Houston Rockets Receive: F Kelly Oubre Jr. (sign-and-trade)
Golden State Warriors Receive: F Eric Gordon
That’s it, that is the trade! Kelly Oubre Jr. for Eric Gordon straight up, assuming that the Rockets are willing to take on Kelly Oubre Jr’s new salary, which is expected to be around $12M-$15M per year.
Houston is going to end up with a top draft pick this season, assuming that their pick does not fall outside of the Top-4, otherwise their pick conveys over to the Oklahoma City Thunder stemming from the Russell Westbrook trade.
Not only do they have the ability to add a top-tier player to their roster through the draft to aid them in their rebuild, but they could potentially add a player like Kelly Oubre Jr, who is 25-years-old, dynamic and extremely athletic.
The high-flying wing is in his first season with Golden State, after being traded there in the offseason and is in the final year of his contract, which is why this trade would have to be executed as a sign-and-trade for Oubre. This will be something to watch in NBA trade rumors in the offseason.
Now in his 6th season in the league, Kelly Oubre Jr. has turned himself into a valuable player on the wing and has averaged 15.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and has shot 43.9% from the floor this season for the Warriors.
Eric Gordon is no longer in the Rockets plans moving forward, especially since he is 32-years-old and eating away at their cap space, which they will need as they look to rebuild themselves into a championship contender again over the next several years. Flipping Gordon for Oubre would definitely prove useful for Houston, which is why they could seriously entertain the idea of this trade.
RELATED: NBA Trade Rumors: Grading the Magic-Nuggets trade involving Aaron Gordon
For the Warriors, losing Kelly Oubre Jr. would not really hurt them. He is nothing more than a role player to them and has not been the player they had hoped he could be. They have long been targeting Eric Gordon and there were rumors of them possibly trading for him at the trade deadline this year, but then he got hurt, so talks and rumors on Gordon declined.
Gordon is owed a lot of money through the 2023-24 season and the Warriors would be paying a lot of money to put this team out on the court, but this move could easily put them back into the championship conversation in the league next season.
Now, let’s take a look at both the Rockets and Warriors as a whole and truly see if this trade is not only feasible for both of them, but if it makes sense for the direction both franchises are trending towards.
