Rockets: 3 trades to send Victor Oladipo to the Nuggets

Victor Oladipo #7 of the Houston Rockets (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
Victor Oladipo #7 of the Houston Rockets (Photo by Jacob Kupferman/Getty Images)
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Houston Rockets
R.J. Hampton #13 of the Denver Nuggets (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)

3. Houston Rockets receive Gary Harris, R.J. Hampton

In each of these trade proposals, the Nuggets will be giving up Gary Harris, as his $19.2 million annual figure would be needed to make room for Oladipo’s $21 million. The 26-year-old Harris is a career 12 point scorer and 35.9 percent 3-point shooter.

This season Harris is averaging 10.1 points on an unimpressive 33 percent from deep, but he’s been in and out of the lineup, due to injuries. The 6-foot-4 Harris has been scorching from long-range as of late, as he’s made 46.2 percent of his triples over the course of his last 10 games (20-of-43).

Harris is under contract through 2022, so the Rockets wouldn’t be on the hook for his deal for much longer, and could even look to extend him when the time comes, depending on how things play out. The other player that the Rockets would land in this deal is rookie R.J. Hampton, who is just 20-years-old and could be a building block of the future, much like Kevin Porter Jr., who is the same age.

Although Hampton hasn’t landed much playing time thus far in the season, he’s averaged 10.1 points, 9 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.4 steals per 36 minutes, while shooting 40 percent from long-range (albeit on a small number of attempts). The Nuggets would receive Oladipo and Danuel House, who would benefit from a change of scenery after several off-the-court concerns have arisen, leaving many to question his commitment to basketball.

The Rockets would also receive the Nuggets’ first-round draft pick in the upcoming draft, which could be used in a trade to bring in a key piece either via trade or through the draft.

Next: No. 2

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