Report: Houston trading Robert Covington to Portland for Trevor Ariza, draft picks
Trevor Ariza is headed back to Houston.
The Houston Rockets are finalizing a deal that will send Robert Covington to the Portland Trail Blazers in exchange for Ariza and two future first-round draft picks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.
The Rockets will get a first-round pick in Wednesday’s draft and a future first-round pick. The deal will be finalized after Wednesday’s draft.
The Rockets are finalizing a trade to send Robert Covington to Portland for Trevor Ariza and 2020 first-round pick and 2021 protected first-round pick, sources tell ESPN.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) November 17, 2020
Ariza averaged 11 points and 4.8 rebounds per game last season in Portland, where he landed midway through the year after starting the season with the Sacramento Kings. The 35-year-old will join the Rockets for the third time, after a one-year stint during the 2009-10 season and then from 2014-18. He has played on four different teams since leaving Houston two years ago.
Covington averaged 11.6 points and eight rebounds last season in Houston, where he landed after starting out the year in Minneapolis. The 29-year-old just wrapped up his seventh season in the league.
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Rockets still dealing with Russell Westbrook, James Harden
While the Rockets made a trade move on Monday night, it wasn’t either the ones that have been getting all of the attention in recent days.
Rockets stars James Harden and Russell Westbrook have made it clear they both want out of Houston. Westbrook requested a trade, and Harden reportedly turned down a massive extension — one that would have paid him a record $50 million per season — while making it clear he wants to be traded to the Brooklyn Nets.
So far, though, it seems as if trade talks for either star haven’t developed much at all. Houston may end up keeping both Harden and Westbrook to start the season — which kicks off on Dec. 22 — or even well into the year.
For now, the Covington-Ariza deal will have to do.
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