Robert Covington, Jordan Bell Blockbuster 4-Team Trade Announced by Rockets

The Houston Rockets officially announced Wednesday that they acquired forward Robert Covington and Jordan Bell in a trade with the Minnesota Timberwolves.

ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported the news the day before. The Rockets' acquisitions are part of a four-team deal also involving the Denver Nuggets and Atlanta Hawks.

Houston is sending centers Clint Capela and Nene to the Hawks and Gerald Green and a 2020 first-round draft pick to the Denver Nuggets.

Kevin O'Connor of The Ringer first reported teams were "monitoring" the availability of Covington in early December, calling him "one of the league's better three-and-D wings."

The 29-year-old entered Wednesday averaging 12.8 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting 34.6 percent from three-point range.

This type of offensive production has remained a constant throughout Covington's career. He has averaged between 11 and 14 points in each of the last five years. He's rarely a go-to player on offense, but he knows how to help a team even with a low usage rate.

In 2019-20, Covington has remained a reliable offensive presence even with Karl-Anthony Towns and Andrew Wiggins handling most of the shots.

Meanwhile, the 6'7" forward is a difference-maker on defense with his ability to match up against top perimeter scorers as well as deflect balls in passing lanes. He was at his best in 2017-18 with the Philadelphia 76ers, ranking fourth in the NBA with 4.5 defensive win shares, per Basketball Reference.

He hasn't been quite as dominant in recent seasons, but he remains a positive influence on that end of the court.

The two-way effort is a main reason he was a key piece in the trade that sent Jimmy Butler to Philadelphia last season.

With the latest deal, Covington could now provide an upgrade to Houston's rotation as the squad tries to get over the hump toward title contention.

The Rockets already have plenty of offense with James Harden and Russell Westbrook running the show, but this move could help defensively with another option on the perimeter. 

Though Covington has only 10 games of postseason experience, he is exactly the type of player who helps teams in May and June while coming at a reasonable cost. He's owed only $25 million over the next two years, which should make him a valuable part of Houston's core moving forward.

As for Bell, the ex-Golden State Warriors and Wolves forward averaged 3.1 points and 2.9 rebounds in 8.7 minutes for Minnesota this season.

The 6'8" big man helped lead the Oregon Ducks to the Final Four of the 2017 NCAA tournament before the Chicago Bulls drafted him in the second round the following summer. Chicago dealt him to Golden State, where Bell won the 2017-18 title and made the 2019 NBA Finals.

Bell signed with Minnesota as a free agent last offseason.