Rockets Sign Joshua Smith
MONDAY, 6:16pm: The Rockets have formally announced the signing on Twitter.
FRIDAY, 7:14pm: The signing is official, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders tweets. The deal is a one-year, minimum salary arrangement that includes no guaranteed money, Pincus adds.
THURSDAY, 4:45pm: The Rockets and unrestricted free agent center Joshua Smith have reached an agreement on a contract, Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel reports (via Twitter). The length and terms of the agreement are not yet known, though it is most likely a minimum salary training camp deal. The Heat also reportedly expressed interest in the big man.
Smith, 23, finished his NCAA career at Georgetown this spring after spending his first two seasons at UCLA, and he appeared in 33 games as a senior, averaging 10.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 1.2 assists in 20.5 minutes per night. His career collegiate numbers overall were 10.4 PPG, 5.3 RPG, and 0.7 assists, and his career slash line was .591/.000/.613. Smith played summer league ball for the Heat this offseason, appearing in nine contests, where he averaged 5.0 PPG and 4.0 RPG.
The addition of Smith will give the Rockets a roster count of 19 players, including 14 with fully guaranteed pacts. However, Houston is a bit thin at the pivot as far as depth goes, which could give Smith a chance to make the regular season roster with a strong preseason showing.
Poll: 2015/16 Team Power Rankings (No. 28)
The start of NBA training camps is less than two weeks away, and teams are in the process of finalizing their preseason rosters. Every new season brings with it the hope for each franchise that it will conclude with the hoisting of the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. But for the more jaded fans — or practical, depending on your outlook — not every team has a realistic shot at making the playoffs, much less at being the last team standing when all is said and done and the playoffs have concluded.
We at Hoops Rumors want to know what you, the reader, think about each team’s chances this coming campaign. To help facilitate that, we’ll be posting a series of polls asking you to vote on where in the standings each franchise is likely to end the season. We’ll be going in reverse order, beginning with the question of which team you believe will occupy the very bottom of the standings. So please cast your vote below for the franchise you expect to end the season with the third worst overall record, or at No. 28 overall. But don’t end your involvement with the simple click of a button. Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on why you voted the way that you did. We look forward to what you have to say.
Previous Selections:
- No. 30: 76ers
- No. 29: Knicks
If you’re a Trade Rumors app user, click here.
Pacific Notes: Griffin, Kobe, Chandler
High-flying power forward Blake Griffin would ideally like to remain with the Clippers for his entire career, Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders relays. “Yeah, I mean L.A. is my home now,” said Griffin. “This is where I got drafted and I’ve been here since the beginning. I’ve been with this franchise during some bad times. You know, it hasn’t always been like it is now; anytime you have a chance to go from that to this, you feel invested. I’m not looking to go anywhere. With that being said, you never know [in this business]. But I’m happy here, I love it here, and I would love to finish my career here.” Griffin’s current deal runs through the 2017/18 season, though that final year is a player option worth $21,373,952. Be sure to check out the full interview Griffin did with Kennedy, as it is certainly worth a read.
Now here’s more out of the Pacific Division:
- Kobe Bryant is expected to be fully healthy at the start of Lakers training camp, but coach Byron Scott intends to carefully limit the veteran’s minutes this season to maximize what could potentially be Bryant’s final NBA hurrah, Bill Oram of the Orange County Register writes. “We’ve got to stick to the guns,” Scott said. “If we agree on a certain amount of time we’re going to stick to it. I know Kobe’s a competitor and he’s going to play as many minutes as you want him to play. I’m also a competitor, so I want to win and I know having him on the court gives me the best opportunity to win. If this is his last year. I want him to go out standing. I don’t want him to go out hurt.“
- Even though center Tyson Chandler is past his prime he brings with him exactly what the Suns need — stability to the pivot, spectacular interior defense, and leadership, the crew at Basketball Insiders opine in their season preview of the team. They also believe that the eighth seed in the Western Conference is likely to come down to a fight between Phoenix and the Jazz, with how well Utah compensates for the loss of Dante Exum being a big determining factor.
Hoops Rumors Weekly Mailbag 9/13/15-9/19/15
In addition to our weekly chat, which Chuck Myron facilitates every Wednesday, we have a second opportunity for you to hit us up with your questions in this, our weekly mailbag feature. Have a question regarding player movement, the salary cap, or the NBA draft? Drop me a line at HoopsRumorsMailbag@Gmail.com or @EddieScarito on Twitter. Now for this week’s inquiries:
“Do you think Doc Rivers was playing coy when he said the team won’t trade Jamal Crawford? Or do you see the Clippers keeping him the full season?” — James
I think Rivers will wait to see how Lance Stephenson will fit in with the team before he makes a final decision regarding Crawford. But beyond that, the Clippers are pretty stocked in the backcourt with Austin Rivers and J.J. Redick also on hand, and who will both cut into Crawford’s playing time. The most sensible path for the Clippers to take would probably be to hang onto Crawford until December, then try to deal him to fill any holes in the team’s rotation. The benefit of holding off on a deal is that it would give the team a better chance to assess its roster, as well as for them to hope that some other teams have a run of early season injuries in their backcourts, thus driving up the asking price for Crawford. Holding off dealing Crawford until the season is underway would also protect the Clippers in the event one of their players were to go down with a serious injury. In the end, I do think Crawford is traded, though it might not be until the February trade deadline.
“Should the Knicks seriously consider trading Carmelo Anthony?” — Vinnie
I think it’s getting to that point, yes. Though, for full-disclosure purposes, I think New York should have worked out a sign-and-trade last offseason rather than ink ‘Melo to his current deal. I’m not the biggest Anthony fan out there, and I firmly believe he needs to be the second or third best player on a team if he ever hopes to win an NBA title. That will likely never be the case with the Knicks, and with him being on the wrong side of 30, Anthony’s almost certainly in his decline phase. With their wealth of roster needs, and distinct lack of future draft picks, the Knicks are in dire need of a complete tear down, which will be difficult to accomplish as long as Anthony’s nearly $23MM salary is on the books for New York.
Of course, Anthony has a big say in all of this, given his no-trade clause. But if the Knicks get off to a slow start and hope for the postseason appears lost, I have a feeling Melo may be more amenable to relocating, though it will be extremely difficult to move that big a salary during the season. If he’s traded, it would likely occur after the season. That would net the Knicks a better return as well as expand the list of potential trade partners.
“Who do you predict will win the Rookie of the Year award for this season?” — Aaron
This is a tough one to answer prior to regular season rosters and starting lineups being set, but I’ll give it a go. The ROTY award is much more about the situation each first year player is placed in than which player is the most talented. Playing time is a huge determining factor, because this is primarily a stats-driven award. So keeping that in mind, I’d have to say the early favorite is the Sixers’ Jahlil Okafor. Philly doesn’t have all that much talent around him, so he should receive ample playing time, as well as become the team’s primary offensive weapon. That combination bodes well for Okafor to earn himself the award … if he can remain healthy and teams don’t park multiple defenders in the paint area to stop him.
“If the Isiah Thomas returning to the Knicks doomsday scenario does indeed come to pass, will Phil Jackson remain with the team?” — Nathan
Quick note, I love the phrasing of your question. It was definitely written by a longtime Knicks fan. I’ve had numerous nightmares involving Isiah making his return to the Knicks, and I hope and pray that it never comes to pass. But unfortunately, Thomas either has some serious blackmail material on James Dolan stashed away, or those two are simply destined to be together…in a basketball sense, of course. I fear as long as Dolan owns the team Isiah will always be lurking in the shadows awaiting his chance to strike, sort of like the antagonist in the film “It Follows.”
If this terrible event should indeed come to pass and Thomas is brought back into the fold with the Knicks, I can’t see any way that he and Jackson could co-exist. I should also mention that I don’t believe Jackson will complete his five year deal with the team regardless of Thomas’ whereabouts. So I could definitely see a scenario where Phil decides he’d rather be on the beach than at Madison Square Garden, and Dolan using that as a reason to bring back Thomas. No matter what the circumstances, I don’t see Thomas and Jackson being able to work together for very long, if at all. All I do know for sure is that I’m actively rooting against the New York Liberty to win even a single game next season. Maybe that would quell the return of Thomas talk? But these are the Knicks after all, so who knows at this point what it would take to make Dolan give up on Thomas for good…
Well, that’s all the space that I have for this week. Thanks to all those who sent in their inquiries. Please keep them coming, and I’ll see you back here next Saturday.
Southwest Notes: Perkins, Stefanski, Matthews
Kendrick Perkins said it was the Pelicans‘ strong young core of players that led him to choose to sign with the team this summer, Jim Eichenhofer of NBA.com writes. “You looked at every position from AD [Anthony Davis] to Jrue Holiday to Eric Gordon to Tyreke Evans and you just saw that they had a nice core, young guys that were good at every position,” Perkins said. “Raw talent. All they needed was a couple teaching points on the little things and professionalism. They had that [professionalism] already, because they work hard. But on the court, they needed a leader. The leader is not always the best player on the team, but more so the vocal side.”
“The young talent [was appealing],” Perkins continued. “You look at their team and [think about] having a veteran guy around to lead them and teach them how to be professionals, how to take care of their bodies, to be responsible on the road, to stay focused and don’t worry about the nightlife. Just the little things. You could tell they were a few things away from reaching a great goal. So I just felt like this was the place for me. I reached out to [GM] Dell [Demps] and he reached out to me. I felt wanted.”
Here’s more from the Southwest Division:
- Grizzlies VP of player personnel Ed Stefanski is happy in Memphis and has no interest in the Bucks’ vacant assistant GM position, Gery Woelfel of The Racine Journal Times tweets.
- Wesley Matthews, who signed a four-year, maximum salary deal with the Mavericks this offseason, hopes to break out of the three-and-D label he had with the Blazers and show his full repertoire of skills this season, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com relays. “You know, I’ve never been one to allow someone to label me,” Matthews said. “I always continue to try to get better. I’m not a content type of person. If they come up with a term ‘three-and-D’ and they want to fit me in that category, that’s fine. But there’s not a thing that I don’t think I can do on the court, and I’m excited for the opportunity. You know, talking to coach [Rick] Carlisle, I’m obviously familiar with the system, having ran it in Portland. And talking to him, there’s opportunities that he sees how I can help this team. And I’m excited for those opportunities.”
Hoops Rumors Originals 9/13/15-9/19/15
Here’s a look back at the original analysis generated by the Hoops Rumors staff this past week…
- In his weekly column, Sam Amico, the founder and editor of AmicoHoops.net and a broadcast journalist for Fox Sports Ohio, looked at the effect George Karl could have on the Kings.
- Chuck Myron broke down all of the contract scenarios for restricted free agent Tristan Thompson.
- I handed out my 2015 NBA Draft grades to the teams of the Pacific Division.
- If you missed the week’s live chat, you can view the transcript here.
- Chuck ran down the players who have partially guaranteed deals for the 2015/16 campaign.
- As a part of our continuing series, “The Beat,” we interviewed Adam Himmelsbach of The Boston Globe. You can follow Adam on Twitter at @AdamHimmelsbach, and click here to check out his stories on BostonGlobe.com.
- Chuck interviewed Dave King of SB Nation’s Bright Side of the Sun.
- Chris Crouse looked at Tyler Zeller as an extension candidate.
- I broke down the 2015/16 salary cap commitments for the Kings and the Spurs.
- Chuck ran down who the longest tenured primary basketball executives around the league are.
- Zach Links highlighted some of the better basketball blogs around in his weekly installment of Hoops Links.
- Chuck looked at where all of the Celtics players who have been traded since July 2014 are currently.
- We asked readers to vote on who they would select if they had the chance to redo the the 2003 NBA Draft. Here are the results for the No. 18, No. 19, and No. 20 picks.
- Chuck looked at the verbal agreements made this offseason that fell apart.
- If you missed any of our daily reader-driven discussions, be sure to check out the Community Shootaround archives.
- Chuck ran down all the players who have signed qualifying offers over the years.
- Here’s how you can follow Hoops Rumors on social media and RSS feeds.
- I answered reader questions in our Weekly Mailbag.
- We reviewed our commenting policy. Play nice everyone.
- We asked readers to rank where each NBA team will finish the 2015/16 campaign. Here are the results for teams No. 30 and No. 29.
Atlantic Notes: Vujacic, Harper, Celtics
One benefit of the Knicks signing Sasha Vujacic is his knowledge of the triangle offense, which he is ready to share with the other members of the team, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. “Of course, of course. I was always someone that helped players on the court. We have a lot of rookies and a lot of younger players –- I still consider myself young by the way -– so we have a great mix of guys and I’m looking forward to teaching them and giving them help,” Vujacic told Begley. “I don’t want to be a teacher because we have a coach that will lead us towards something [but] if there’s going to be anything needed for me to show or do I’ll be more than happy to do so.”
Here’s more out of the Atlantic Division:
- Knicks team president Phil Jackson is looking for the veteran to be a game-changing shooter off the bench for the team this season, Begley adds. “Except for a 10-day contract with the Clippers in 2014, Sasha hasn’t played in the NBA for four years, but at age 31 he still has plenty of game,” Jackson said. “He’s a classic streak-shooter who, when he’s zeroed in, can totally change a game in three minutes. He’ll be a significant force for us coming off the bench.”
- Justin Harper‘s one-year deal with the Nets is for the league minimum and is non-guaranteed, Eric Pincus of Basketball insiders relays (Twitter link).
- In a look at the Celtics‘ 2015 draftees, A. Sherrod Blakely of CSNNE.com believes that Jordan Mickey will make the biggest impact this season, noting that at some point, injuries or inconsistent play by those ahead of him on the depth chart will create an opportunity for him to log significant minutes. Blakely also notes that if R.J. Hunter can demonstrate himself to be an adequate defender and shoot with a relatively high level of confidence, he could easily wind up as the biggest steal of this year’s draft.
Week In Review 9/13/15-9/19/15
A few NBA GMs reportedly believe that it’s possible that the NBA draft will expand by a round or two once the D-League has 30 teams. Such a move would require union approval and wouldn’t likely take place until every NBA team has a D-League affiliate. The Nets and Hornets have a goal of starting up one-to-one D-League affiliates in time for the 2016/17 season, and almost all of the 11 teams currently without a D-League affiliate have expressed interest in following suit within the next few years, according to TNT’s David Aldridge.
“With those independent teams, we’re in varying stages of expansion discussions,” D-League president Malcolm Turner said to Aldridge. “No question, it’s a process. Several months ago we added Toronto and they’ll start next season, and with the Indy purchase of Fort Wayne we’ll have all our teams affiliated. For 2016/17 we’re focused on adding two and perhaps three teams. Beyond that, while we haven’t written anything in stone, expansion and 30 for 30 is definitely in the discussions for us.”
Here’s more from the week that was…
Free Agent Signings
- The Wizards and Josh Harrellson agreed to a training camp deal.
- The Rockets agreed to a deal with No. 32 overall pick Montrezl Harrell.
- The Grizzlies signed Patrick Christopher.
- The Pelicans and Chris Douglas-Roberts agreed to a deal.
- The Pelicans agreed to a training camp deal with Corey Webster.
- The Timberwolves agreed to a training camp deal with center Kleon Penn.
- The Hawks agreed to a deal with small forward DeQuan Jones.
- The Pistons agreed to a deal with center Jordan Bachynski.
- The Rockets agreed to a deal with center Joshua Smith.
- The Timberwolves agreed to a deal with swingman Nick Wiggins.
- The Cavaliers agreed to a deal with forward Nick Minnerath.
- The Heat agreed to a training camp deal with John Lucas III.
- The Bulls agreed to a deal with Jordan Crawford.
- The Hawks agreed to a deal with point guard Edgar Sosa.
- The Nets signed Justin Harper.
You can stay up to date on all of the signings with Hoops Rumors’ free agent tracker.
Waivers
- The Rockets waived guard Remi Yusuf.
Miscellaneous News
- Restricted free agent Norris Cole accepted his qualifying offer from the Pelicans.
- The Mavericks reportedly held out hope as recently as late June that they could convince Steve Nash to come out of retirement to play for them this coming season.
- The Bucks extended the contract of GM John Hammond through the 2016/17 season, the team announced.
- Pacers owner Herb Simon is pursuing legal means to keep the estate of his late brother and his brother’s widow from claiming part ownership of the team.
- Cavs draft-and-stash prospect Edin Bavcic signed with Sopron of Hungary.
- The Raptors officially named Tim Lewis, Nathaniel Mitchell, and David Gale as assistant coaches for their D-League affiliate.
- The Sixers reportedly don’t expect that draft-and-stash prospect Jordan McRae will be at training camp in spite of an August report that he would be.
- Harrison Barnes parted ways with agent Jeff Wechsler of 24/7 Sports Management. Barnes replaced him with Jeff Schwartz of Excel Sports Management.
- Jerrelle Benimon agreed to play for the Foshan Long Lions of China, and he pulled out of his reported deal with the Cavaliers to do so.
- The Hawks officially named Michael Blackstone as assistant GM, John Treloar as Director of Player Personnel, Malik Rose as Manager of Basketball Operations, Dotun Akinwale as Manager of Scouting, Matt Elijah as Manager of Basketball Administration, Daniel Starkman as Coordinator of Basketball Operations and David Painter as Director of Basketball Facilities.
Hoops Rumors Community Shootaround 9/18/15
The Bulls currently have a bit of a logjam at the power forward position heading into training camp. Veteran Pau Gasol is the expected starter, but after him things become a bit muddled. The remainder of minutes at the four spot will need to be divvied up between Taj Gibson, Nikola Mirotic, rookie Bobby Portis, Cameron Bairstow, and offseason signee Cristiano Felicio. While not all of these players are assured of a regular season roster spot, new head coach Fred Hoiberg will certainly have some tough calls to make, not just during the preseason, but over the course of each and every contest throughout the season.
This brings me to the topic of the day: Who should the Bulls’ power forward rotation consist of during the 2015/16 season?
Time for you to play head coach and make the call. Should Gasol be utilized off the bench to better take advantage of his versatility, or should he indeed remain the starter? As for the rest of the rotation, who makes the cut, and what should be the minutes allotments between those players? If you feel that the team is too stacked at the four, who would you trade, and why? Take to the comments section below to share your thoughts and opinions on the subject. We look forward to what you have to say.
Southeast Notes: Wizards, Holiday, Magic
The Wizards are hoping that their $55MM Entertainment and Sports Arena which, when construction is completed, will serve as their practice facility, among other uses, will be a powerful lure for free agents, especially Kevin Durant, who is set to hit the open market next summer, Ohm Youngmisuk of ESPN.com writes. Team owner Ted Leonsis also plans to add a D-League affiliate in the near future that will play in the new facility, Youngmisuk adds. Washington is currently operating without its own D-League affiliate.
“The Wizards would have a world-class practice facility and our fans would be able to watch practice,” Leonsis said. “And then we would attach to that facility a mini arena that would be really state of the art, maybe seat 3,000 to 5,000 people and we can do charity events there and have some preseason games there and maybe the Washington Mystics would play some games there. And we’d then also want to bring a D-League team there to the community and we would program it to put it in a part of the city that can really use hundreds of jobs,” he added. “Verizon Center is credited with helping turn around downtown D.C. and we think we can do it again in another community that needs a bear hug and some transformation.”
Here’s more from the Southeast Division:
- The Hawks have officially named Michael Blackstone as assistant GM, John Treloar as Director of Player Personnel, Malik Rose as Manager of Basketball Operations, Dotun Akinwale as Manager of Scouting, Matt Elijah as Manager of Basketball Administration, Daniel Starkman as Coordinator of Basketball Operations and David Painter as Director of Basketball Facilities, the team announced (h/t to Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who first reported the moves).
- The Magic have an intriguing collection of talent on paper, though it remains to be seen how well the players will mesh together on the court, Tim Bontemps of The New York Post (Facebook link) writes in his season preview. Orlando has enough firepower to make the postseason, but it may take another season before the team gets there, Bontemps concludes.
- Justin Holiday is itching to assume a larger role with the Hawks than he had on a stacked Warriors squad in 2014/15, KL Chouinard of NBA.com writes in a profile of the guard. The 26-year-old appeared in 59 contests for Golden State last season, but only averaged 11.1 minutes of action per night. Holiday inked a two year pact with Atlanta this offseason.