PORTLAND, Ore. — The Trail Blazers and Houston Rockets are finalizing a trade that will bring veteran forward Robert Covington to Portland.
Portland will send Trevor Ariza, its 2020 first-round draft pick and a protected 2021 first-round draft pick to Houston, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports that the trade can't be completed until after the NBA draft on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-7 Covington has averaged 12.7 points and 5.7 rebounds per game during his career. He is a career 35.6% 3-point shooter on nearly seven attempts per game. He was named to the NBA's All-Defensive first team during the 2017-18 season and is considered one of the league's top wing defenders.
Covington turns 30 on Dec. 14, so he lines up nicely with Portland's core of Damian Lillard (30 years old), CJ McCollum (29) and Jusuf Nurkic (26). Covington has two years remaining on his contract and will make $12.1 million this season and $12.9 million next season.
Ariza, 35, played 21 games for the Blazers last season. He started all 21 games at small forward and played well for Portland, averaging 11.0 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 40% from the 3-point line on four attempts per game.
