Rockets Notes: Durant, Extension, Eason, Starters
The Rockets and star forward Kevin Durant formally finalized a two-year contract extension reportedly worth $90MM on Sunday. Head coach Ime Udoka discussed Durant’s new deal, which features a player option for 2027/28, as Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle relays.
“Continuity for a great player being around the organization, and I think we all knew when we traded for him and when he came, it wasn’t a short-term thing,” Udoka said. “So good to get to a point where everybody’s happy and hopefully (he will) finish his career here.”
Udoka also commented on Durant’s willingness to accept a contract that came in about $29MM below the maximum amount he could have been offered, Lerner adds.
“I think a lot of these guys are all about the right things, about winning and whatever it takes to get there, understanding that flexibility matters and it puts us in a good spot when there’s extra money to go around,” Udoka said. “We’re all on the same page as far as what we want to do here and the goal of winning a championship.”
We have more notes from Houston:
- Durant’s extension, which begins in 2026/27, does not include any bonuses or incentives, a source tells Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). While bonuses and incentives used to be a regular feature in NBA contracts, teams have been avoiding them the past two offseasons because they count toward the tax aprons.
- The Rockets and forward Tari Eason are expected to come to terms on a rookie scale extension before Monday’s deadline, according to David Aldridge of The Athletic. A report on Saturday indicated that Houston is hoping to sign Eason to a deal that’s “significantly lower” than Jabari Smith Jr.‘s five-year, $122MM extension.
- The Rockets may not have a set starting five to open the season, Udoka said earlier this week (Twitter link via Lerner). Udoka suggested the starters might be based on matchups, at least until the roster is closer to full strength — free agent addition Dorian Finney-Smith is still recovering from ankle surgery, as is Jae’Sean Tate, though the latter was able to practice on Saturday.
Kevin Durant Signs Two-Year Extension With Rockets
12:15 pm: Durant’s extension is now official, the Rockets announced in a press release (Twitter link).
8:02 am: The Rockets and star forward Kevin Durant have agreed to terms on a new two-year contract extension, his business partner Rich Kleiman tells Shams Charania of ESPN (Twitter link). According to Charania, the deal is worth $90MM and includes a second-year player option for the 2027/28 season.
Houston was one of the teams on Durant’s list of preferred destinations when the Suns put him on the trade block during the summer, so there was an expectation after the two teams agreed to a deal that Durant and the Rockets would work out an agreement of their own sooner or later.
However, there was also a sense that the Rockets weren’t willing to give Durant the maximum extension he was been eligible for, which was worth roughly $119MM over two years (based on a projected $166MM cap). That maximum salary figure would’ve increased slightly at the six-month mark after the trade, but the 37-year-old couldn’t sign an extension longer than two years due to the over-38 rule.
Ultimately, the two sides agreed to an extension that will see Durant take a pay cut from his current $54.7MM salary but still represents a massive payday for a player entering his 19th NBA season. According to Charania (Twitter link), there was an understanding when Durant was dealt to the Rockets that he wouldn’t push for a maximum contract in order to help the team maintain flexibility to build and retain its roster going forward.
Durant has expressed this fall that he feels comfortable in Houston, where he has reunited with one-time Seattle SuperSonics teammate Jeff Green (story via Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle) and fellow University of Texas alums Royal Ivey, D.J. Augustin, and Dexter Pittman, each of whom has a role within the Rockets’ organization (story via Lerner). As Chris Mannix of SI.com wrote in a feature story earlier this week, Durant is hopeful that he’ll retire as a Rocket.
“I’m looking to be here as long as I can, play my last years of my career,” he said. “That’s the intent. I know, I said that about Phoenix, too, but that’s the intent. I would love to do that. I mean, I’m 37 years old and I’m going on 19 years in the league. I want to be solidified in a spot and build with a team with a group of guys that’s going to be around for a while. So hopefully this is it.”
Although Durant’s stint with the Suns didn’t play out as he or the team hoped, the 15-time All-Star continued to put up monster offensive numbers during his time in Phoenix. In 62 games last season, he averaged 26.6 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 4.2 assists in 36.5 minutes per night, with a shooting line of .527/.430/.839.
The Rockets are optimistic that Durant’s ability to score in the half-court setting will raise their ceiling after they struggled in those situations, especially in crunch time, during last season’s first-round playoff series vs. Golden State.
As Bobby Marks of ESPN notes (via Twitter), Houston was projected to be about $80MM below the second tax apron in 2026/27 prior to Durant’s deal. His new salary will come in low enough to allow the club to extend Tari Eason and fill out its roster in free agency next summer while remaining below that threshold. Eason is eligible to sign a rookie scale extension today or Monday — if he doesn’t work out a deal with the Rockets at this time, he’ll be a restricted free agent next summer.
According to Charania (Twitter link), Durant’s new contract – including the player option – increases his total career current and future earnings to over $598MM, which is an NBA record. LeBron James was the previous record-holder, coming in just below $584MM.
Extension Rumors: Daniels, Ivey, Duren, Eason, Braun, Sharpe
After talking to agents and executives around the league, Jake Fischer of The Stein Line states in his latest Substack column (subscription required) that there will likely be few, if any, rookie scale extensions reached before Monday’s deadline that carry an average annual value larger than $25MM. Fischer adds that teams have become more cautious about handing out large deals because of the restrictions that accompany the first and second aprons.
He points to Hawks guard Dyson Daniels as someone who should be in good position to match the five-year, $150MM extensions that teammate Jalen Johnson and Orlando guard Jalen Suggs both received last offseason. However, sources tell Fischer that Atlanta’s front office is willing to let Daniels test restricted free agency next year if he won’t sign on the team’s terms.
Fischer notes that Daniels’ agent, Daniel Moldovan, also represents Josh Giddey, who just went through a months-long standoff with the Bulls in restricted free agency. Fischer adds that Daniels would likely be entering a more robust market for restricted free agents than the one that Giddey faced.
Fischer offers more information on players eligible for rookie scale extensions:
- Jaden Ivey and Jalen Duren haven’t made much progress in their extension talks with the Pistons, sources tell Fischer. He suggests that management might be extra cautious with Ivey following arthroscopic surgery on his right knee this week. Ivey’s camp expects an active market if he does hit free agency, even though he’s also coming off a fractured left tibia that cost him most of last season. Sources describe negotiations with Duren as “tepid” so far, per Fischer, who adds that his representatives are asking for a new deal worth much more than $30MM in AAV and are also optimistic about his prospects on the open market.
- The Rockets are hoping to sign Tari Eason to an extension that’s “significantly lower” than the five-year, $122MM deal that Jabari Smith Jr. accepted this summer, according to Fischer. The outcome of the Eason negotiations will affect what Houston is willing to give Kevin Durant in his extension talks, Fischer adds. With Amen Thompson expected to receive a max extension next offseason, Houston is being careful about not overloading its salary commitments. Fischer talked to capologists who said they would recommend limiting any Durant offers to $80MM over two years. As Fischer notes, it’s not certain that Durant would remain with the Rockets at that number.
- It seems unlikely that Christian Braun will reach an extension agreement with the Nuggets, Fischer states. Sources tell him that Denver is already sending signals that it doesn’t want to become a taxpaying team next season, while Braun and his camp are hoping for a deal at $25MM in average annual value. The Nuggets are also holding extension talks with Peyton Watson, but Fischer suggests a new deal with him may not happen unless they can’t agree to terms with Braun.
- Fischer views Trail Blazers guard Shaedon Sharpe as the most likely remaining candidate to hammer out an extension before the deadline. Rival teams that Fischer contacted expect Portland to give Sharpe something in the neighborhood of $100MM over four years.
- Suns center Mark Williams, Jazz center Walker Kessler and Pacers wing Bennedict Mathurin all appear headed for restricted free agency, Fischer states. Of the three, Fischer points to Mathurin as the most likely to change teams because of Indiana’s reluctance to add more long-term salary.
Rockets Waive Carey, Council, Hunter, Matthews
The Rockets announced on Saturday that they have waived four players on non-guaranteed training camp contracts, tweets Keith Smith of Spotrac.
The four players — all of whom could be headed to the G League to play for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers — are Vernon Carey Jr., Ricky Council IV, Tyrese Hunter and Cameron Matthews.
Hunter, a 6’0″ guard, and Matthews, a 6’7″ forward, went undrafted earlier this year out of Memphis and Mississippi State, respectively.
As a senior last season, Hunter averaged 13.7 points, 3.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.5 steals in 32 games (34.0 MPG), posting a shooting line of .415/.401/.774. Matthews, meanwhile, averaged 7.1 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.4 steals in 29.4 minutes per game across 34 appearances as a fifth-year senior.
Council holds recent NBA experience, having spent the past two years with the 76ers, who waived him in late July. The 24-year-old wing was expected to land with the Nets, but that deal fell through, and he wound up signing a training camp deal with Houston on Friday.
Carey, a former second-round pick, holds three years of NBA experience. However, he has been out of the league for the past two seasons, most recently suiting up for Karşıyaka Basket in Turkey during the 2023/24 campaign.
Houston’s roster appears to be set for the regular season, with 14 players on guaranteed standard contracts and all three two-way spots filled. Barring a cost-cutting trade, the Rockets can’t add a 15th standard player until later in the season due to their financial situation — they’re hard-capped at the first apron and only about $1.25MM below that threshold.
Injury Notes: Queen, White, Brown, Raptors, Rockets, More
Rookie big man Derik Queen has been medically cleared to participate in full basketball activities, the Pelicans announced today (via Twitter).
Head coach Willie Green said Queen was a full participant in Saturday’s practice, tweets Will Guillory of The Athletic. While the team wants to get Queen up to speed, Green said New Orleans will be careful not to rush the process after a lengthy layoff.
Queen has been rehabilitating from July surgery to address a torn scapholunate ligament in his left wrist, an injury he sustained at Summer League in Las Vegas. He was a limited participant during New Orleans’ training camp due to the injury.
Queen was selected with the 13th overall pick in June after the Pelicans sent Atlanta this year’s No. 23 selection and an unprotected 2026 first-rounder (the most favorable of New Orleans’ and Milwaukee’s picks) for the right to draft the Maryland big man, who was highly productive in his lone season with the Terrapins. In 36 games last season, the 20-year-old forward/center averaged 16.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals and 1.1 blocks in 30.4 minutes per contest.
We have several more injury notes from around the NBA:
- Bulls guard Coby White, who has been battling a calf strain since August and didn’t play in any preseason games this fall, “looked good” after going through most of the contact portions of Saturday’s practice, according to head coach Billy Donovan (Twitter links K.C. Johnson of Chicago Sports Network). Donovan added that White would go through additional contact work on Monday after taking Sunday off. For his part, White said he was encouraged by today’s session, though he cautioned he’s still working on regaining his conditioning and rhythm. “We’ll see. It’s in the works,” White said of potentially playing in Chicago’s season opener, per Johnson.
- Celtics star Jaylen Brown sustained a left hamstring injury in Wednesday’s preseason finale. As Jay King of The Athletic writes, head coach Joe Mazzulla didn’t say whether Brown would be active for next Wednesday’s season opener, but the injury doesn’t sound serious — Brown is considered day-to-day, per Mazzulla.
- Raptors head coach Darko Rajakovic expressed optimism that lottery pick Collin Murray-Boyles could be ready for Wednesday’s season opener in Atlanta after the former South Carolina forward sustained an arm injury last week, tweets Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca. According to Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca (Twitter links), Murray-Boyles is day-to-day with a right forearm strain.
- Although Raptors center Jakob Poeltl missed time during preseason with lower back stiffness and exited Friday’s preseason finale with the same injury, Rajakovic clarified after the game that the Austrian big man was pulled for precautionary reasons (Twitter links via Lewenberg). Poeltl is under contract through 2029/30 after signing a lucrative long-term extension in July.
- Forward Jae’Sean Tate, who underwent offseason ankle surgery, went through contract drills in Saturday’s practice, per Rockets head coach Ime Udoka (Twitter link via Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle). The team remains optimistic that Tate will be available for Houston’s season opener, but Dorian Finney-Smith probably won’t be, according to Udoka. Finney-Smith, a free agent addition, is recovering from June ankle surgery.
- Former Alabama forward Grant Nelson was originally expected to sign an Exhibit 10 deal with the Nets shortly after Summer League in July, but the signing was delayed until a few days ago due to an otherwise unspecified “stress reaction from overworking,” he told Brian Lewis of The New York Post. “It was like a small, little minor injury that held me out of training camp. And then I feel like I did everything I could. I caught the injury really early, so I wasn’t out long. But it worked out perfect. So now I’m back healthy, feeling 100 percent.”
- Backup Lakers center Jaxson Hayes exited Friday’s preseason finale with a right wrist contusion, the team announced (Twitter link via Dan Woike of The Athletic). Head coach JJ Redick said after the game that X-Rays on the wrist were negative, with another update on Hayes expected to come on Sunday, as veteran NBA report Mark Medina relays (via Twitter).
- Trail Blazers forward Deni Avdija experienced upper back stiffness on Thursday in Utah, causing him to exit Portland’s preseason finale, per the team (Twitter link). It’s unclear if Avdija will miss additional time as a result of the injury.
Rockets Temporarily Add Council, Carey, Hunter
- The Rockets have signed a trio of free agents, according to Smith, who tweets that the team has added Vernon Carey Jr., Ricky Council IV and Tyrese Hunter. All three players will soon be waived, sources tell Kelly Iko of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). High-flying wing Council spent the past two years with Philadelphia. He was waived by the 76ers in late July and was reportedly going to sign with the Nets, but that deal fell through. Carey, a 24-year-old center, was the No. 32 overall pick of the 2020 draft. He holds three years of NBA experience and last played professionally in Turkey. Hunter, a 6’0″ guard, went undrafted out of Memphis in June. As a senior last season, he averaged 13.7 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.6 APG and 1.5 SPG in 32 games (34.0 MPG), posting a shooting line of .415/.401/.774.
Rockets Sign, Waive Daishen Nix, Caleb McConnell
3:38 pm: Both players have been waived, according to the Rockets (Twitter link via Smith). Houston is now back at 18 players under contract.
3:00 pm: The Rockets have signed a pair of free agent guards, announcing that they’ve added Daishen Nix and Caleb McConnell to their roster (Twitter link via Keith Smith of Spotrac). Houston now has 20 players under contract, one below the preseason limit.
Nix, who has appeared in 99 NBA regular season games since entering the league in 2021, spent the first two years of his career in Houston and played for the Rockets’ G League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, for much of last season after opening the year on a two-way deal with Minnesota.
In 24 games for the Vipers in 2024/25, Nix averaged 15.3 points, 7.0 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.8 steals in 32.2 minutes per contest. However, the 6’4″ guard struggled to score efficiently and take care of the basketball — he made just 26.4% of 5.0 three-point attempts per game and averaged 3.8 turnovers per night.
McConnell, a 6’7″ shooting guard, has played in the G League since going undrafted out of Rutgers in 2023. He made 42 appearances for the Greensboro Swarm last season and registered averages of 6.8 points, 5.9 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 1.6 steals in 25.9 minutes per game.
McConnell was a two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for the Scarlet Knights.
The Vipers hold Nix’s returning rights and acquired McConnell’s in a multi-team trade earlier this week, so it’s highly likely that both players will be waived in the next 24 hours or so and then report to Houston’s NBAGL affiliate. Assuming they received Exhibit 10 contracts, which is likely, they’ll each earn a bonus worth up to $85,300 if they spend at least 60 days with the Vipers.
Warriors, Lakers Top 2025 NBA Franchise Valuations
The Warriors are still the NBA’s most valuable team, according to Kurt Badenhausen of Sportico, who unveiled the website’s updated NBA franchise valuations for 2025 on Thursday.
Badenhausen projects the Warriors’ value at $11.33 billion, which represents an incredible 24% increase from last year’s $9.14 billion valuation. The NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, at $12.8 billion, continue to be the only global sports franchise whose valuation comes in higher than Golden State’s, according to Sportico’s projections.
As Badenhausen outlines, the Warriors lead the NBA in revenue by a significant margin, having generated an estimated $833MM last season. Golden State makes more than $5MM per game in ticket revenue, along with $2.5MM from luxury suites; the club also has a $45MM per year jersey patch deal with Rakuten, earns almost double what any other team makes in sponsorship revenue, and is one of the few teams to fully own and operate its arena, per Sportico.
After placing third a year ago, the Lakers have jumped to second place on Sportico’s 2025 list at $10 billion, based on Mark Walter‘s recent agreement to purchase the team at that valuation. The Lakers moved slightly ahead of the third-place Knicks, who come in at $9.85 billion.
Every team’s valuation has increased by at least 9% since last year, per Sportico, with the average value of an NBA franchise now at $5.51 billion (up 20% from 2024) and no team worth less than $4 billion.
The average valuation has more than doubled since 2022, when it was $2.58 billion. As Badenhausen writes, the NBA’s new $76 billion media rights deal and its global ambitions – including the possible creation of a league in Europe – have played a part in those gains.
Although the Warriors’ $833MM is something out of an outlier, NBA teams generated an average of approximately $408MM in revenue last season, according to Badenhausen, with the Grizzlies coming in last at $301MM. Memphis also ranks 30th on Sportico’s list of franchise values.
Despite placing at the bottom of this list, the Grizzlies actually had the most significant increase in their franchise valuation this past year, rising from $3.06 billion to $4 billion (31%). The Pelicans (30%), Timberwolves (29%), and Eastern Conference champion Pacers (27%) were the other biggest risers.
Of course, it’s worth noting that figures from Sportico or any other media outlet are just estimates and often don’t quite match up with the sale prices for franchises that change hands. But these projections are usually in the right ballpark and remain useful for getting a sense of the league’s most and least valuable teams.
Here’s Sportico’s full list of NBA franchise valuations for 2025:
- Golden State Warriors: $11.33 billion
- Los Angeles Lakers: $10 billion
- New York Knicks: $9.85 billion
- Los Angeles Clippers: $6.72 billion
- Boston Celtics: $6.35 billion
- Brooklyn Nets: $6.22 billion
- Chicago Bulls: $6.12 billion
- Miami Heat: $6.03 billion
- Philadelphia 76ers: $5.61 billion
- Houston Rockets: $5.53 billion
- Dallas Mavericks: $5.24 billion
- Toronto Raptors: $5.22 billion
- Phoenix Suns: $5.09 billion
- Atlanta Hawks: $5.02 billion
- Sacramento Kings: $5 billion
- Cleveland Cavaliers: $4.86 billion
- Denver Nuggets: $4.8 billion
- Washington Wizards: $4.78 billion
- Indiana Pacers: $4.76 billion
- Milwaukee Bucks: $4.54 billion
- San Antonio Spurs: $4.5 billion
- Oklahoma City Thunder: $4.34 billion
- Utah Jazz: $4.27 billion
- Portland Trail Blazers: $4.25 billion
- Minnesota Timberwolves: $4.24 billion
- Orlando Magic: $4.21 billion
- Detroit Pistons: $4.17 billion
- Charlotte Hornets: $4.13 billion
- New Orleans Pelicans: $4.02 billion
- Memphis Grizzlies: $4 billion
As Badenhausen notes, Sportico’s projections are based on a control sale price, rather than limited stake purchases. Controlling shares in the Celtics, Lakers, and Trail Blazers all changed hands this past year, though only the Celtics sale has been formally approved by the NBA so far.
William Chisholm is buying the Celtics in two stages, with an initial valuation of $6.1 billion and a blended valuation of roughly $6.5 billion. Walter is purchasing the Lakers at a valuation of $10 billion, while Tom Dundon is buying the Blazers at a $4.25 billion valuation.
2025/26 NBA Over/Unders: Southwest Division
With the 2025/26 NBA regular season just around the corner, we’re getting serious about predictions for the upcoming campaign and continuing an annual Hoops Rumors tradition.
With the help of the lines from a series of sports betting sites – including BetMGM and BetOnline – we’re running through the predicted win totals for each of the NBA’s 30 teams, by division. In a series of team-by-team polls, you’ll get the chance to weigh in on whether you think those forecasts are too optimistic or too pessimistic.
In 2024/25, our voters went 13-17 on their over/under picks. Can we top that in ’25/26?
We’ll wrap up our series today with the Southwest Division…
Houston Rockets
- 2024/25 record: 52-30
- Over/under for 2025/26: 52.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Rockets win in 2025/26?
-
Over 52.5 56% (166)
-
Under 52.5 44% (133)
Total votes: 299
San Antonio Spurs
- 2024/25 record: 34-48
- Over/under for 2025/26: 44.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Spurs win in 2025/26?
-
Over 44.5 58% (166)
-
Under 44.5 42% (122)
Total votes: 288
Dallas Mavericks
- 2024/25 record: 39-43
- Over/under for 2025/26: 41.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
- Added: Cooper Flagg, D’Angelo Russell
- Lost: Spencer Dinwiddie, Olivier-Maxence Prosper, Kai Jones
How many games will the Mavericks win in 2025/26?
-
Over 41.5 72% (214)
-
Under 41.5 28% (84)
Total votes: 298
Memphis Grizzlies
- 2024/25 record: 48-34
- Over/under for 2025/26: 39.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Grizzlies win in 2025/26?
-
Under 39.5 61% (171)
-
Over 39.5 39% (108)
Total votes: 279
New Orleans Pelicans
- 2024/25 record: 21-61
- Over/under for 2025/26: 30.5 wins
- Major offseason moves:
How many games will the Pelicans win in 2025/26?
-
Under 30.5 55% (146)
-
Over 30.5 45% (120)
Total votes: 266
Previous voting results:
- New York Knicks (53.5 wins): Over (63.2%)
- Boston Celtics (42.5 wins): Over (52.7%)
- Philadelphia 76ers (42.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
- Toronto Raptors (37.5 wins): Over (50.2%)
- Brooklyn Nets (20.5 wins): Over (54.4%)
- Cleveland Cavaliers (56.5 wins): Over (58.0%)
- Detroit Pistons (46.5 wins): Over (60.5%)
- Milwaukee Bucks (42.5 wins): Over (74.4%)
- Indiana Pacers (37.5 wins): Over (50.1%)
- Chicago Bulls (32.5 wins): Over (60.8%)
- Orlando Magic (51.5 wins): Over (52.8%)
- Atlanta Hawks (47.5 wins): Over (54.9%)
- Miami Heat (37.5 wins): Over (54.4%)
- Charlotte Hornets (27.5 wins): Over (50.6%)
- Washington Wizards (21.5 wins): Under (62.4%)
- Oklahoma City Thunder (62.5 wins): Over (62.9%)
- Denver Nuggets (53.5 wins): Over (72.1%)
- Minnesota Timberwolves (49.5 wins): Over (58.7%)
- Portland Trail Blazers (34.5 wins): Over (57.1%)
- Utah Jazz (18.5 wins): Over (55.3%)
- Los Angeles Clippers (48.5 wins): Under (58.7%)
- Los Angeles Lakers (48.5 wins): Under (52.1%)
- Golden State Warriors (46.5 wins): Over (68.3%)
- Sacramento Kings (34.5 wins): Over (55.1%)
- Phoenix Suns (31.5 wins): Under (56.8%)
Southwest Notes: Castle, Eisley, Thompson, Rockets Preseason, China
Last season’s Rookie of the Year, Stephon Castle, will make his preseason debut on Monday, Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express News reports.
Castle missed the Spurs‘ first three preseason contests with a right knee contusion. He suffered the injury during the team’s Oct. 4 Silver & Black scrimmage after banging knees with Victor Wembanyama.
With De’Aaron Fox expected to be sidelined at the beginning of the regular season, Castle is projected to be the Spurs’ opening-night starter at point guard.
We have more from the Southwest Division:
- The Mavericks have hired Howard Eisley as a scout, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Eisley was an assistant for Michigan under previous head coach Juwan Howard. He has also been an assistant coach with the Knicks, Wizards and Clippers.
- Klay Thompson was assigned to guard Hornets point man LaMelo Ball during a preseason game, but Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd indicated the team can’t expect the 35-year-old wing to take on those matchups on a regular basis. “Melo’s a little different because he can score and pass,” Kidd said, per Grant Afseth of the Dallas Hoops Journal. “But we thought looking at that (Saturday) was something we needed to see. Making it tough on Melo isn’t easy — he’s gonna have the ball 90% of the time. But I thought Klay did a good job. He can still compete at that level at this stage of his career. We’re not going to ask him to do it every night, but (Saturday) he showed he can compete.”
- The Rockets wrap up their preseason schedule with games on Tuesday and Thursday this week. Playing time and rotations in the next two games will be more reflective of what they want to implement in the regular season, according to Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle. Starters will have their minutes increased to the mid-20s and 30-range, and the team will utilize more sophisticated schemes.
- The Mavericks and Rockets will play a preseason game in China next year, Mike Curtis of the Dallas Morning News tweets. Mavs governor Patrick Dumont confirmed via the South China Morning Post that Dallas will participate in next season’s NBA China Games. “Yes, the Mavericks and the Rockets, here in Macau next year. Are you ready?” Dumont said.