Hawks Complete Five-Team Trade; Acquire Usman Garuba, TyTy Washington Jr. and Future Draft Picks from Houston and Cash Considerations from Oklahoma City
ATLANTA – The Atlanta Hawks have completed a five-team trade, the team announced today. Atlanta acquires Usman Garuba, TyTy Washington Jr. and future draft picks from Houston, in addition to cash considerations from Oklahoma City. Houston receives the draft rights to Alpha Kaba (the 60th player selected in the 2017 NBA Draft) from Atlanta. The LA Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies were also involved in the trade.
Garuba saw action in 75 games (one start) with the Rockets during the 2022-23 season, tallying 3.0 points and 4.1 rebounds in 12.9 minutes of play (.486 FG%, .407 3FG%, .617 FT%). He shot a perfect clip from the floor in 15 outings this past season, tied for the 12th-most such games in the league during the 2022-23 campaign.
Selected by Houston with the No. 23 overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft, the 6-8 forward from Madrid, Spain has appeared in 99 games over his two-year career, tallying 2.8 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12.2 minutes (.475 FG%, .367 3FG%, .630 FT%). Garuba saw action in 11 games (all starts) with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA G League during the 2021-22 season, notching 9.2 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.64 steals and 1.09 blocks in 24.6 minutes (.589 FG%, .333 3FG%).
Washington Jr, the No. 29 selection in the 2022 NBA Draft by Houston, appeared in 31 games (two starts) during his rookie season, averaging 4.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 14.0 minutes. He saw action in 18 total games (all starts) with Rio Grande Valley, registering 23.1 points, 6.0 assists and 4.6 rebounds in 34.7 minutes of play (.442 FG%, .317 3FG%, .833 FT%).
In his lone collegiate season at the University of Kentucky, he was named to the All-SEC Freshman Team, Second Team All-SEC (coaches) and a semifinalist for the Jerry West Award. Washington Jr. appeared in 31 games (29 starts) with the Wildcats during the 2021-22 season, averaging 12.5 points, 3.9 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals in 29.2 minutes (.451 FG%, .350 3FG%, .750 FT%).
Kaba was selected by the Hawks with the No. 60th overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft.