- The Rockets will welcome injured point guard Patrick Beverley back Thursday, posts Calvin Watkins on ESPN Now. Beverley, who underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee October 25th, will immediately be inserted into the starting lineup.
- The Rockets are still trying to set a firm rotation after several offseason changes, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The latest move saw Sam Dekker being used as a backup at both forward slots Monday, reducing the minutes for K.J. McDaniels. More changes will come when Beverley is ready. “We’re still trying to hunt and peck a little bit, try to whittle down the rotation,” said coach Mike D’Antoni. “… Then, we’ll have to put Pat in and see how that changes things up. It’ll be a little bit of a process for a couple, three weeks and then we’ll settle in. Obviously, Pat, it will take him a week or so to get the rust off. But he’ll pick up 30 minutes. That’s a big chunk of playing time he’ll be good at.”
- No progress has been made between the Rockets and power forward Donatas Motiejunas, the only unsigned restricted free agent in the league, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Houston reportedly offered Motiejunas is a multiyear contract that started at a fully guaranteed $7MM in year one. Motiejunas’ $4.4MM qualifying offer expired last month. He was traded to the Pistons in February, but Detroit rescinded the deal because of long-range concerns over his surgically-repaired back.
Here are Sunday’s D-League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:
- The Mavericks have recalled rookie center A.J. Hammons from the Texas Legends, the team announced today in a press release. Hammons has appeared in three games for Dallas and has nine points.
- The Spurs sent Davis Bertans, Bryn Forbes and Dejounte Murray to their Austin affiliate in time for the team’s season opener today. Bertans has appeared in seven games with the Spurs, Forbes has been in six games and Murray has played in five games.
- The Nets have recalled Chris McCullough from their affiliate in Long Island, tweets Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv. He has appeared in three games for Brooklyn with two points and six rebounds.
- The Rockets sent rookie Kyle Wiltjer to their affiliate in Rio Grande Valley, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. He has seen just six minutes of action in three games with Houston.
- Mike D’Antoni is doing his best coaching job with James Harden, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Dempsey says the Rockets’ star, who is averaging 30.0 points and 10.0 assists per night, is the best fit ever for D’Antoni’s up-tempo system.
After missing the first part of the season with knee problems, Rockets guard Patrick Beverley plans to be ready next week, relays Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Beverley had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee October 25th. Doctors expected him to be sidelined four to six weeks, but he vowed to return earlier. Houston has games scheduled for Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, and Beverley didn’t specify which one will mark his comeback. “I’m completely healed,” Beverley said. “I did a lot of contact [Friday]. I’ve been getting a lot of contact. It’s up to me to get my rhythm. I don’t want to come in and play limited minutes. When I come back, I’m going to be full force. I can’t say what coach is going to do or how many minutes I’m going to play. But when I come back, I come back to play an overtime, a double overtime game.”
- Rockets guard Patrick Beverley, who underwent knee surgery last month, could be cleared to return to practice as early as next week, Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). If that is indeed the case, Beverley could be back in Houston’s rotation by the end of November, Watkins adds.
- James Harden has been impressive for the Rockets under new head coach Mike D’Antoni, but despite the guard putting up NBA-worthy numbers for Houston, the team still has work to do in order to be considered contenders, Oliver Maroney of Basketball Insiders writes. “We pretty much think James can do anything in Houston,” Morey told Basketball Insiders. “We’re happy he is showing it but we aren’t focused on it – we’re trying to improve the defense and get more wins. James is playing great. He’s the leader we need to go deep into the playoffs.”
Following a disappointing 2015/16 season, Rockets owner Leslie Alexander took on a larger role in his team’s roster-building process this summer, sources familiar with the process tell Zach Lowe of ESPN.com. According to Lowe, Alexander was “eager to rebound at any cost” after Houston underachieved last season.
Alexander’s increased involvement signals that Daryl Morey‘s hold on the general manager job may not be as secure as it once was, league sources tell Lowe. For his part, Morey says he doesn’t “feel more or less pressure” in his GM role than he has in previous years. However, Lowe suggests that the Rockets’ dismissal of former VP of player personnel Gianluca Pascucci earlier this year was “widely seen as a shot across the bow at Morey.” The GM says that decision was his.
As Lowe observes, the Rockets took a different approach to roster-building this summer than they have in the past under Morey. The team has typically made an effort to add another star or two to a roster headed by James Harden. However, as they lost Dwight Howard in free agency this July, the Rockets instead opted to use their cap room to sign solid – and expensive – complementary players like Ryan Anderson and Eric Gordon. Houston still wanted to add star power, and will keep an eye out for a top player going forward, but Morey suggests that last year’s disappointing showing had an impact on the club’s ability to recruit top-tier players this summer.
“Last year hurt us in terms of perception around the league,” Morey said. “We felt like if we didn’t have a more successful season this year, our ability to be a top destination would be hurt. … We had a choice: keep our powder dry and value play, or go for two blue-chip players past the obvious superstars. It was a tough cap environment. You have to spend the money on someone.”
According to Lowe, Morey and the Rockets believe players like Anderson, Gordon, and others will thrive this season in Mike D’Antoni’s system, boosting their trade value. So Houston will be a team worth watching at February’s trade deadline. If Morey’s bet doesn’t pay off, it will also be worth keeping an eye on whether his grip on his GM job grows more tenuous.
Dwight Howard may be gone, but the Rockets are still benefiting from the teaching he did with younger players, writes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. Howard signed with the Hawks this summer after three seasons in Houston, but he left an impression on Rockets big men Clint Capela, Montrezl Harrell and Sam Dekker. “Dwight was a great guy; nobody gets to really see the type of person he is off the court,” Harrell said. “Everybody sees him on the court and thinks he’s childish or he’s a big kid. He’s a great guy with the time I spent with Dwight. He cares about everybody on and off the court. He has a heart that’s so big. Whenever I came out of a game, we were always communicating.”
After passing along a few details on the latest contract negotiations between the Rockets and Donatas Motiejunas earlier today, Marc Stein fleshed out that report in his latest piece for ESPN.com. According to Stein, November 23 is viewed as an unofficial deadline for Motiejunas to sign, since he wouldn’t be trade-eligible this season if he inks a deal after that date. Players signing free agent contracts are ineligible to be moved for three months after the deal is finalized.
Additionally, as we speculated, the Rockets are reluctant to guarantee any seasons beyond year one in an offer for Motiejunas, sources tell Stein. The forward’s history of back issues plays a significant part in that stance.
One final 2016 restricted free agent remains unsigned, and the Rockets continue to make efforts to lock up Donatas Motiejunas to a new deal. According to ESPN’s Marc Stein (via Twitter), Houston’s latest offer to Motiejunas is a multiyear proposal that starts at a fully guaranteed $7MM in year one. Stein adds (via Twitter) that it can increase to the $8MM range via incentives.
Of course, the full details of the offer remain somewhat vague based on Stein’s report. A three- or four-year fully guaranteed contract that starts at $7MM would likely appeal to Motiejunas and agent B.J. Armstrong. However, it’s also possible that the deal more closely resembles Tyler Zeller‘s — earlier this year, the Celtics RFA signed a two-year, $16MM contract that is only guaranteed for one season.
In any case, it doesn’t appear as if the Rockets’ latest offer has the two sides on the verge of an agreement. A source tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com (Twitter link) that Motiejunas is looking into the possibility of playing overseas. Even if that’s a leverage play from the forward’s camp, it suggests he’s still seeking a stronger offer from Houston or another NBA team.
The Rockets tendered Motiejunas a qualifying offer worth about $4.4MM back in June. The 26-year-old didn’t reach an agreement with Houston or sign an offer sheet with a rival suitor during the offseason, and that qualifying offer expired last month. Motiejunas can no longer sign his one-year QO, but remains a restricted free agent, meaning Houston still has the right of first refusal should he strike a deal with another team.
Although Motiejunas struggled to stay healthy in 2015/16 and his production took a significant hit, he looked like a player on the rise in 2014/15, when he averaged 12.0 PPG and 5.9 RPG to go along with a .504 FG% and a .368 3PT%. He has been plagued by back trouble in recent years, creating some long-term uncertainty about his health and limiting his market.