The Rockets made a minor shakeup to their roster on Thursday night in an eight-player trade with the Thunder.
Houston sent a quartet of players to Oklahoma City in the deal, with forwards David Nwaba, Sterling Brown and Marquese Chriss on the move alongside guard Trey Burke. None of the four aforementioned players projected to be in Houston’s regular rotation this season, and of the four players now coming to Houston, only forward Derrick Favors projects to earn any notable share of minutes in 2022-23. So why exactly did the Rockets and Thunder make this relatively-inconsequential trade? Some salary cap mechanics may be at play.