Rockets: 3 trades to send Eric Gordon to the Pacers

Houston Rockets trade #2.

This deal is very similar to the earlier iteration of the trade, with the Rockets getting Lamb and the Pacers’ 13th pick still, in exchange for Gordon and the Rockets’ 23rd pick. In Lamb, the Rockets would get a 10.1 point scorer off of the bench, who is also coming off of his best season from long-range, as he made 40.6% from three.

For the Pacers, Gordon is a much more valuable addition than Lamb, as Lamb is a career 10 point scorer, while Gordon has career scoring averages of 16.6 points and has the ability to occasionally win games and carry a team offensively, when necessary. In addition, Gordon is under contract through 2024, and his final year is non-guaranteed, which adds to the appeal for Indiana.

In this deal, the Rockets also land Ed Sumner, who is coming off of a year in which he averaged 16.7 points per 36 minutes. Sumner also made 39.8% of his threes in 2020-21 and could be in line for a reduction in minutes in the event that the Pacers landed Gordon, as he would soak up the bulk of Indy’s minutes on the second-unit.

Sumner is also entering the final year of his deal, making it a no-brainer for the Rockets to take him back as a salary-filler.