Rockets: 3 trades to send Eric Gordon to the Pacers

Houston Rockets trade #3.

In this trade, the Indiana Pacers get Gordon and the Rockets’ 24th pick, fulfilling their hopes of trading down and landing a proven player. Gordon has been one of the most consistent reserves since joining the Rockets, having averaged 16.6 points on 35.5% from long-range during his five seasons in Houston.

In addition, Gordon has had some memorable playoff games, specifically the 2019 Western Conference Semifinals against the Golden State Warriors, in which he was the Rockets’ second-leading scorer, averaging 20 points per game, while even posting slightly better true shooting numbers than even James Harden.

Gordon has become a regular in the Rockets’ starting lineup and even scored 50 points against Rudy Gobert and the Utah Jazz just one year ago. Gordon would easily be the Pacers’ fourth-best scorer and could also be their spark plug off of the bench.

To make the deal work financially, the Pacers would send Jeremy Lamb and his expiring $10.5 million, who was ironically drafted by the Houston Rockets in 2012 but was included in the James Harden trade. Lamb’s contract alone wouldn’t be enough to clear Gordon’s $18.2 million, so the Pacers would include Pacers’ 25-year-old forward Kelan Martin, who was the second-leading scorer in the Big East in 2017-18.

Martin is also only under contract for one more season, before becoming a restricted free agent, meaning the Rockets wouldn’t be committed to him long-term.