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Community Shootaround: James Harden’s Endurance

May 13th, 2017 at 11:06am CST by marksuleymanov

After a 39-point loss in Game 6 of the Western Conference Semifinals against the Spurs, Rockets‘ point guard James Harden has been scrutinized for his poor performance in the series-clinching game. Harden posted just 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting with six turnovers, one game after he posted similar totals of 10 points (3-of-11 shooting) and six turnovers in the second half and overtime of a 110-107 loss in Game 5.

Harden enjoyed a historic regular season, averaging  29.1 points, 11.2 assists and 8.1 rebounds per game. He is in the conversation for the Most Valuable Player award with fellow point guard Russell Westbrook, who became the first player since Oscar Robertson to average a triple-double for an entire season. Now, looking back at Harden’s two clunkers, fatigue from a strenuous season may have set in.

Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said in his exit interview with reporters, including ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, that perhaps resting Harden more next season will keep him sharper.

“All great players think they can do everything,” D’Antoni said. “Maybe he does need to take a game off here and there. ‘Hey, you’re nicked up a little bit, don’t play, maybe.’ Something to talk about, but that’s also his greatness, too. So it’s hard. It’s very delicate.”

Harden played in 81 regular season games, his third consecutive season of at least 81 games. If Harden’s playoff games over the last three years are added, he has played in 277 total games. Both D’Antoni and general manager Daryl Morey indicated that getting Harden, who turns 28 in August, more rest will be a goal next season.

“The offense will get better,” D’Antoni added.“I can get him off the ball some. I can save his legs a little bit and have more confidence [in other ball handlers]. Pat Beverley can run the team a little bit. We can do different things.”

That leaves a few things to be considered: Was fatigue to blame in Harden’s poor Game 5 and Game 6 outings or was it just a few off nights? Also, does it makes sense for the Rockets to rest him more frequently next season despite his tremendous offensive production?

Share your thoughts on Harden in the comments section below!

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Motiejunas Takes Legal Action Against Rockets, League

May 13th, 2017 at 8:20am CST by Austin Kent

MAY 13, 8:20am: Following Deveney’s report, Motiejunas took to social media to refute the story, claiming that he and the Rockets resolved their issues a month ago (via Twitter).

“A month ago we with the NBPA and the Houston Rockets found an agreement and solved everything. There are no court proceedings between us. The information which was published on the media is false.”

However, Deveney claims that the National Basketball Players Association explained the matter between Motiejunas and the Rockets differently, indicating that both sides are still engaged in legal proceedings. Motiejunas and the Rockets were seeking an agreement to resolve this matter, but it’s not clear whether they’ve resolved it already or if a settlement is still being finalized.

MAY 12, 3:50pm: After a tumultuous season in which he bounced around three franchises, Donatas Motiejunas is in the midst of legal action against the Rockets and the NBA, Sean Deveney of the Sporting News reports. Sources tell Deveney that the parties could reach a settlement, possibly within the next week.

Motiejunas, who had played for the Rockets since 2012/13, hit restricted free agency last summer but was unable to come to terms on a contract with them or any other suitors. At the time, Motiejunas refused to sign a qualifying offer and that eventually expired.

The Rockets ultimately presented and then pulled an offer they extended at the beginning of the 2016/17 campaign when a deadline they established came and passed in late November with no commitment from Motiejunas’ camp.

Eventually, the big man signed an offer sheet with the Nets in early December worth $35MM over four years, which the Rockets agreed to match. Houston, however, stripped out some of the incentive bonuses that had been included in the Brooklyn offer, a difference of as much as $2MM says Deveney.

When the Rockets and Motiejunas then agreed upon a reworked deal, the center underwent a physical, the results of which prompted Houston to renounce their rights to him, officially making him an unrestricted free agent.

Despite the unrestricted free agency, Motiejunas was unable to procure another offer from the Nets.

In January, as the smoke cleared, Motiejunas signed a deal with the Pelicans where he averaged 3.4 points per game in 34 contests.

This offseason he’ll be a free agent once more and though he has terminated his relationship with his former agent at the Wasserman Group, he could re-sign with them prior to hitting the market.

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D'Antoni Aims To Better Understand Harden's Limitation

May 12th, 2017 at 6:05pm CST by Austin Kent
  • After their season ended Thursday, Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni told ESPN’s Tim MacMahon that one way he could look to improve upon Houston’s 55-win season is to better understand James Harden‘s limitations. “All great players think they can do everything,” D’Antoni said. “Maybe he does need to take a game off here and there. ‘Hey, you’re nicked up a little bit, don’t play, maybe.’ Something to talk about, but that’s also his greatness, too. So it’s hard. It’s very delicate.“
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2017 Offseason Salary Cap Digest: Houston Rockets

May 12th, 2017 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets outperformed expectations in 2016/17, with James Harden receiving MVP consideration and Mike D’Antoni entering the Coach of the Year discussion as the club set records for three-point shooting. However, the season ended on a sour note, and Daryl Morey won’t have as much cap flexibility to make roster additions this summer as he did a year ago, when Houston landed Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon.

Here’s where things currently stand for the Rockets financially, as we continue our Offseason Salary Cap Digest series for 2017:

Guaranteed Salary

Player Options

  • None

Team Options

  • None

Non-Guaranteed Salary

Restricted Free Agents

  • Bobby Brown ($1,724,305 qualifying offer / $1,724,305 cap hold)
  • Troy Williams ($1,512,611 qualifying offer / $1,512,611 cap hold)
  • Total: $3,236,916

Cap Holds

  • Nene ($3,477,600)
  • Total: $3,477,600

Projected Salary Cap: $101,000,000

Maximum Cap Room: $11,700,349

  • With more than $87MM on their 2017/18 cap in the form of guaranteed salaries, the Rockets would have a team salary of $89,299,651 if they added a couple cap charges for empty roster spots to that total. That would give the club about $11.7MM in cap room, which isn’t much more than what the mid-level exception is expected to be worth. In order to clear out additional space, a trade would be necessary.

Footnotes:

  1. Wiltjer’s salary becomes fully guaranteed after August 1.

Salary information from Basketball Insiders and The Vertical was used in the creation of this post.

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Nene's Injury Leads To Smaller Lineup

May 8th, 2017 at 10:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder
  • Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni will likely stick with smaller lineups and force the Spurs to adjust in the wake of Nene Hilario‘s season-ending injury, Sam Amick of USA Today reports. With Nene suffering a groin tear in Game 4, the Rockets downsized and buried the Spurs with a flurry of 3-pointers. It’s a good bet that forward Ryan Anderson will be replaced in the starting lineup by guard Eric Gordon, a strategy D’Antoni employed in the second half on Sunday.
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Rockets’ Nene Out For Rest Of Postseason

May 8th, 2017 at 11:02am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets will be without a key rotation player for the rest of the playoffs, as the team announced today in a press release that Nene won’t return this season. The Rockets’ medical staff is currently considering treatment options for the veteran center, who suffered a left adductor tear on Sunday.

[RELATED: Poll: Who will win Spurs/Rockets series?]

Nene’s injury occurred in the first quarter of Houston’s game against the Spurs on Sunday, less than two minutes after he checked into the game. Initially diagnosed as a left groin injury, Nene’s adductor tear won’t just sideline him for the rest of the postseason — it could also affect his contract situation this summer.

Nene had been on a one-year contract with the Rockets worth just under $3MM, putting him in line for unrestricted free agency in July. A healthy and productive season in Houston had set up the 34-year-old for a potential raise this summer, but potential suitors will now have to take a close look at his recovery from this injury before committing to him.

As for the Rockets, with Nene no longer in the mix, they figure to lean more heavily on players like Clint Capela and Ryan Anderson as they attempt to knock off the Spurs in the Western Conference semifinals. The series is currently tied at two games apiece.

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Poll: Who Will Win Spurs/Rockets Series?

May 8th, 2017 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets were firing on all cylinders in Sunday night’s win over the Spurs, making 52.6% of their field goal attempts, including 44.2% of their threes, en route to a comfortable 125-104 victory. Their Game 4 win evened up the series at two games apiece, and the two teams will head back to San Antonio for Tuesday’s Game 5.

While the Spurs maintain the home-court advantage, both teams have shown they’re capable of winning a game in their opponent’s arena so far, having split the first two games in San Antonio and the next two in Houston.

Injuries have also played a part in the series so far, but the Spurs managed to pull out a Game 3 victory after receiving word that Tony Parker would be sidelined for the rest of the postseason due to a ruptured left quadriceps tendon. As for the Rockets, their impressive showing on Sunday came – for the most part – without key reserve Nene, who played less than two minutes before leaving with a left groin injury. He’ll undergo an MRI to determine the severity of the injury, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com details.

The Rockets and Spurs still have their MVP candidates – James Harden and Kawhi Leonard – on the court, and both teams have the firepower necessary to advance to the Western Conference Finals for a probable date with the Warriors. So which team do you think will make it through?

Vote below in our poll and jump into the comments section below to share your thoughts.

Who will win?
San Antonio Spurs 55.21% (578 votes)
Houston Rockets 44.79% (469 votes)
Total Votes: 1,047

Trade Rumors app users, click here to vote in today’s poll.

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D’Antoni, Spoelstra Share New Coaching Award

May 7th, 2017 at 11:05am CST by Arthur Hill

Houston’s Mike D’Antoni and Miami’s Erik Spoelstra have been announced as co-recipients of the NBA Coaches Association’s first Coach of the Year Award, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN.com. The award is determined by a vote of NBA coaches and is named for Michael H. Goldberg, the longtime director of the organization.

D’Antoni led the Rockets to a 55-27 record and the third seed in the West in his first year in Houston. He turned James Harden into a point guard and unleashed a powerful offense that set a record for most 3-pointers made in a season.

Spoelstra rallied the Heat after a terrible start and led them to a 41-41 record, just missing a playoff berth on a tie-breaker. He was able to reconfigure the lineup in Miami after the loss of Dwyane Wade to free agency and Chris Bosh to a blood clot condition.

The media’s choice for Coach of the Year will be announced at the NBA’s awards show on June 26th.

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Capela Making Strong Case For Extension

May 6th, 2017 at 10:56pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • Rockets center Clint Capela is making a strong case for an offseason extension with his playoff performance. Akeem Olajuwon was the last Houston center to put up playoff numbers similar to Capela’s 12 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks in Game 3, notes Brett Zwerneman of The Houston Chronicle. “He’s come from sitting on the end of the bench and playing a little bit of minutes to being a force out there,” said coach Mike D’Antoni. “This guy is going to be really good.”
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