On Friday, Rockets guard Eric Gordon had one of his best games of the season, scoring 24 points on 10-14 from the floor, and 4-6 on 3s, leading the Rockets to defeat the Orlando Magic and improve their now league-leading winning streak to five games. Gordon’s production was particularly crucial in light of a thigh injury suffered by Kevin Porter Jr. which led the team’s starter at point guard to miss the second half.
Gordon, 33, the sole holdover from a Rockets team that went toe to toe with the Golden State Warriors dynasty, is having one of the best seasons of his career, averaging 13.6 points on 46.5% shooting from the floor and 43.4% from deep on 5.2 attempts per game. That latter shooting figure is the best in Gordon’s career, dating back to 2014-2015 when he shot 45% from 3. Gordon is one of the best floor spacers in the league and living up to it again this season.
Most importantly, Gordon is healthy again. The burly shooting guard has appeared in 19 of the team’s 22 games to date. After enjoying relatively good health early on in his Rockets career (he appeared in 75, 69, and 68 games in his first three seasons), injuries had really taken a toll on Gordon during the latter half of his stint with the team. In 2019-2020, the last season the Rockets had title aspirations, Gordon appeared in just 36 games, and appeared incredibly limited - he shot just 36.9% from the floor and 31.7% on 3s that year.
Gordon’s rebound season right now is an incredible waste on a Rockets team in the midst of an organizational rebuild. His skillset could vastly benefit a contender: he can handle the ball, spread the floor, and most importantly, defend multiple positions. And he has always raised his level of play in the postseason, most notably during the team’s runs against the Warriors.
The problem for the Rockets is that Gordon earns $18.22 million this season and is still owed $19.57 million next season, in 2022-2023. (His contract is non-guaranteed in 2023-2024 when he would be slated to earn $20.92 million). Gordon had signed a four-year, $75.57 million contract with the Rockets back in 2020. That is a lot of money not only owed but needing to be matched in outgoing salary by a recipient team in a trade, per the league’s collective bargaining agreement.
As a non-taxpaying team (as their team salary currently stands), the maximum amount of incoming salary the Rockets could receive in a trade for Gordon is Gordon’s $18.22 million salary plus $5 million, or rather, $23.22 million. (A non-taxpaying team sending out between $6.53 million and $19.6 million can take back at a maximum, the outgoing salary plus $5 million). The maximum incoming salary a taxpaying team may take back in a trade is 125% of the outgoing salary, plus $100,000.
The problem is that very few contenders—the subset of teams who would have interest in acquiring Gordon’s services—have large amounts of tradable salary available, at least in the form of players the Rockets would not mind taking back in a trade. For example, the most logical fit for Gordon would be the Phoenix Suns who could have used an extra shot-creator on Friday when they lost to Golden State with Devin Booker sidelined. A possible deal could be centered around Jalen Smith—still just 21 years old—and a future pick (the Suns have their first rounder in 2023). But as far as piecing together the other salaries to approach Gordon’s $18.22 million salary, Phoenix would likely not want to part with standout reserve Cameron Johnson and Cameron Payne cannot be traded until March 3.
It’s quite a shame. One can imagine Gordon really helping someone down the stretch of a playoff run but getting the math to work on a deal will be a challenge. The likeliest outcome is that Gordon finishes his season with the Rockets.
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December 05, 2021 at 10:24PM
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Why An Eric Gordon Trade Could Be Difficult To Construct - Forbes
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