The Los Angeles Lakers acquired guard Tyler Ennis from the Houston Rockets before Thursday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline, according to The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski. The Rockets have acquired Marcelo Huertas, but they will reportedly waive him.
For the Lakers, this is pretty simple -- they gave up a veteran point guard for a young point guard. Ennis, 22, is joining his fourth team in three seasons, but still has potential as a floor general -- especially if he becomes a consistent 3-point shooter. Los Angeles is rebuilding and just traded guard Lou Williams to Houston, so there are backcourt minutes available for coach Luke Walton to see what Ennis can do.
The Rockets initially acquired Ennis from the Milwaukee Bucks in September, but he didn’t quite manage to carve out a niche for himself. With Williams joining James Harden, Patrick Beverley and Eric Gordon, Ennis probably wasn’t going to play another meaningful minute in Houston this season. It was more valuable to the Rockets to save money and create a roster spot, as they try to add to their team again on the buyout market.
