Here is the trade as reported by multiple sources, but ignore all the other names, the trade is basically Carl Landry for Kevin Martin:
Rockets get:
Kevin Martin
Kenny Thomas
Hilton Armstrong
Sergio Rodriguez
Kings get:
Tracy McGrady
Carl Landry
Joey Dorsey
This could still turn into a 3-teamer with the Knicks. If that happens then McGrady and Rodriguez would go to New York.
The Rockets are also sending cash to Sacramento, the Kings are taking in $26 million in contracts, while the Rockets are taking in $22 million, but the trade does get the Rockets under the luxury tax, something that was a secondary goal of this process according to the Houston Chronicle. The only players in this deal with contracts next season are Martin (3 more years $9.7 mil) and Dorsey who makes less than a million. The Kings could be more than $20 million under the cap this summer. Houston could still be under the cap, but not by much. Its hard to say because of the way contracts in the NBA escalate.
The Rockets really like Martin a lot, and he is the type of player they were hoping to get in a McGrady trade, and the Rockets did not have to take on another contract in order to get him, what they did have to do is trade a key piece of their current team, and that is the aspect of the trade that will trouble Rockets fans the most. I said a few weeks ago that I thought at some point the Rockets would have to make a decision between keeping either Luis Scola or Carl Landry, I believe the Rockets made the right decision. The trade comes down to Carl Landry for Kevin Martin, thats a good trade for the Rockets.
Like I said in the last paragraph, Martin is the type of player the Rockets wanted. He just turned 27, he's a 20 point a night 2-guard who is 6-7. He shoots close to 40% from 3 for his career, and he has played for Rick Adelman before. The one issue I have with him is health. He missed 33 games this season with a hairline fracture of his wrist. Last season he missed 31 games, and the year before that he missed 21 games. That is a pretty serious red flag, especially considering that he's under contract for another 3 years. I still believe he's worth the risk, plus how likely was it that the Rockets would be able to lure a major free agent this summer? It would've been risky to put all their eggs in the free agency basket like some teams are trying to do.
I don't know if the Rockets are done dealing, but I will reiterate the point that I made earlier: The Rockets need to trade Shane Battier. Right now he is an extra piece, use him to get help up front, because right now the Rockets are very thin in the front court.
As for McGrady, it will be interesting to see what the Kings do with him if they can't get the Knicks to join in this trade. Yahoo! is reporting that if the Kings decide to buy him out, McGrady could look to sign with the Lakers or Cavs. I guess he'd win a playoff series that way.
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