If you, like me, thought the Kings were not going to make any trades at the deadline because of the pending potential sale of the team, we were wrong. Whatever happens with the Kings GM Geoff Petrie is a lame duck, yet here we are with a trade
The Kings have sent the No. 5 overall pick from the last draft, Thomas Robinson out of Kansas is going to get a fresh start down in Houston, first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The trade has since been confirmed by multiple sources.
The deal sends Robinson, Francisco Garcia and Tyler Honeycutt and a second round pick to the Rockets. The Kings get Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas. In a related move Houston sent Marcus Morris to Phoenix a second round pick (where he will now team up with his brother Markieff).
Robinson is the biggest name to most fans, but the rookie has struggled with the Kings. He’s averaged 4.8 points on 42.7 percent shooting and 4.7 rebounds a game. He has a PER of just 10.8, and with that production has come a drop in minutes the past month. Robinson tries to do too much — in college he was the man, the focal point, and he seems to be struggling to play within a role on a team where he is just a guy. He turns the ball over, tries to make passes and plays he shouldn’t. That said, he’s an inexpensive rookie with potential. This was pretty quick to give up on him.
There is plenty of time to grow into his game and at a good cost — he is in just the first year of his rookie deal and the Rockets get him for three years on the cheep. In fact, if the Rockets turn down the final year option for Garcia they will save $1.6 million in cap space for 2014 with this move.
But the real money savers here are the Kings, and by that we mean the Maloof family. They save about $4.5 million in salary (which will be less once prorated for the remainder of the season), they save money in future years as Aldrich has an expiring contract, plus they reportedly get a cool $1 million in cash. It was an ATM move for the cash-poor franchise.
Patterson provides the Kings more immediate help now for the Kings up front, he started 38 games for the Rockets this season giving them 11.6 points a game on 51.9 percent shooting, plus 4.7 rebounds a game. Patterson is a strong pick-and-pop guy forward shooting 37 percent from three and can knock down long twos as well. Patterson is a Kentucky guy who has a good relationship with DeMarcus Cousins.
The Kings also get Douglas, who has played solid ball for the Rockets off the bench, giving them 8.1 points a game. But it was really all about the money.