10 players the Rockets can add through trade exceptions

Houston Rockets trade target #9: Trey Burke

After underwhelming as a lottery pick in the 2013 NBA Draft and being labeled as a bust by many, Trey Burke has had a resurgence in his NBA career of late. Burke signed with the Philadelphia 76ers last season but didn’t yield significant playing time, as he averaged just 13.2 minutes.

Burke was released after just 25 games and was signed by the Dallas Mavericks, where he made the most of his opportunity, posting averages of 12 points on 23.9 minutes, in addition to dishing out 3.8 assists and making 43.2 percent of his threes on 4.6 attempts. Burke had his best game of the season when the Mavericks faced the Houston Rockets, as he had 31 points on 8-of-10 from long-range (80 percent).

Trey Burke sparks the @dallasmavs in the 1st half with 19 PTS on 5-5 from downtown! #WholeNewGame

?: ESPN pic.twitter.com/2UuWayaEXK

— NBA (@NBA) August 1, 2020

Burke posted a true shooting percentage of 91.8 percent on 16 shots and did everything he could to help the Mavs stave off defeat, which they nearly did, were it not for a late game tip-in by Robert Covington.

Rivers continued his stellar play when the Mavs faced the Clippers in the postseason, averaging 12.3 points on 47.1 percent from long-range. Burke possesses elite handles, which allows him to create separation from the best defenders, such as six-time All-Defensive team selection Kawhi Leonard.

Trey Burke went right at Kawhi ? pic.twitter.com/qptPQzRjrf

— ESPN (@espn) August 23, 2020

The Mavericks have gotten off to a 13-14 start to the season and Burke’s minutes are down to just 17.6 minutes per night, which has limited his shots to just 6.8 attempts per game. Burke is still shooting 39.3 percent from deep and would be a wise addition for the Rockets, especially considering his base salary of $3 million, which would allow the Rockets to acquire him with their $3.5 million trade exception acquired in the Clint Capela trade, and allow them to hold on to their James Harden trade exception for next season.

Next: No. 8