Eric Gordon – Houston Rockets
Once a key piece on a championship contending team, Eric Gordon now finds himself as an impactful veteran on a team that is contending for the No. 1 pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. Now soon-to-be 33-years-old, Eric Gordon is still playing at a high-level and is proving his worth to the rest of the league.
While his contract is not too favorable, Gordon is one of the better offensive players on the young Rockets this season. In 26 games, Eric Gordon has averaged 14.7 points, 3.3 assists and has shot 48.7% from the floor, 44.5% from three-point range.
Having deep playoff experience and still being able to contribute either in or out of the starting rotation, Gordon is exactly the kind of offensive talent teams will be looking to add ahead of the trade deadline this season, however, his contract is hard to navigate.
The veteran shooting guard is making $18.2M this season and then has two more years left on his contract, adding up to about $58.7M owed to him in total through the 2023-24 season. The catch with trading for Eric Gordon though is that the final year of his contract is non-guaranteed, so technically he is only guaranteed about $37.8M through next season.
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This is still a lot of money to pay an aging veteran player in this league, but at the same time, Eric Gordon is proving that he can help a team succeed late in the season. He has scored in double-figures in all but five games he has played in this season and since the start of December, Eric Gordon is averaging 17.2 points per game while shooting 53.3% from the floor.
There are no indications that a trade is on the horizon for the veteran and the Rockets, but being a “3-and-D” type of wing, Gordon could really help teams like the Clippers, Knicks, Celtics, Lakers and Nuggets who need more scoring on the wing.
Again, his contract will be tough to navigate in a trade, but out of all the veteran players available this season, Eric Gordon is probably the one that could have the greatest impact should he be traded.
