6:40pm: The Lakers also received the draft rights to Brad Newley in the deal, tweets Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News. Drafted in 2007, the 32-year-old swingman plays for AEK Athens in Greece.
6:28pm: The deal is official, the Lakers announced (Twitter link). Meanwhile, the Rockets have waived Huertas.
1:58pm: The Rockets have agreed to a deal that will send Tyler Ennis to the Lakers, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (via Twitter). Wojnarowski reports that Houston will receive Marcelo Huertas from Los Angeles, but that the Rockets will waive Huertas after acquiring him.
Ennis is eligible for unrestricted free agency this summer, while Huertas had a non-guaranteed salary for 2017/18, so both players were essentially on expiring contracts. The Rockets were likely planning on waiving Ennis after the deadline, so by acquiring and waiving Huertas instead, they’ll create a tiny bit of extra cap room as they peruse the buyout market. Ennis is earning approximately $233K more than Huertas this season.
From the Lakers’ perspective, Huertas had seen his playing time reduced significantly this season, having averaged 10.3 MPG in just 23 contests. He apparently wasn’t part of the team’s long-term plans, so L.A. decided to take a flier on Ennis, who could be re-signed at a modest price in the offseason if the team likes what it sees down the stretch.
I wonder if he could be a solid backup in LA. Let’s find out
Gotta be better than Marc Hurts- Us.
Ok…. ummmmm. Why? I hope we’re not trading just to trade. I personally as a fan see the logic or need for this trade. Yes Ennis is 22 but he avg 12 min a game for about 4 points. Can someone help me out with this?
Houston was giving him away to clear cap space so the Lakers took a young asset off their hands.
Huertas was over 30 and not helping us. Why not take a flyer on a 22 yr old former first rd pick. Worst thing happens we cut him like we would’ve huertas next year. I think it’s a great lottery ticket
Obligatory “Houston won this trade” troll post.
Should of went in Lou Williams Trade.
Draft rights to a 32 year old Greek league wing ? Good thing they included him
Ennis will fit well in Luke’s system