NBA Trade: Portland Acquires Thomas Robinson

Apr 1, 2013; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets power forward Thomas Robinson (41) attempts a free throw during the third quarter against the Orlando Magic at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The fifth overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft has been traded for the second time.

Former Kansas power forward Thomas Robinson, who traded by the Sacramento Kings to the Houston Rockets last season, has been traded again, this time to the Portland Trail Blazers.

The trade, first reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports,was made so the Rockets could clear enough space to offer free agent center Dwight Howard a max contract. Earlier in the day, the Rockets waived forward Carlos Delfino and point guard Aaron Brooks.

According to Ken Berger of CBS Sports, the Rockets have also made two players they signed just under a year ago, center Omer Asik and point guard Jeremy Lin, available as well.

Although the deal won’t be official until July 7, the Rockets can go into their meeting with Howard Monday assured they have the space to sign Howard. The max contract they can now offer is four years, $88 million.

The Rockets are obviously extremely confident in landing Howard.

In return, the Rockets will receive the draft rights to two foreign players, Kostas Papanikolau and Marko Todorovic. The Trail Blazers will also give up two second round picks.

As a rookie, Robinson averaged 4.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 0.4 blocks per game. He shot 43.0% from the field.

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