks + Sarrizzi. To put it bluntly, it was the Rockets who refused to send Gordon + Martin Jr. away. If it is even smaller, it is to refuse to put Martin Jr. in the deal.
There's no denying that Gordon is a veteran of the Rockets' urgent need to deal with, and he has basically paddled this season and is also focused on leaving the team, but taking Martin Jr. just can't work, and Stone's rejection of the deal is completely the right choice, even if Martin Jr. applies for a trade offseason. Gordon aside, Martin Jr. is an important member of the Rockets' future wing, he has gradually grown from a second-round pick to a quasi-3D in the past two years, this season he averaged 10.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 25 minutes per game, shooting 53% from the field and 34% from three-point range, nothing too impressive from the stats, but Martin Jr. has impressed fans with his performance on the court this season, especially his wonderful dunks, averaging twice per game. In addition, he also has a good performance in the cap, showing his physical talent to the fullest.
Compared with his explosive physical talent, the improvement of personal ability in the past two years is more gratifying, when he first entered the league, he only relied on his body to play, and his defense was not online, and he could accumulate several fouls in just a few minutes. And now Martin Jr. has grown into one of the team's best open cutting players, with a better understanding of tactics, defensive ability and awareness have been greatly improved, plus he also has an outside projection ability, this season has regarded him as one of the team's key players. So not long ago, Martin Jr. almost gave up on leaving the team, and Rockets reporter Kelly Iko reported that he was open to a contract extension with the Rockets and was willing to stay in the offtown, which is why Stone would abandon the deal when Martin Jr. was involved.
But it's still necessary for the Rockets to send Gordon away, and as long as it's a young player who doesn't involve the team, Stone still trades him early and lets him chase his championship dreams, which is also a fulfillment for him.