Late Wednesday night, the Houston Rockets formally acquired big man Jordan Bell from Minnesota as part of the massive four-team trade that landed defensive ace Robert Covington.
By Thursday morning, Bell already had a new destination.
In news broken by ESPN‘s Adrian Wojnarowski, the Rockets traded Bell to Memphis for 24-year-old forward Bruno Caboclo. The deal also includes a pick-swap right on 2023 second-round selections.
Caboclo has played only sparingly for Memphis this season at 8.7 minutes per game over 22 outings. But in 2018-19, the athletic, lanky forward was a valued contributor with averages of 8.3 points and 4.6 rebounds in 23.5 minutes per game, all while shooting 36.9% on 3-pointers.
Caboclo is 6-foot-9 and 218 pounds, but his wingspan is extremely long at 7-foot-7 — which is likely a big part of his appeal to the Rockets. Like Covington, he’s another versatile option that head coach Mike D’Antoni could utilize to improve his team’s perimeter defense.
Through the 2019-20 season’s first 50 games, the Rockets (32-18) rank No. 3 in the NBA in offensive rating, but No. 15 on defense.
According to Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic, the Rockets and GM Daryl Morey had targeted Caboclo for several weeks.
At the moment, Caboclo is not available to play due to a bone bruise in his left knee. However, as Bijani notes, he could return within approximately one to three weeks, based on the original timetable.
Thursday’s NBA trade deadline arrives at 2 p.m. Central time in Houston, and Morey might not be done. According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, the Rockets are still in talks regarding further deals, including possibly adding a center to help replace Clint Capela.
