Rockets GM Unsure Of Trade Deadline Activity
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
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
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?
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
- 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
- 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
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.”
Free Agent Addition Praise Rockets' Training Program
- 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.”
Capela Playing Into Game Shape
- After missing 15 games with a fractured fibula, Clint Capela is playing himself into shape, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “He’s still a little bit away from his conditioning and different things,” Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni said. “This road trip we’ll try and wean him in as much as we can.”
- The Spurs are 4-0 on the road against the Cavs, Rockets and Warriors, tweets Marc Stein of ESPN. The rest of the NBA? A combined 13-72.
D'Antoni Making Case For Coach Of The Year
The Spurs are once again the No. 2 team in the Western Conference and a given to qualify for and contend in the playoffs. A recent hand injury to Pau Gasol, however, could change that. Ben Alamar of ESPN has explored the impact that Gasol’s absence will have in San Antonio, citing the big man’s staggering efficiency from mid-range as one of the biggest voids that the club will have to fill.
On the other side of the ball, Gasol has long-established himself as a heady defender capable of providing paint protection. This will now fall to reserves Dewyane Dedmon and David Lee. Though Dedmon and Lee have been respectable back ups this season, Alamar isn’t sure they’ll have the same impact as Gasol has with his ability to block shots and limit his fouls.
Gasol, Alamar writes, is second on the Spurs in defensive win shares behind only Kawhi Leonard.
The veteran was scheduled to undergo surgery to repair the hand fracture on Friday. No recovery timetable has yet been announced.
There’s more out of the Southwest Division:
- Though not shy about expressing his frustration with a lack of playing time, Alexis Ajinca has reportedly not requested a trade from the Pelicans, tweets Justin Verrier of ESPN. Ajinca has racked up 11 DNP-CDs since his last legitimate taste of action on December 23 and has played just three minutes total in January.
- Offseason addition Mike D’Antoni has made a serious case for Coach of the Year, writes Chris Mannix of The Vertical. His decision to move James Harden to the point has been one of the highlights of his brief tenure. “I watched a lot of tape of him,” D’Antoni told Mannix. “His skills are enormous. Point guard made sense. He was that anyway. We just cut the fat off. The way he plays now, he’s making an impact every minute. So we can play him less minutes. And he’s fresher.”
- The 2016/17 campaign won’t go down in history for the Mavs, at least not in a good way. Eddie Sefko of the Dallas News has come up with a list of things that have officially gone wrong, chief among them significant injuries to Dirk Nowitzki, Andrew Bogut, Devin Harris, Deron Williams and J.J. Barea (again).
- For the first time this season, the Spurs featured Dejounte Murray prominently in their rotation and the rookie guard responded with a career-high, 24-point showing. “I felt like I had a rhythm the whole game,” Murray told Jabari Young of the San Antonio Express-News. “I was confident even before he Gregg Popovich told me I was starting. I always stay ready. … My teammates, when they heard I was starting, they cheered me up tried to keep my confidence high.”