Rockets Notes: Kaminsky, Deadline Moves, Silas, Green
The Rockets acquired three veteran players at the trade deadline, but have already bought out two of them, placing Danny Green and Justin Holiday on waivers on Sunday and Monday, respectively.
As Kelly Iko of The Athletic writes, Houston didn’t necessarily acquire those players expecting to let them go, since the team likes the idea of having some veteran leaders to complement its young core. Head coach Stephen Silas addressed that issue when he discussed Holiday’s exit from the team, tacitly acknowledging that it’s hard to blame those vets for not wanting to stick around and be part of a 13-44 squad.
“Ideally you want a few guys who have more than three years of experience on the floor and he had 10,” Silas said. “But that’s the business of the game and where we are as an organization as far as rebuilding. Ideally, you don’t want to roll out 10 guys who are first-, second- and third-year guys but these are guys who play hard, try and learn and are improving. That’s where we’re at.”
Frank Kaminsky is the lone veteran acquired at the deadline who is still a Rocket, though there’s no guarantee that’ll be the case for the rest of the season. Team and league sources tell Iko that Kaminsky’s situation is “fluid,” with some teams expressing interest in signing the big man if he’s waived by Houston. While the two sides continue to talk, Kaminsky plans to make the most of his time with the team, even if it’s brief.
“This is the team that wanted me,” he said. “They want me to be here, so I’m going to do whatever I can to help as much as I possibly can. Whether that’s playing or me being a vocal leader in the locker room, practice, shootarounds, whatever.”
Here’s more on the Rockets:
- Asked about the deadline-day trades that sent out Eric Gordon, Garrison Mathews, and Bruno Fernando, general manager Rafael Stone told reporters, including Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle that he’s confident the cap flexibility and draft assets generated by those moves will make the Rockets a better team in the long run. “We are going to have the most cap space this summer of any team in the NBA, I believe,” Stone said. “We’re going to have a lot of room to sign free agents to make trades into that space to really transform the team. And we decided that we’re really, really valuing that flexibility. And so, within that context, we think that we improved the team.”
- Stone said he’s not necessarily “satisfied” with the development of young players like Jalen Green, Alperen Sengun, and Jabari Smith, but remains confident in the upside of Houston’s young core. “We want them to be great players, and they’re not, yet,” Stone said, per Feigen. “The goal is not to be OK. It’s not to be improving; it’s to be great. And we’re realistic. We knew that they wouldn’t be great in this time frame. But that’s the goal. So, until we get to the goal, we’re not going be satisfied. We like them. We liked their work ethic. We’re excited about their future. But we all have a lot of work to do.”
- Stone declined to comment about the future of head coach Stephen Silas beyond this season. According to Feigen, Silas is under contract for 2023/24, but his salary is not yet guaranteed.
- Danny Green gave up $289,472 as part of his buyout agreement with the Rockets, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Insider link). That reduces his cap hit from $10MM to $9,710,528. Green is expected to receive $2MM from Cleveland on a rest-of-season deal.
Boban Marjanovic Re-Signs With Rockets
In a move that was expected when he was waived on Thursday, the Rockets announced (via Twitter) that they have re-signed Boban Marjanovic for the rest of the season.
Marjanovic was released because the team needed an open roster spot to complete a three-team trade that sent Eric Gordon to the Clippers. The 34-year-old center became a free agent after clearing waivers, and Houston had two roster openings available after completing a buyout with Danny Green and waiving John Wall.
Marjanovic, who was acquired in a trade with the Mavericks last summer, has seen limited playing time with the Rockets. He appeared in 17 games before being waived, averaging 2.8 points and 1.5 rebounds in 4.2 minutes per night.
Although Marjanovic likely doesn’t have much of a future in Houston, he can serve as a mentor to the team’s young big men and is considered one of the best teammates in the league. He will become a free agent again after the season.
Hornets’ Reggie Jackson, Rockets’ John Wall Officially Waived
Veteran guards Reggie Jackson and John Wall were among several players who were officially waived on Sunday, according to press releases from their respective teams. The Hornets cut Jackson, while the Rockets let go of Wall.
Both players had spent most of the season with the Clippers, who completed a series of deadline deals on Thursday. Jackson was sent from Los Angeles to Charlotte in trade for Mason Plumlee, while Wall was moved to Houston in a deal for Eric Gordon.
Since they were both essentially just salary-matching pieces in those trades, Jackson and Wall were widely expected to be waived. Jackson was said to be negotiating a buyout with the Hornets, while Rockets general manager Rafael Stone confirmed in his post-deadline presser than Houston would simply release Wall, whose last stint with the team didn’t end well.
Jackson is reportedly on track to sign with the Nuggets once he clears waivers; Wall doesn’t yet have his next NBA home lined up, as far as we know.
Jackson and Wall were among several veterans who were officially cut on Sunday. The Rockets also waived Danny Green, while the Magic parted ways with Patrick Beverley and Terrence Ross and San Antonio released Stanley Johnson.
Danny Green Agrees To Buyout, Waived By Rockets
6:27pm: Green has officially been waived, according to the NBA transactions log. He has reached an agreement to sign with the Cavaliers upon clearing waivers.
10:51am: Danny Green will become a free agent after reaching a buyout agreement with the Rockets, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.
The Cavaliers and Celtics are considered the frontrunners to sign Green, with the Lakers and Suns involved as well, sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Green must clear waivers before he can join another team.
Cleveland, Boston, L.A. and Phoenix are all in need of wing depth, and Green will bring a strong playoff pedigree to whomever is able to land him. The 35-year-old has three championship rings and was part of L.A.’s title-winning team in 2020.
Green was sent from Memphis to Houston on Thursday as a salary-matching piece in a three-team trade that also involved the Clippers. He is making $10MM this season on an expiring contract.
Green spent most of the season recovering from an ACL tear and didn’t play at all until February 1. He averaged 14.3 minutes in three games with the Grizzlies and hasn’t suited up for the Rockets since the trade.
NBA Teams With Open Roster Spots
In the wake of Thursday’s trade deadline, several rosters around the NBA remain in flux. Some players will be waived or bought out in the coming days, while others will sign with new teams as free agents, either on 10-day contracts or rest-of-season deals.
With that in mind, we’re doing a Saturday afternoon check-in on open roster spots across the league. Given how much action we expect on the transaction wire in the coming days, it may not take long for this list to become outdated, but this is a snapshot of where things stand as of 1:00 pm Central time on February 11.
With the help of our roster counts page, which will continue to be updated for the rest of the season to account for each new transaction, here are the teams that currently have open roster spots:
Teams with two open roster spots:
- Milwaukee Bucks
- New York Knicks
- Phoenix Suns
These three teams all sent out more players than they received in trade-deadline deals and are carrying just 13 players apiece on standard contracts.
Technically, NBA teams are required to carry a minimum of 14 players on standard contracts, but they’re allowed to dip to 13 for up to two weeks at a time, so these clubs will have until February 23 to fill at least one of their two openings.
Teams with one open roster spot:
- Boston Celtics
- Brooklyn Nets
- Charlotte Hornets
- Note: The Hornets are reportedly likely to buy out Reggie Jackson, which would open up a second roster spot.
- Cleveland Cavaliers
- Denver Nuggets
- Golden State Warriors
- Los Angeles Clippers
- Los Angeles Lakers
- Miami Heat
- Note: The Heat’s 14th roster spot is occupied by Jamaree Bouyea, who is on a 10-day contract, so they’ll open up a second roster spot when his deal expires during the All-Star break.
- Oklahoma City Thunder
- Note: The Thunder have a full 15-man roster, but one of their two-way contract slots is open.
- Philadelphia 76ers
- Utah Jazz
We’re still waiting to see which players are officially bought out, but more roster spots will open when those moves are completed. For instance, the Magic currently have a full 15-man roster, but would create two openings if they finalize buyouts for both Terrence Ross and Patrick Beverley — they’re said to be in talks with both players.
The Jazz would open up a second spot on their 15-man roster if they buy out Russell Westbrook.
The Rockets and Pacers currently have full 15-man rosters, but will create openings by officially waiving John Wall and Serge Ibaka, respectively. However, the expectation is that they’ll re-sign Boban Marjanovic and James Johnson, respectively, to fill those newly opened spots.
The Wizards are in a similar situation — they’re reportedly working on a buyout with Will Barton, but the expectation is that they’d use their 15th roster spot in that scenario to promote Jordan Goodwin from his two-way deal. That would create a two-way opening for the team.
Finally, while the Mavericks and Pistons technically have full rosters at this time, each team’s 15th man (Chris Silva for Dallas, Stanley Umude for Detroit) is in a 10-day contract, so they’re both in good position to open up a spot if they need it.
And-Ones: Taxpayers, Cap Room, Traded Cash, Sims, Lue, More
Prior to the trade deadline, 10 NBA teams projected to be taxpayers this season and the 20 non-taxpayers were each projected to receive $17.2MM as a result of those tax penalties, according to ESPN’s Bobby Marks (Twitter link).
However, one of those 10 taxpayers – the Sixers – ducked below the tax line with a deadline deal, and the Nets‘ Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving trades reduced Brooklyn’s projected end-of-season tax bill by approximately $100MM, Marks notes. As a result of those changes, among others, the luxury tax distribution at the end of the season will now be split among 21 teams and will be worth a projected $14.5MM, based on current team salaries, says Marks.
Danny Leroux of The Athletic also considers the financial impact of a busy trade deadline week, though he’s looking ahead to the offseason, breaking down which teams project to have the most cap room in the summer of 2023.
Leroux anticipates there will be eight teams with the ability to generate significant cap space, ranging from the Rockets at $61MM to the Pacers at $28MM. The Spurs ($40-48MM), Jazz ($31-45MM), Magic ($22-58MM), Hornets ($27-37MM), Thunder ($31MM), and Pistons ($30MM) are also in position to operate under the cap, Leroux writes. The range in projections for some of those teams is related to decisions on options and non-guaranteed salaries.
Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:
- Eric Pincus of Bleacher Report has the details on the cash that changed hands at the trade deadline. In a series of tweets, Pincus reports that the Lakers sent $2MM to Magic in the Mohamed Bamba trade, the Suns sent $1MM to the Thunder in the Darius Bazley trade, the Clippers sent $1MM to the Hornets in the Mason Plumlee trade, and the Nets sent $1.36MM to the Pacers in the four-team Durant blockbuster.
- Who will be available on the buyout market in the coming weeks? John Hollinger of The Athletic lists and ranks 32 buyout candidates (or players who have already been cut), starting with veteran guards Russell Westbrook and Reggie Jackson.
- Circling back to a pair of pre-deadline stories: Knicks center Jericho Sims has committed to take part in this year’s dunk contest after Trail Blazers rookie Shaedon Sharpe dropped out, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). And Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue will replace Suns head coach Monty Williams as an assistant on Steve Kerr‘s Team USA coaching staff, per a press release.
- Disney CEO Bob Iger said this week that his company doesn’t plan to sell ESPN, according to Daniel Kaplan of The Athletic, who adds that Iger expressed a desire for ESPN to retain NBA rights when the league negotiates its next media deal.
Buyout Rumors: Green, Westbrook, Bulls, Beverley, Ibaka, Heat, Sixers, Grizzlies
After Rockets general manager Rafael Stone confirmed in a Friday press conference that Houston will simply waive John Wall, with no buyout required, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN said during an appearance on NBA Today (YouTube link) that Danny Green would welcome a similar arrangement.
Both Wall and Green were acquired by Houston as salary-matching chips in the team’s Eric Gordon trade on Thursday. It’s unclear if Green would be willing to give up money as part of a buyout agreement.
If Green does become a free agent, teams like the Celtics and Cavaliers would be among those with interest, according to Wojnarowski. Woj also mentions “Los Angeles” as a potential Green suitor, though it’s unclear if he means the Lakers, the Clippers, or both — they each have an open spot on their 15-man roster.
Here’s more on the NBA’s buyout market:
- Jazz general manager Justin Zanik told reporters on Friday that no decisions have been made yet on Russell Westbrook‘s future and that the veteran guard is open to the idea of playing for Utah to finish the season, tweets Tony Jones of The Athletic. Westbrook is considered a strong candidate to be bought out.
- Wojnarowski said today on NBA Today (YouTube link) that if Westbrook does become available, the Bulls are a team to watch as a potential frontrunner. Head of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas said today that the team plans to “look at” the buyout market, per Joe Cowley of The Chicago Sun-Times. The Clippers have also been linked to Westbrook, but Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times says the Clips aren’t expected to be overly active in the buyout market, adding that insiders around the league are skeptical about Westbrook landing with L.A.
- The Magic and Patrick Beverley are working on a contract buyout, reports Shams Charania of The Athletic (via Twitter). The Magic said on Thursday that they weren’t requiring Beverley to report to the team, so that news comes as no surprise.
- Big man Serge Ibaka, who will be waived by Indiana, has some interest in joining the Heat, but it’s unclear if that interest is mutual, writes Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald.
- The Sixers and Grizzlies will take decidedly different approaches to the buyout market. Sixers executive Daryl Morey said today that moving under the tax line at the trade deadline sets up the team to potentially pursue “multiple” targets on the buyout market, per Kyle Neuback of PhillyVoice.com. Grizzlies head of basketball operations Zach Kleiman, on the other hand, said he doesn’t envision his team looking at the buyout market, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Southwest Notes: Wood, Hardaway, Poeltl, Rockets, Pelicans
Despite being the subjects of trade rumors for weeks, Mavericks veterans Christian Wood and Tim Hardaway Jr. remained with Dallas beyond this year’s trade deadline. Still, Callie Caplan of The Dallas Morning News notes that their futures with the club are somewhat unclear.
As Caplan writes, Hardaway’s inefficient play has made him and his remaining contract money tough to trade. Including this season, the veteran wing still has three years and $53.7MM left on his current deal.
Wood, meanwhile, is eligible for a four-year contract extension worth up to $77MM through the rest of the season, after which he will become an unrestricted free agent. A source tells Caplan that the Mavericks’ front office has not offered Wood an extension yet, in an effort to maximize the team’s flexibility this summer.
There’s more from around the Southwest:
- The Spurs opted to ship center Jakob Poeltl to the Raptors, rather than have to pay him in free agency this summer, in part because the team reportedly was not comfortable paying the rim-protecting center more than $65MM over four years, per LJ Ellis of Spurs Talk. Ellis says San Antonio believes the bidding price for Poeltl will go well north of that sum.
- New veteran Rockets additions Danny Green, Justin Holiday and Frank Kaminsky could ultimately be retained by Houston, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The Rockets are set to assess if Green would like to remain on their roster, which has been their general policy with the veterans they’ve traded for in the recent past. Houston likes the possible fit of Holiday even past 2022/23, and Kaminsky has a connection with head coach Stephen Silas, thanks to their shared time on the Hornets.
- The Pelicans made just one trade deadline deal, acquiring swingman Josh Richardson from the Spurs. William Guillory of The Athletic reveals that New Orleans hopes to bring Richardson, an unrestricted free agent this summer, back into the fold next season as well.
Eric Gordon To Clippers, Luke Kennard To Grizzlies In Three-Team Trade
10:22pm: The trade is now official, according to press releases from the Rockets, Grizzlies, and Clippers.
As first reported by Kelly Iko of The Athletic and confirmed by the Rockets, the swap rights Houston got in the deal are top-six protected. So in the unlikely event that the Thunder’s and Clippers’ picks both land in the top six, the Rockets won’t be able to swap the Bucks’ first-rounder for the least favorable of those two picks.
The Rockets also confirmed that they’ve waived Boban Marjanovic to accommodate the extra incoming player in the deal. They’re expected to re-sign him once he clears waivers and Wall is released.
Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times (Twitter link) has the details on the three second-round picks the Clippers acquired from the Grizzlies. They are as follows:
- The Raptors’ 2024 second-round pick.
- Either the Pacers’ 2024 second-round pick or the least favorable of the Cavaliers’ and Jazz’s 2024 second-round picks (whichever is most favorable).
- The Grizzlies’ 2027 second-round pick.
1:20pm: The Clippers have reached an agreement to acquire veteran wing Eric Gordon from the Rockets, sources tell Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).
According to Charania, the move will be part of a three-team deal that sends Luke Kennard to the Grizzlies, with Clippers guard John Wall headed back to Houston (Twitter links). The Rockets plan to waive Wall, tweets Chris Haynes of Bleacher Report.
Danny Green will be sent from Memphis to Houston in the trade, according to Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the Clippers are getting three second-round picks from the Grizzlies. The Rockets will also acquire the right to swap this year’s Bucks first-round pick with the Clippers’ first-rounder (or the Thunder’s first-rounder, if the Clippers pick is earlier in the draft), tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
It’s an interesting trade from all sides. The Clippers have needed a guard who could drive and shoot from outside while playing decent defense, and Gordon fits that bill when he’s playing well. Gordon has been in trade rumors for years, and now he’s headed back to the Clippers, who drafted him seventh overall back in 2008.
While the Clippers took a risk by potentially losing their own first-round pick, they’ll still be guaranteed to receive the Bucks’ first-rounder and will also get three second-rounders from Memphis, which isn’t bad at all considering they arguably got the best player in the trade. Gordon, 34, makes $19.57MM this season, but his $20.92MM salary for 2023/24 is non-guaranteed.
The Rockets had long been looking for a first-round pick for Gordon, and they’re essentially swapping Milwaukee’s potential late first-round pick (it would be 28th right now) for one with higher upside — the Clippers’ would be 18th right now. The Bucks (37-17) are currently six games ahead of the Clippers (31-27), but there’s still 20-plus games remaining for both teams.
Green has been one of the NBA’s best 3-and-D wings for the better part of a decade, winning three championships with the Spurs, Raptors and Lakers. He holds a 39.9% career mark from behind the arc, but he’s 35 years old and just made his season debut this month after recovering from a torn ACL suffered in last year’s playoffs. Green will be a free agent this summer.
Wall temporarily heading back to Houston after his troubled tenure with the Rockets is an ironic twist, as he’ll be waived by the same team that bought him out in the offseason — that’s how he signed with L.A. in the first place. He didn’t find much success with the Clippers, posting a poor shooting slash line of .408/.303/.681 for a team hoping to contend.
The Grizzlies rank just 24th in the league in 3-point percentage and get one of the league’s best shooters in the 26-year-old Kennard, who holds a career mark of 42.7% on 3s, including 44.7% this season. He is not a strong defensive player, but he’s a decent complementary play-maker.
Dealing away three second-rounders for a player who is nine years younger and on a reasonable long-term contract that will pay him about $45.2MM through 2025 (the final year is a team option) makes sense. Green is a very good, albeit streaker shooter, but Kennard is elite in that regard.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
Hawks, Rockets Finalize Four-Player Swap
7:04pm: The trade is now official, the Rockets and Hawks formally confirmed in a pair of press releases.
1:33pm: The Hawks are trading Justin Holiday and Frank Kaminsky to the Rockets for Garrison Mathews and Bruno Fernando, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski tweets.
The Rockets are also acquiring two second-round picks that the Thunder owed the Hawks in 2024 and 2025, Kelly Iko of The Athletic tweets.
The trade provides some salary cap relief for Atlanta. Holiday is making approximately $6.3MM and Kaminsky is on a veteran’s minimum deal (approximately $2.46MM). Fernando ($2.7MM) and Mathews ($2MM) have non-guaranteed contracts for next season, Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets. There’s also a team option on Matthews’ contract for 2024/25.
None of the players in the deal were playing significant minutes. Holiday has played in 28 game this season, averaging 4.5 points in 14.7 minutes. Kaminsky has seen spot duty in 26 games.
Fernando has played 30 games (four starts) this season, averaging 4.0 points and 3.7 rebounds in 11.7 minutes. Mathews has appeared in 45 games off the bench this season, averaging 4.8 points in 13.4 minutes.
The 34th overall pick in 2019, Fernando spent his first two seasons in Atlanta, so the Hawks are familiar with him as a person and player.