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James Harden “Put A Word In” To Acquire Lou Williams

March 24th, 2017 at 11:28am CST by Milo Taibi

According to a report from Shams Charania of The Vertical, James Harden was instrumental in Houston’s acquisition of Lou Williams. A former Sixth Man award recipient, Williams was enjoying a productive season with the Lakers- averaging a career-best 18.6 points on 44.4% shooting over 58 games. Two weeks before the deadline, Harden made his pitch to Williams.

“When James called, he asked me if I was interested in playing with them,” Williams told Charania. “I told him that I loved the Lakers, but James and them have a group that fit my personality, fit how I play. He said he was going to make it happen. I’ve heard that before, so I didn’t really put stock into it. I guess James did put the word in, and the team made it happen.”

The task of trading for Williams was a challenging one, Charania notes, due to the ongoing transition period in the Lakers’ front office. The deal was eventually completed, with Lou heading to Houston in exchange for Corey Brewer and the projected 27th overall draft pick. Williams, who has given the Rockets “some punch off the bench,” has earned the praise of coach Mike D’Antoni.

“We needed one more guy that could create, and Lou is perfect,” D’Antoni told The Vertical. “Lou is a professional scorer. In case someone is off, if someone is injured, Lou brings another 15 to 20 points. We still need to incorporate everything. You can never have enough shooters and playmakers, and he does both.”

Showing no signs of slowing down in his age-30 season, Williams compared himself to Jamal Crawford of the Clippers. Crawford, 37, has remained a featured member of Doc Rivers‘ rotation in his 17th season.

“Until the wheels fall off for us,” Williams said. “I already have 12 [seasons] in the can. Forty for me probably would be a little farfetched, because of being in my 12th season, being 30. Forty would be, what, 22 seasons? I don’t know if I got 22 seasons in me, but God willing, I’ll get close.”

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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/20/17

March 20th, 2017 at 4:01pm CST by Austin Kent

Here are the D-League transactions from Monday:

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Rockets Sign Troy Williams For Rest Of Season

March 20th, 2017 at 2:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

March 20: According to Scott Agness of Vigilant Sports, the Rockets officially signed Williams for the rest of the 2016/17 campaign today.

March 18: The Rockets plan to sign Troy Williams for the remainder of the season when his current 10-day contract expires, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

The 6’7″ swingman hasn’t seen any action for Houston since signing that deal on March 10th. He was immediately assigned to the Rockets’ D-League affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, where he has averaged 18.5 points and 5.2 rebounds while shooting 53.2 % from the field (Twitter link).

A 22-year-old undrafted rookie out of Indiana, Williams won a roster spot with the Grizzlies in training camp. He appeared in 24 games for Memphis and started 13 before being waived in late January to open a roster spot for Toney Douglas. Williams averaged 5.3 points and 1.9 rebounds during his time with the Grizzlies.

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Harden To Hire Pelinka's Assistant As Agent

March 16th, 2017 at 10:46pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Rockets guard James Harden said he will hire Diana Day as his agent, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Day previously handled marketing and public relations for his former agent, Rob Pelinka. Day must first receive certification from the players association, Feigen adds. Pelinka relinquished his duties as an agent to become the Lakers’ GM.
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Sergio Llull To Spend Another Year In Spain

March 14th, 2017 at 1:25pm CST by Arthur Hill

Sergio Llull, a Spanish combo guard whose NBA rights are owned by the Rockets, plans to play for Real Madrid again next season. In an interview with the Spanish language site Marca.com, Llull cites the six-year extension he signed with his current team in 2015.

“In the future you never know,” Llull said, “but I’ve renewed for six years and I’m not going to go next summer.”

The announcement adds to the doubt that the 29-year-old will ever have an NBA future. The Rockets have owned his draft rights since purchasing them from the Nuggets in 2009. Over that time, Llull has sent mixed signals about coming to the United States, raising the hopes of Houston management and fans, before deciding to stay in Spain. A report in October said the Rockets were hopeful about bringing Llull over next season, but his comments today seem to rule that out.

Llull’s Real Madrid teammates tell international basketball writer David Pick there’s “zero chance” he will leave the Spanish club (Twitter link).

There have been conflicting reports about the size of the buyout Llull would have to pay to escape his deal with Real Madrid. Some sources said it increased to 12 million euros when he signed the extension, but others indicated it’s far less. Llull wouldn’t be subject to the NBA’s rookie scale if he were to sign with Houston because he was a second-round pick and was taken so long ago. The Rockets would have to use cap room or an exception to fit him on their roster.

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Rockets Notes: Harden, Capela, Beverley

March 12th, 2017 at 2:21pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets are headed for a top-3 seed in the Western Conference just a season after the team underachieved and barely made the playoffs. James Harden, who is in the discussion for the MVP award, credits coach Mike D’Antoni and his staff for the improvements, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 relays (Twitter link).

“The coaching staff did a really good job of helping us fix the culture that we had last year, the addition of new players, the same players that we had, we’ve meshed really well together,” Harden said.

Here’s more from Houston:

  • Clint Capela echoes Harden’s sentiment on the Rockets‘ culture, as Jonathan Feigan of the Houston Chronicle writes. “Since last year, it’s a different team,” Capela said. “Of course, we’re better than last year. We play every game to win. Tonight, we don’t think about if we win we go to the playoffs. We have the mindset to come into the game to win, play hard, be aware of the tendencies of each player. But of course, since 11 months, our team is way different.”
  • Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle details Patrick Beverley‘s journey from playing outdoors in Chicago as an adolescent to finding his niche on the Rockets. The point guard was a high school star but had to go overseas and through the D-League to get his opportunity in the NBA.
  • Harden believes that many factors should go into deciding who wins the MVP award, but he adds that winning is at the top of the list, Feigen writes in a separate piece. While Harden didn’t come out and say he should win the award, his teammates weren’t as bashful. “No matter what the media say, no matter what the people say, everybody in the league knows who the MVP is,” Beverley said. “James Harden.”
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Rockets Sign Troy Williams To 10-Day Contract

March 10th, 2017 at 12:05pm CST by Luke Adams

MARCH 10: Houston has made it official with Williams, as GM Daryl Morey tweeted out a welcome today to the newest Rocket. Morey added in a follow-up tweet that Williams has been sent to the D-League to play for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers tonight.

MARCH 9: The Rockets intend to fill their open 15th roster spot by signing D-League swingman Troy Williams to a 10-day contract, league sources tell Shams Charania of The Vertical (Twitter link). Houston’s next game is on Friday in Chicago, so the Rockets may wait until tomorrow to make things official with Williams.

An undrafted free agent out of Indiana, Williams caught on with the Grizzlies last summer and actually earned a regular season roster spot with the club. The 22-year-old appeared in 24 games for Memphis earlier this season, starting 13 of them and averaging 5.3 PPG. However, he was cut by the Grizzlies at the end of January in order to make room for Toney Douglas.

In 22 D-League games for the Iowa Energy this season, Williams has averaged 13.1 PPG and 4.1 RPG, with a .459/.330/.696 shooting line.

The Rockets opened up two spots on their roster by trading K.J. McDaniels and waiving Marcelo Huertas last month. The team filled one of those openings by signing Isaiah Taylor to a multiyear contract, and will now have a full roster again once Williams’ deal is finalized.

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NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 3/9/17

March 9th, 2017 at 2:28pm CST by Luke Adams

Here are Thursday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

  • Shortly after he signed a 10-day contract with the Mavericks, Manny Harris was sent right back down to the D-League, the team announced in a press release. Harris figures to get a shot in Dallas at some point during his current 10-day deal, but with the Mavs not in action until tomorrow, Harris will remain with the Texas Legends for the club’s Thursday night game against Northern Arizona.
  • The Rockets have recalled Kyle Wiltjer from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, the team announced today (Twitter link). Houston had needed to get up to 12 active players by today, necessitating the call-up of Wiltjer, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle tweets.
  • Rookie big man Georgios Papagiannis has been sent back to the D-League by the Kings, per James Ham of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter link). Papagiannis is one of 16 first-round picks from 2016 who have been on D-League assignments this season, as we detailed yesterday.
  • The Pelicans have assigned rookie Cheick Diallo to the D-League, according to the team (Twitter link). Diallo will head to the Greensboro Swarm, Charlotte’ D-League squad, via the flexible assignment rule.
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Poll: 2017 NBA MVP Race

March 7th, 2017 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

In addition to being one of 2017’s most entertaining games – and a potential playoff preview – the matchup between the Rockets and Spurs on Monday night may have represented a turning point in the 2017 NBA MVP race.

For most of the season, James Harden and Russell Westbrook have been viewed as the frontrunners for the award, for good reason. Harden ranks third in the league in scoring and first in assists, while Westbrook is vying to becoming the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double over the course of a full season.

On Monday night though, Harden squared off with Kawhi Leonard, who has flown under the radar for much of the 2016/17 campaign. Leonard proved in the Spurs’ dramatic win over Houston that he deserves to be in the discussion with Harden, Westbrook, and the rest of this year’s contenders for MVP. Leonard’s incredible 39-point night – his fourth straight game of 30+ points – was capped by a last-minute sequence that saw him hit a go-ahead three at one end of the court, then block Harden’s layup attempt at the other end.

While the MVP buzz for Leonard is growing, and Harden and Westbrook remain excellent candidates, it’s not just a three-man race. Over in the Eastern Conference, LeBron James is having one of his best seasons for the Cavaliers (No. 1 seed), Isaiah Thomas is averaging nearly 30 points per game for the Celtics (No. 2), and John Wall has established new career highs in PPG (22.6) and APG (10.8) for the Wizards (No. 3).

Even Kevin Durant, who is currently out with a knee injury, deserves a look — he has been more efficient than ever in Golden State, making 53.7% of his shots this season for the Warriors, though his injury will likely take him out of the running.

What do you think? We’ve still got more than a month left in the 2016/17 season, so things could certainly change in the coming weeks. But if the season ended today, who would be your choice for 2017’s NBA MVP? Vote in our poll, and weigh in below in the comments section with your thoughts.

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote.

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Rockets Sign Isaiah Taylor

February 28th, 2017 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

FEBRUARY 28: The Rockets have officially signed Taylor and assigned him to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, per Watkins. Houston now has one opening on its 15-man roster.

FEBRUARY 27: The Rockets are signing D-League guard Isaiah Taylor to their NBA roster, reports Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. According to Watkins, Taylor will receive a three-year, non-guaranteed contract, and figures to remain assigned to Houston’s D-League affiliate for now.

Taylor, who went undrafted out of Texas last summer, signed a partially guaranteed contract with the Rockets and was with the club for training camp and the preseason. However, he didn’t earn a spot on the club’s regular-season roster, and joined the Rio Grande Valley Vipers as an affiliate player.

In 12 games for the Vipers, Taylor has averaged 21.1 PPG and 6.1 APG, showing an ability to get the free throw line (7.3 attempts per game) and to make outside shots (41.3% on threes).

Having traded away K.J. McDaniels and Tyler Ennis at the trade deadline, the Rockets had two open roster spots available — the team acquired Marcelo Huertas from the Lakers for Ennis, but waived Huertas shortly after trading for him. Taylor will fill one of those two roster openings as a developmental player, while the club figures to focus on adding a veteran with its other open spot.

According to Watkins (via Twitter), the Rockets don’t have serious interest in Andrew Bogut, who is expected to join the Cavaliers if he’s bought out by Philadelphia. Houston is looking to add a wing or another big man, says Watkins.

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