Hawks trade veteran big man to Rockets

The Hawks are trading veteran center Cody Zeller and Houston’s own 2028 second-round pick, which Atlanta controlled from a previous deal to the Rockets, reports ESPN's Shams Charania.

As ESPN’s Bobby Marks reports, Houston will acquire Zeller’s $3.5M contract without sending a player back in return by using a portion of its non-taxpayer mid-level exception.

Kelly Iko of The Athletic hears that Atlanta will acquire the draft rights to Alpha Kaba from Houston. The 29-year-old French forward was selected No. 60 overall in 2017 but has spent his entire career overseas.

It’s a straight salary dump move for the Hawks, who will move below the luxury tax line due to the deal. As for the Rockets, they’ll reacquire their future second-rounder for taking on Zeller’s salary, which is non-guaranteed beyond 2024-25.

The No. 4 overall pick of the 2013 draft, Zeller spent his first eight NBA seasons in Charlotte before becoming a journeyman over the past few years, spending time with Portland, Miami and New Orleans from 2021-24.

The Pelicans re-signed Zeller last summer to use his contract for salary-matching purposes in the Dejounte Murray trade. However, he has yet to play a game for the Hawks in 24-25, having been listed as away from the team for personal reasons for much of the season.

Considering he hasn’t played at all this season and the Rockets already have three centers (Alperen Sengun, Steven Adams, Jock Landale), it wouldn’t be surprising if Houston decides to waive the 32-year-old big man in the coming days to open up a roster spot.