Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Rumors: Dunleavy, Chalmers, Jack, Ibaka

February 8th, 2017 at 1:58pm CST by Luke Adams

While some players around the NBA are lobbying their respective front offices for roster reinforcements, James Harden told reporters today that he’d be content with the Rockets standing pat at this month’s trade deadline.

“I love what we have, love it,” Harden said, per Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. “From top to bottom, we have depth. You can throw any guy in there and they know their role, that’s important. I’m going to ride with these guys for sure.”

Harden may be content with Houston’s current 15-man squad, but general manager Daryl Morey is always exploring ways to upgrade his roster, and figures to be busy over the next two weeks. Here’s more from Watkins on avenues the Rockets are exploring:

The Rockets engaged in serious talks with Atlanta about acquiring Mike Dunleavy, and while those discussions ultimately didn’t result in an agreement, the team remains on the lookout for another shooter, writes Watkins. K.J. McDaniels would have been part of the deal if the Rockets had worked something out for Dunleavy.
The Rockets would like to add another ball-handler to their roster to take some pressure off of Harden and Patrick Beverley. The club has looked at veteran free agents Mario Chalmers and Jarrett Jack to potentially fill that role, per Watkins.
According to Watkins, the Rockets have “some interest” in Serge Ibaka, who could provide rim protection, rebounding, and an outside shot, making him a good fit in Houston. The Magic’s asking price for Ibaka is believed to be quite high, however.
Given how well the club has played, Rockets officials think it will be tricky to make a deal that improves the roster without disrupting team chemistry, says Watkins. Morey has publicly expressed a similar sentiment.

Southwest Notes: D’Antoni, Ferrell, Beverley

February 7th, 2017 at 8:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets have won just six of their last 14 games entering Tuesday’s contest, but coach Mike D’Antoni doesn’t believe the team should make a trade to get itself back on track, as Mark Berman of FOX 26 passes along via Twitter. “I like what I got,” D’Antoni said. “I’m sure [Daryl Morey] is going to do his job. You’re always trying to better the team. I’m real happy with what we have.”

Here’s more from the Southwest:

Yogi Ferrell nearly signed in Turkey to play for Darussafaka, the team coached by David Blatt, before the Mavs swooped in to sign him to a 10-day deal, Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated writes. The point guard has been impressive for Dallas and the team officially signed him to a two-year deal earlier today.
Ferrell style of play is a perfect fit for Mavs coach Rick Carlisle‘s system, Fischer writes in the same piece. “You have to attack the rim, you have to know how to score, you have to be a threat on offense, so that it can create not only for yourself and for your teammates as well,” Ferrell said.
Patrick Beverley was not pleased when Dwight Howard entered the Rockets‘ locker room prior to a game against his former team, David Aldrige of NBA.com relays. “Get Dwight Howard out of our locker room,” Beverley said forcefully, as several witnesses told Aldridge. “I’m serious.” Howard and Beverley were teammates in Houston for three seasons.

Rockets GM Unsure Of Trade Deadline Activity

February 5th, 2017 at 3:22pm CST by Milo Taibi

Rockets GM Daryl Morey is non-committal toward his team’s activity in this year’s trade deadline, according to a report from Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Morey was unable to give a concrete answer regarding his outlook as February 23rd approaches, claiming to be comfortable with the team’s current structure.

“In some ways being good as we think we are makes it harder to do trades,” Morey said. “We have a rotation that has played very well. It’s hard to add anything that would into create a weakness somewhere else. If you feel the defense needs to improve, you can try to add a defensive player, but that potentially would hurt the offense unless it’s a top, top-level player. Those usually aren’t available.”

The Rockets currently occupy the third seed in the Western Conference, four games behind the Spurs. As Feigen noted, Houston possesses commodities if they choose to pursue a “top-level” player; namely, a first round pick and a pair of second round picks. Aside from an injury to Nene, the Rockets core has remained healthy in 2016/17. Should an injury arise, however, Morey claimed a willingness to stock up on depth.

“It’s hard to judge because it takes two. It’s hard to know. I don’t know if it makes it more or less likely, but the kinds of things you do are different. We are more likely to shore up a spot in case we take an injury. Anything we would do is more likely for depth.”

Howard: No Extra Satisfaction From Beating Rockets

February 3rd, 2017 at 9:51am CST by Arthur Hill

Hawks center Dwight Howard doesn’t take any extra satisfaction from Thursday’s victory in Houston, writes Fran Blinebury of NBA.com. Howard posted 24 points and 23 rebounds as Atlanta rallied from a big fourth quarter deficit. Afterward, he said he “just wanted to win” and believes things have worked out better for both him and the Rockets since he signed with Atlanta last summer. “I chose this city in free agency and I chose it for a reason,” Howard said of his decision to come to Houston in 2013. “I thought Houston was a great place and I still do think it’s a great place. But the business of basketball, you’ve always got to do what’s best for you and I felt coming home would have been great for my career, being coached by a great coach in Bud [Mike Budenholzer] and playing with certain players on this team. But also just being at home is something I’ve always wanted to do all my life is play in Atlanta. I have that opportunity, so I’ll try to make the best of it.”

Howard’s departure has turned the Rockets into a happier team, Blinebury notes in a separate story. He and James Harden both wanted to be the team leader during his three years in Houston, Blinebury states, and they had different visions of what the Rockets should do. He adds that Howard was just “marking time” last season and was looking forward to opting out.
Three Southwest Division teams are possible destinations for former Bucks center Larry Sanders, according to Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’sPressBox. Sanders, who hasn’t played in the NBA since 2014/15, has hired an agent and will meet with teams next week in Miami. A source told Woelfel that the five clubs with the best shot at landing Sanders are the Rockets, Mavericks, Pelicans, Celtics and Timberwolves. Several teams have contacted the Bucks to get more information on Sanders, who is expected to receive about $300K for the rest of the season if he does sign somewhere.

NBA D-League Assignments/Recalls: 1/31/17

January 31st, 2017 at 6:59pm CST by Luke Adams

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

6:59pm:

The Grizzlies have assigned Wade Baldwin to their D-League affiliate, the team announced via a press release on their official website. Baldwin has averaged 13.3 points and 5.7 assists in 26.5 minutes per game in 13 previous games for the Iowa Energy.
The Pistons have recalled Henry Ellenson, Darrun Hilliard and Michael Gbinije from their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release. In eight games with the Grand Rapids Drive this season, the rookie big man has averaged 18.8 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.

1:33pm:

The Rockets have assigned rookie forward Kyle Wiltjer to the D-League, the team announced today (via Twitter). Wiltjer had been with the NBA club for the last two and a half weeks, but has been inactive in each of Houston’s games, so he should get a chance to play with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.
Joel Bolomboy has been sent back to the Salt Lake City Stars by the Jazz, the team said today in a press release. Bolomboy’s assignments this season generally haven’t lasted long, so the rookie will likely return to the Jazz soon.
The Nets have assigned Chris McCullough to the D-League, according to a press release from the team. McCullough has played sparingly for Brooklyn this season, but has been one of Long Island’s standout contributors, averaging 19.0 PPG and 8.0 RPG in 25 games.

Magic Exploring Possible Serge Ibaka Deal?

January 30th, 2017 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The Magic have “picked up their attempts” to trade Serge Ibaka before next month’s deadline, league sources tell Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. According to Deveney, Orlando has experienced some “buyers’ remorse” after trading for Ibaka last summer, and the team is looking to get something for him to avoid the risk of losing him for nothing in free agency.

Although Deveney suggests that there’s pessimism about Ibaka re-signing with the Magic this summer, he adds that people around the NBA aren’t sure what the former Oklahoma City big man will do in free agency, which complicates his trade market. Teams would be unwilling to give up a significant return to rent Ibaka for a few months.

“They’re asking too much,” one front office executive said of the Magic, per Deveney. “(The Magic) would probably like to make a few moves there, but Ibaka is the one they’re really pushing because he is going to leave. But they have had too high a price. They want a young player and a pick, two young players — you know, a package that can get them back some assets. They’re not going to get that. Not for three, maybe four months of Serge Ibaka.”

The Magic surrendered their 2016 lottery pick (Domantas Sabonis) along with Victor Oladipo and Ersan Ilyasova when they acquired Ibaka, signaling that they expected the 27-year-old to be a part of the long-term plan. However, the club has struggled this season and appears to be slipping out of playoff contention, with a 19-30 record, reducing the odds of Ibaka wanting to re-sign with Orlando in July.

General manager Rob Hennigan said last week that he expects to be “aggressive” in pursuing ways to improve Orlando’s roster, and addressing the club’s frontcourt logjam would be a good place to start. With Ibaka and Bismack Biyombo joining a group that already featured Nikola Vucevic and Aaron Gordon, there aren’t enough minutes to go around, and Gordon has spent a lot of time playing out of position.

According to Deveney, there’s “no chance” of a trade involving Biyombo, who signed a four-year, $68MM deal last summer. Gordon is also a key part of the Magic’s long-term plan, which leaves Ibaka and Vucevic as possible trade candidates. We heard last week that the Celtics were among the teams to talk to Orlando about Vucevic.

As for Ibaka, even if he’s no more than a rental piece, there should be several teams with interest in talking to the Magic about a deal. Deveney identifies the Celtics, Rockets, and Raptors as a few potential suitors, though he cites a source who says Toronto isn’t very interested in giving up Terrence Ross in a trade for Ibaka.

D'Antoni Discusses Tenure In Philly

January 29th, 2017 at 7:52pm CST by Austin Kent

Before he signed on to lead the Rockets to new heights in 2016/17, Mike D’Antoni worked alongside Brett Brown with the Sixers. Brian Seltzer of the Sixers’ official site spoke with the Rockets bench boss about his time in Philadelphia.

Rockets Pursued Gordon For Years

January 29th, 2017 at 10:00am CST by Arthur Hill

While James Harden continues to post MVP-level numbers, the Rockets‘ success will be determined by the collection of players GM Daryl Morey has assembled around him, writes Paul Flannery of SB Nation. One of the offseason additions was shooting guard Eric Gordon, who has emerged as a contender of Sixth Man of the Year honors. Morey has been pursuing Gordon since 2012, when he signed with the Suns as a restricted free agent and the offer was matched by the Pelicans. Morey made repeated trade offers to New Orleans before signing Gordon as a free agent last summer. “Skill-wise, he’s always been someone we’ve looked at,” Morey said. “He’s so good at so many offensive actions: Spot shooting, off the dribble, good at pick and roll, good passer. We thought he was an underrated defender. And then we got the physical info and it was very positive.”

Rockets GM Talks Anderson, Gordon, Nene, Trades

January 26th, 2017 at 2:07pm CST by Luke Adams

It has been a strong bounce-back season so far for the Rockets, who were just 25-24 through their first 49 games a year ago. In 2016/17, the team is 34-15, and currently holds the NBA’s third-best record.

Much of the credit for Houston’s turnaround belongs to general manager Daryl Morey, whose offseason moves received mixed reviews at the time, but have paid off tremendously so far. Morey spoke to Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype about those moves, as well as what’s next for the Rockets, and shared a few interesting quotes, so let’s round up some of the highlights from the conversation…

On the Rockets’ approach heading into the 2016 offseason, and the additions of Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon:

“We knew that we weren’t going to be a team that could add talent through the draft and our ability to make trades [was hampered] because we didn’t have that period where we could build up a lot of things that would allow us to trade for big-time players, so free agency was going to be the big tool for us, especially in a city like Houston.

“We always felt that we played our best ball when he had a spacing four, like Ryan, and someone next to James [Harden] who could create, like Eric. The fact that we were able to get them in free agency, we were thrilled – even though, at the time, people didn’t seem to think those were the right signings for us. But we were pretty confident they were.”

On replacing Dwight Howard after using cap room to fill positions other than center:

“There wasn’t a superstar [center] available, so we knew we’d have to take the money from the CBA and the money freed up from Dwight choosing Atlanta to add to the team. If you can’t add a superstar-level player, the next best thing is to add players who perfectly fit what you’re trying to do. That’s what we went for. Nene was a huge bonus. He was looking for a winning situation because he hadn’t been in one in awhile. He really wanted to come to a winning team and we were fortunate he was available for us. With the remaining money we had, we signed him. He took every last dollar and we are happy to give it to him.”

On the success of new head coach Mike D’Antoni in Houston:

“If you look at the teams where [D’Antoni] didn’t win a lot of games, the players didn’t really fit and there wasn’t a lot of organizational buy-in. I think the big difference here is that from our owner, [Les] Alexander, to myself to Coach D’Antoni to James Harden to the other players, there’s an alignment of how we want to play and what kind of players we need to have. That actually helps a lot. I don’t know if it equals a 34-14 start, but it does help a lot when you have a top-down commitment to how we want to play and the players we want to get within that.”

On the possibility of making a deadline deal in February to bolster the roster:

“We will be less likely to make a move this year, but I have to always listen — as you don’t get many opportunities with a team this good. If we do any moves, they will likely be for depth.”

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Houston Rockets

Free Agent Addition Praise Rockets' Training Program

January 25th, 2017 at 10:41pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Free agent additions Eric Gordon and Ryan Anderson are thriving with the Rockets, Jake Fischer of Sports Illustrated writes. Both players credit Houston’s strength and conditioning program for helping them achieve success. “We’ll lift weights, I mean heavy after a game,” Gordon said. “No matter overtime, double-overtime, we’re in that weight room right after every game.”