Poll: Will The Rockets Go To The Finals?
The Rockets are coming off of their biggest offseason in franchise history, headlined by the addition of the summer's No. 1 (or 1A/B) free agent. There's little doubt that the Rockets are poised to take a giant leap forward in 2013/14, but as we learned last season at Dwight Howard's last stop, nothing is guaranteed. But as far as standout small forward Chandler Parsons is concerned, the addition of Howard makes the club "immediate contenders", writes Jabari Davis of HoopsWorld.
“He’s the best center in the NBA, so he’s going to help our defense greatly,” Parsons said of Howard. “And on the other end, just being able to throw the ball into the post to a guy that can create double-teams and get to the line, it’s huge for our offense.”
While the Rockets had to do some amount of roster shuffling and lost promising forward Thomas Robinson and veteran Carlos Delfino in the process, Houston still has a great deal of depth to support their souped up starting five. As much as Omer Asik may hate the idea of getting bumped, he stands as one of the league's best frontcourt players off of the bench. And while the club explored landing a third star like Josh Smith to put alongside Howard and James Harden, one could argue that they already have one in the making in Parsons.
Parsons says that the Rockets are ready to contend right away, but we want to know if the readers of Hoops Rumors see them reaching the Finals right off of the bat.
Will The Rockets Reach The Finals?
-
No 82% (2,081)
-
Yes 18% (449)
Total votes: 2,530
Southwest Notes: Mavericks, Miller, Rockets, Grizzlies
Monta Ellis may not be the prized free agent that Mavericks fans wanted this summer, but he already has a spot in club history, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. “Possibly the fastest player ever to wear a Mavs uniform,” coach Rick Carlisle said via text message. “Scores, makes plays and is great in transition. We consider him a unique talent and look forward to integrating him into our team.” Here’s more out of the Southwest..
- The Rockets are inching up towards the Grizzlies and Thunder in the Mike Miller sweepstakes, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
- Brandan Wright decided to re-sign in Dallas in part because he wants to keep up the momentum that he has built with the Mavs, MacMahon writes. Wright will return to the Mavs on a two-year, $10MM deal that could pay an additional $1.1MM in incentives.
- Chandler Parsons is confident that the Rockets can contend after adding Dwight Howard in the middle and believes that the team is a perfect fit for the big man, writes Jabari Davis of HoopsWorld.
- Grizzlies guard Mike Conley is working hard to recruit Miller to Memphis and he went so far as to call the veteran and offer “golf on [him] every day”, tweets Stein.
Pacific Notes: Odom, Lakers, Clippers
DeMarcus Cousins hasn't had the smoothest tenure in Sacramento, but it sounds as though the Kings big man could be turning over a new leaf with the club. The big man told reporters yesterday that the new regime, headed by GM Pete D'Alessandro, is now asking for his input on potential free agents, something that the team never did with him before. We've been hearing talk about Boogie plying his craft elsewhere for quite some time, but he might just have things worked out with the new-look organization. Here's more out of the Pacfiic Division..
- Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (Twitter links) heard that free agent Lamar Odom had a productive conversation with Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak which could be the first step towards repairing that relationship. There hasn't been any word recently, however, but the Lakers and Clippers remain interested.
- Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times wonders if the Sixers could help the Lakers get out from under their luxury tax problems. If Philly doesn't have grand plans for their considerable amount of cap space, they could be convinced to take Steve Blake ($4MM) and Jordan Hill ($3.5MM) if they are given enough draft considerations and cash to make it worthwhile.
- Earlier today we learned that Greg Oden is set to make up his mind next week and he'll be choosing from a list of suitors that includes the Kings.
Bulls Release Malcolm Thomas
TUESDAY, 11:32am: The Bulls have officially waived Thomas, the team announced today in a press release.
MONDAY, 5:21pm: The Bulls won't be able to retain Malcolm Thomas for the 2013/14 season due to the franchise's salary situation, a league source told Shams Charania of RealGM. If the paperwork for Thomas' release has not already been filed, it will be shortly as his guarantee date is Wednesday, July 24th.
Thomas is an unfortunate cap casualty for Chicago as he is averaging 11 points, 15 rebounds and 1.7 blocks per game in summer league. The Bulls are interested in bringing back the 6-foot-8 forward at some point, a source said, but he is expected to draw interest from several NBA teams. The 24-year-old played five games for the Warriors last season before finishing the season with the Bulls, where he averaged 1.7 PPG and 1.3 RPG in seven games.
Pacific Notes: Thompson, Cousins, Marshall
Even though the Lakers said repeatedly that they wouldn't entertain a sign-and-trade for Dwight Howard this summer, many believed that the Warriors would have been able to change their minds with a package involving Klay Thompson if D12 chose Golden State. Thompson has obvious ties to L.A., but he stayed even-keeled as the speculation was going on, writes Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News. “If it happened, it happened,” Thompson said. “That’s nothing you can control. I’m happy where I’m at.” Here's more out of the Pacific Division..
- Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins says that he's not worried about a potential contract extension and he's only focused on Team USA at the moment, tweets Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee. Cousins added (link) that new GM Pete D'Alessandro has asked for his input on free agents, which hasn't happened before under previous management.
- When asked if he wants to stay with the Kings, Cousins answered in the affirmative without hesitation, writes Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee.
- Despite a disappointing rookie year, Suns guard Kendall Marshall is working to play a key role in the club's rotation this season, writes RealGM's Shams Charania. He'll have his work cut out for him as he'll jockey for time with Goran Dragic, Eric Bledsoe, Shannon Brown, and Malcolm Lee.
Paul George Hopes To Stay In Indiana
Pacers guard Paul George is a native of Los Angeles and it's rare that a day goes by where he doesn't hear the pleas of Lakers fans for him to suit up in purple and gold in 2014. However, it doesn't sound like George is looking to leave the Pacers for L.A., or anywhere else for that matter, writes Marc Stein of ESPN.com.
"I'm happy, man. I'm happy in Indiana. It's overwhelming (to hear) that they would want a player like me to come play for their team. But right now I'm focused on Indiana. I'm happy to be in Indiana. Our future is bright in Indiana. I wouldn't want to leave something great," said the 23-year-old.
George confirmed after today's Team USA practice that he has already opened contract extension talks with the Pacers. While he isn't getting into specifics about the discussions, one source close to the process told Stein this week that a max extension with the Pacers, most likely before the Oct. 31 deadline for players from the 2010 draft class, is a "foregone conclusion."
The former 10th overall pick had a breakout season in 2012/13, averaging 17.4 PPG, 4.1 APG, 7.6 RPG, and 1.8 SPG. He stepped up even more for Indiana in the postseason where he helped them take the Heat to seven games in the Eastern Conference Finals.
Southwest Notes: Amundson, Mavs, Leuer
Here's a look at the Southwest Division..
- Former Pelicans forward Louis Amundson is talking to several teams, but he doesn't have an offer yet, a source tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com (via Twitter). Amundson had his rights renounced by New Orleans earlier this month. The UNLV product averaged 1.9 PPG in 9.5 minutes per contest for three teams last season.
- Mark Cuban's hiring of Gersson Rosas as the team's next GM is more than a change in the Mavericks' organization, it's an experiment in the world of bio-analytics, writes Jeff Caplan of NBA.com.
- ShamSports has the exact year-by-year breakdown on Jon Leuer's contract with the Grizzlies. The big man will make $900K in year one, $968K in 2014/15, and $1.035MM (non-guaranteed) in the final season.
Northwest Notes: Pekovic, Robinson, Jazz
The Timberwolves have made it known that they intend to match any offer to restricted free agent Nikola Pekovic, but surprisingly no one has been willing to test their willingness to do so, writes Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld. Ingram argues that the Wolves already have a couple of players in Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio who expect to be max players in the near future, so it would at least be worth a try for a rival club. Here's more out of the Northwest Division..
- Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities speculates (via Twitter) that Pekovic's camp may be seeking a fifth year in negotiations with the Timberwolves. Flip Saunders is unlikely to go higher than four years though, according to Wolfson.
- More from Ingram, who writes that even though Nate Robinson isn't the type of player that is going to lead his team to the NBA Finals, he can still be a relentless spark plug for the Nuggets off of the bench. Robinson also comes at a bargain price, getting a two-year deal worth a little over $4MM.
- Guard John Lucas III told reporters, including Steve Luhm of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter), that he has known GM Dennis Lindsey since he was "eight or nine", which helped steer him to Utah. The guard added (link) that his father sees Utah as an ideal place for him at this point in his career and he agrees.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Cavs Sign Sergey Karasev
The Cavs have signed first-round pick Sergey Karasev, according to Mary Schmitt Boyer of the Plain Dealer (via Twitter). The No. 19 overall selection will be introduced in a press conference tomorrow.
There was speculation that the Russian forward might spend the 2013/14 campaign overseas, but he'll be with Cleveland next season. Prior to the draft, Karasev was talking to teams in his native country and reportedly came away confident that he would go inside of the top 15 picks. Several teams were said to be zeroing in on him and the Cavs even thought about trading up to No. 13 to guarantee that they'd get him.
John Lucas III Signs With Jazz
JULY 22ND, 2:37pm: The Jazz have officially announced the signing of Lucas in a press release.
JULY 15TH, 4:05pm: Free agent point guard John Lucas III has informed his other suitors that he will sign with the Jazz, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The deal with Utah is set to be wrapped up sometime this week. Lucas is represented by Lee Basketball Services, according to the Hoops Rumors Agency Database.
Lucas spent last season with the Raptors where he averaged 5.3 PPG and 1.7 APG in 13.1 minutes per contest. Recently, we heard that Lucas was among the many point guards that the Knicks were considering this summer. Lucas has spent parts of five seasons in the Association with a three year intermission that took him through Spain and the D-League.