TRADE ALERT
Houston Rockets make a move as NBA trade deadline nears
Feb 2, 2024, 11:41 am
The Rockets have acquired Steven Adams. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images.
The Memphis Grizzlies traded center Steven Adams to the Houston Rockets for guard Victor Oladipo and three draft picks on Thursday night.
Neither Adams nor Oladipo has played this season because of injuries.
The Grizzlies, who announced the deal late Thursday night, said they acquired three second-round draft picks from the Rockets in the trade. ESPN reported two of the picks will be in this year's draft and the other one in 2025.
Adams was hurt last season and had surgery on his right knee just before the start of this season. He's expected to miss the entire season, but should be ready to play next season.
Adams, the 12th overall pick in the 2013 draft out of Pittsburgh, played two years with the Grizzlies before the knee injury and averaged 8.6 points and 11.5 rebounds, including a 5.1 average in offensive rebounds. He played seven seasons with Oklahoma City and one with the New Orleans Pelicans before coming to Memphis.
Oladipo, who also has dealt with injuries, has a career average of 16.9 points a game since he was selected out of Indiana with the second overall pick in 2013. But his scoring average has decreased over the last three years.
Oladipo's best season came in 2017-18 when he averaged 23.1 points with Indiana, along with 4.3 assists and 2.4 steals per game.
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The Houston Texans have a big challenge in store as they look to start the season with a win against the Colts this Sunday. When these two teams met in Week 2 last year, the Colts dominated the Texans, despite losing their QB Anthony Richardson to a concussion after the first quarter.
Keeping Richardson contained on Sunday will go a long way in increasing the Texans' chances of coming home with a win. The Texans defense will have their hands full containing the Colts backs and tight ends in the passing game.
Scoring touchdowns with their wide receivers could prove difficult, as the Texans allowed the second-fewest TDs (10) to the receiver position in 2023.
Limiting running back Jonathan Taylor will also be a top priority. While the Texans had an elite defense against the run last season, they struggled with Taylor in Week 18 as he almost rushed for 200 yards.
Houston's D allowed only four carries to running backs in 2023 that went for 20 or more yards. Two of which were to Taylor in the final game of the regular season.
Finally, DeMeco Ryans and company have to find a way to get pressure on the QB. They only had one QB hit and zero sacks on Richardson and Garner Minshew the first time they faced off last year.
On offense, the Texans have two big x-factors to watch for on Sunday. The offensive line that suited up to play the Colts in Week 2 last season is completely different from this year.
The o-line was ravaged with injuries to start the 2023 campaign, so we expect a big jump in productivity in the trenches this year.
Another big addition in 2024 is the presence of running back Joe Mixon. The running game only produced 2 yards per rush in Week 2 against Indy last year, so there's clearly room for improvement.
Be sure to watch the video above for our in-depth preview of Texans-Colts!
And catch Texans on Tap (a Texans podcast) live on our SportsMapTexans YouTube channel following every game this season!