The Rockets got their deal approved Tuesday as they have sent rarely-used forward Scott Padgett to the Memphis Grizzlies for center Jake Tsakalidis.
The 7-foot-2, 290-pound Tsakalidis hasn't had much of an impact in his 6-year career, but he can get rebounds in limited action. He's averaged 4.9 points and 4 boards in 16.1 minutes a night for his career. He gives the Rockets solid insurance behind the injured Yao Ming and 40-year old Dikembe Mutombo.
Tsakalidis was drafted 25th overall in the 2000 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns. The 27-year old was born in Rustavi, Georgia, but grew up in Greece, making the Rockets an even hotter item in Athens as Vassilis Spanoulis now has a teammate to hang out with for some gyros and baklava.
Ironically they may enjoy about the same amount of playing time as well, but we'll see.
While Tsakalidis makes more money than Padgett, he is on the tail end of a 3-year, $8.7 million contract that is up this summer.
We thought the Grizzlies were a likely trade partner, but assumed the target would be point guard Chucky Atkins. No doubt the Rockets felt they were potentially vulnerable in the paint.
There may be another trade in the next week. The Rockets (and all the NBA for that matter) have until February 22nd to strike a deal and Houston still has Bobby Sura's expiring contract to work with.
