The Houston Rockets are signing and trading Austin Rivers to New York, along with the international rights to Sergio Llull, Tadija Dragicevic, and Alex Hervelle, in exchange for the draft rights to combo guard Issuf Sanon. Now 21 years old, Sanon was a second-round draft pick in 2018.
While Rivers had agreed to the contract with the Knicks several days ago, the Rockets still had “early Bird” contractual rights to Rivers after his two seasons with the team. In Friday’s deal, Houston used those rights to sign Rivers to the contract (worth up to $10 million over three years) before trading the veteran guard to his desired destination.
For New York, this allowed them to avoid having to use cap space to sign Rivers. Meanwhile, Houston benefits by recouping minor assets for a player who otherwise would’ve left for no compensation.
The Rockets will also generate a small traded player exception (TPE) in the deal, which can be used until an equivalent point in the 2021 NBA offseason. TPEs allow NBA teams to take in a player of that salary or lower via trade, even if they are above the salary cap (which the Rockets are). It can also be used to facilitate waiver claims at that amount or less.
The TPE from the Rivers trade is likely to be worth just under $2.2 million, according to salary cap expert David Weiner of ClutchFans.
The value of the TPE, though, is in the same ballpark as the NBA’s minimum salary — which makes it fairly inconsequential. The larger prize is Sanon, a 6-foot-4 Ukrainian guard from who was drafted No. 44 overall in 2018. Here’s his scouting report by Sports Illustrated‘s Jeremy Woo:
“Sanon is an attractive stash candidate who seems likely to earn an NBA opportunity in due time,” writes Woo, who compared Sanon to Jordan Crawford. “Scouts love his hard-nosed approach to the game.”
Sanon’s strengths, according to Woo’s 2018 draft report, are athleticism, transition play, and defensive effort. Meanwhile, weaknesses include an inconsistent 3-point shot and playmaking as a point guard.
Sanon played in the NBA Summer League in 2018 and 2019, which would appear to signal some interest on his part in eventually coming to the NBA. (There was no summer league in 2020, owing to COVID-19.)
As for the draft rights headed to New York, Llull is now 33 years old and appears unwilling to leave Spain for the NBA. The Rockets had held his rights since 2009. Dragicevic and Hervelle are 34 and 37, respectively, so it’s even less likely for either of those two to make the leap than it is for Llull. Both power forwards are currently playing in Europe.
Sanon, however, has plenty of time still left to make a move. That makes him (and the TPE) a worthwhile acquisition for Rockets GM Rafael Stone, given that Rivers was already poised to leave, no matter what.
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