Our first pre-trade deadline deal came out of nowhere. The Sacramento Kings have decided to trade 2012 No. 5 overall pick Thomas Robinson to the Houston Rockets, according to Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski. The Kings will receive Patrick Patterson, Toney Douglas and Cole Aldrich in exchange for Robinson, Tyler Honeycutt and Francisco Garcia.
Thomas Robinson traded to Houston Rockets for Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich, Toney Douglas
The Sacramento Kings have surprised several by trading their top 2012 draft pick, Thomas Robinson, to the Rockets in exchange for Patrick Patterson, Cole Aldrich and Toney Douglas.
Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports
The move comes as a surprise because you rarely see teams trade away top-five picks halfway through their rookie seasons. However, Robinson struggled to fit in with the Kings and saw his path to playing time blocked by DeMarcus Cousins and Jason Thompson. The rookie forward is averaging 4.8 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in just under 16 minutes a contest.
Team blog breakdown of the trade: The Dream Shake Sactown Royalty
In return, the Kings will get Patterson, the Rockets' starting power forward, and reserves Douglas and Aldrich. Patterson is averaging 11.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game in just under 26 minutes a contest. Douglas, a former Knick, is averaging 8.1 points per game in nearly 19 minutes a contest.
The deal marks the second time in three years that a top-five pick was traded during his rookie year. The then-New Jersey Nets dealt 2010 No. 3 pick Derrick Favors to the Utah Jazz as part of a package for Deron Williams.
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