HOUSTON—The Houston Rockets have acquired Central Florida guard Jermaine Taylor and Spanish guard Sergio Llull, purchasing the second-round picks of the Washington Wizards and Denver Nuggets.
The Rockets started the day with no draft picks, the result of deals that brought forwards Ron Artest and Luis Scola to Houston.
The Wizards took Taylor with the 32nd overall pick and Llull (yull) with the 34th overall pick and the Rockets acquired both players in exchange for cash considerations.
The move comes the day after the Rockets announced that Yao was out indefinitely to seek further treatment for a hairline fracture in his broken left foot.
The 6-foot-4 Taylor was the Conference USA Player of the Year and the nation’s third-leading scorer, averaging 26 points per game. He shot 48 percent from the field and 38 percent from 3-point range last season.
Taylor is the league’s fourth all-time scorer (1,979), averaging 16.2 points in four college seasons. He shot 47 percent from the field for his career and 38 percent from 3-point range.
“This is something I’ve been waiting for since I can remember,” Taylor said in a conference call late Thursday. “Every time someone asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, the first thing that came to my mind and the only thing that came to my mind was NBA player.”
The 6-2 Llull has played for Real Madrid since 2007. Llull averaged 7.2 points and 2.1 assists in 18 games during the 2008-09 season.
Later, the Rockets acquired Arizona forward Chase Budinger, who was drafted by Detroit with the 44th overall pick, for cash and a future second-round pick.
