ROCKETS NEWS
Houston Rockets agree to trade with Hawks before deadline
Feb 6, 2025, 4:50 pm
The Rockets and Hawks have made a trade. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.
The Houston Rockets pulled the trigger on a trade with Atlanta before the trade deadline on Thursday.
According to reports, the Rockets are acquiring center Cody Zeller and a second round pick in exchange for the NBA rights to international player Alpha Kaba.
Can confirm the Rockets acquiring Cody Zeller and their 2028 2nd-round pick from Atlanta. In exchange, Atlanta is acquiring the rights to Alpha Kaba, sources tell @TheAthletic.
— Kelly Iko (@KellyIko) February 6, 2025
Reports from Yahoo Sports indicate this is basically a salary dump for the Hawks, and Houston is buying back their draft pick.
Hoopshype is reporting that the Rockets will release recently acquired Jaden Springer to make room for Zeller.
Via YardBarker:
The Pelicans re-signed Zeller last summer to use his contract for salary-matching purposes in the Dejounte Murray trade. However, he has yet to play a game for the Hawks in 24-25, having been listed as away from the team for personal reasons for much of the season.
Time will tell if the Rockets decide to release Zeller in the coming days.
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Mauricio Dubón scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the 10th inning, Jeremy Peña and Isaac Paredes opened the game with home runs, and the Houston Astros beat the Los Angeles Angels 3-2 on Friday night.
Peña led off the 10th with a single that advanced automatic runner Dubón to third. Dubón scored when Hunter Strickland, who hadn’t allowed a run in 14 2/3 innings of his first 13 appearances with the Angels, threw a pitch behind the back of Paredes.
Houston closer Josh Hader (5-1) retired the side in order in the ninth and Bennett Sousa retired three straight batters in the 10th for his second save.
Angels starter Yusei Kikuchi gave up home runs to Pena and Paredes for a 2-0 Astros lead in the held the Astros to four hits, striking out nine and walking none, for the rest of his seven-inning start.
Jo Adell trimmed Houston’s lead to 2-1 in the fourth with a 426-foot homer off Astros starter Hunter Brown. Angels rookie Christian Moore, a first-round pick out of Tennessee in 2024, tied it 2-2 with his first major league homer to open the seventh.
Tempers flared in the third when Brown hit Angels shortstop Zach Neto in the elbow with a 95-mph sinker. Both benches and bullpens emptied, but no punches were thrown, and order was quickly restored.
Key Moment
Astros center fielder Jake Meyers raced to the gap in left-center to make a spectacular, full-extension diving catch of Adell’s drive with a runner on first base and one out in the bottom of the eighth to preserve a 2-2 tie.
Key Stat
The home runs by Peña and Paredes marked the first time in three years the Astros have opened a game with two homers. Jose Altuve and Peña last accomplished the feat on July 24, 2022 at Seattle.
Up Next
Astros LHP Brandon Walter (0-0, 1.53 ERA) opposes Angels RHP José Soriano (4-5, 3.54) on Saturday night.