- Michael Beasley has left agent Jared Karnes of the Allegiant Athletic Agency, as the SportsBusiness Journal reports. The former No. 2 overall pick has averaged 14.1 points in 19.8 minutes per game since signing with the Rockets last month. The minimum-salary deal includes a non-guaranteed salary for next season, according to Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders.
- A freewheeling offense and a lack of emphasis on defense provide the right environment for Michael Beasley to succeed with the Rockets, observes Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel. The former No. 2 pick has put up strong numbers since Houston signed him a month ago, having averaged 14.1 points in just 19.8 minutes per game across 15 appearances.
SUNDAY, 1:52pm: Terry is no longer being considered for the job, he confirmed to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston (on Twitter).
THURSDAY, 11:24 pm: Terry has confirmed that he interviewed for the job, tweets Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com.
10:24 pm: Rockets guard Jason Terry has spoken to Alabama-Birmingham about its head coaching vacancy, according to Drew Champlin of AL.com. The 38-year-old signed a one-year deal with Houston in August, so he will be free to pursue coaching once the season ends.
UAB athletics director Mark Ingram is talking with potential candidates in Houston, which is hosting the Final Four this weekend. Former NBA star and current Auburn assistant Chuck Person is another possible replacement for ex-coach Jerod Haase, who left for Stanford last week.
Terry has never coached before, but he has interest in that line of work once his playing career ends, writes Matthew Stevens of The Montgomery Advertiser. In his 17th NBA season, Terry is averaging 5.8 points per night in 65 games with the Rockets.
James Harden will play a key role in the Rockets‘ efforts to bring Kevin Durant to Houston, writes Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. Many teams will be chasing Durant in free agency, but the Rockets have several selling points. In addition to reuniting with his friend and former Thunder teammate, Durant will have the chance to go a state with no income tax and a large city with vast marketing opportunities. Watkins says the Rockets have talked to Harden about recruiting Durant and he has agreed to do his part. “In order to put yourself as an elite team, you always got to have talent, right?” Harden said. “You always got to get better and find ways to improve.” Houston will have plenty of cap space if Dwight Howard opts out as expected.
- Howard’s role in the Rockets‘ offense continues to decline, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Howard has averaged 9.3 points on 5.8 field goal attempts over Houston’s last 12 games. It’s a significant dropoff from earlier in the season and has led many to speculate that the 30-year-old center will seek a new team in free agency. “His impact can be felt more and should be felt more,” said interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff. “… We have to get him the ball in his spots and he has to finish when he gets there.”
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban believes Rockets guard Jason Terry has the personality to succeed as a college coach, according to Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. Terry interviewed Thursday to be the next head coach at Alabama-Birmingham. “I could see Jet being a coach,” Cuban said. “He knows the game, he’s intense, he communicates well. And guys would relate to him.” Cuban added that the former Maverick can have a job with Dallas whenever he wants one.
Jason Terry has confirmed that he talked to Alabama-Birmingham about its coaching vacancy, but he cautions that doesn’t mean his NBA career is over, according to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. The Rockets‘ veteran point guard interviewed with UAB on Thursday in Houston, where school officials are gathered for the Final Four. The 38-year-old said the interview doesn’t mean he’s decided to retire when this season is over. “No, I’m focused on the playoffs, and there has been no offer made,” he said, “but I have to keep all my options open when it comes to my post-playing career.” Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com tweets that Terry wants to play two more seasons if UAB doesn’t hire him.
- Four-year NBA veteran Sergio Rodriguez is again considering a return to the league, as international journalist David Pick hears (Twitter link). The point guard was thinking along those lines last year, when he ultimately wound up staying with Real Madrid, the Spanish team he’s played for since his NBA tenure ended in 2010. Conversely, Rodriguez’s Madrid teammate, Rockets draft-and-stash player Sergio Llull, isn’t giving any thought to joining the NBA, as he said in an appearance on Radio Marca (translation via HoopsHype).
Rockets GM Daryl Morey is accepting blame for the team’s disappointing season, according to Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com. After advancing to the Western Conference finals last year, Houston is 37-38 and locked in a three-way tie for seventh place. “It has been a very tough year in terms of a lot of the things we were hoping [to] take us to the next level, didn’t and we also took a step back on top of that, so far,” Morey said. “The season is not over but to this point we underperformed from what we did from last season.” The most glaring move that didn’t work out was an offseason deal that brought point guard Ty Lawson from Denver. Lawson proved to be a bad fit alongside James Harden and signed with the Pacers after agreeing to a buyout in Houston.
- K.J. McDaniels‘ improvement on defense has given him more playing time, Watkins tweets. Interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff likes the versatility of McDaniels, who can match up with point guards if necessary. McDaniels is getting significant minutes for the first time since Houston acquired him via trade from Philadelphia in February 2015. The Rockets re-signed him to a three-year, $10MM deal during the offseason.
If the Bucks are looking to make a splash in free agency for the second straight summer, Dwight Howard could be the player to target, writes Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post. The Rockets’ center has expressed his intention to turn down a player option for next season worth $23.282MM and seek a maximum contract starting at about $30MM. Milwaukee was among the teams that expressed interest in acquiring him before last month’s trade deadline, and Howard said he was intrigued by the possibility. Bontemps believes Howard would be the kind of defensive anchor that Greg Monroe failed to become after he signed with the Bucks last offseason. Depending where the salary cap is set, Milwaukee could have more than $20MM to spend if it doesn’t re-sign Jerryd Bayless, Greivis Vasquez and O.J. Mayo.
There’s more news out of Milwaukee:
- Giannis Antetokounmpo could be in line for a maximum contract extension over the summer, Bontemps writes in the same piece. Coach Jason Kidd recently anointed Antetokounmpo as the Bucks’ starting point guard for next season, and the franchise could reward him with a max deal. At age 21, the third-year pro has blossomed in Milwaukee, averaging 18.5 points, 8.8 rebounds, 7.3 assists, 1.6 steals and 1.9 blocks per game since the All-Star break.
- The Bucks had to make a choice last season between giving a long-term contract to Khris Middleton or Brandon Knight, according to Charles F. Gardner of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee shipped Knight to Phoenix in a three-team trade in February of 2015 and re-signed Middleton at $70MM over five years. “We had a good time while we played,” said Knight, who on Wednesday returned to Milwaukee for his first game there since the deal. “I think we [the Bucks] were just scratching the surface. Who knows where we could have went to?”
- Wednesday marked the first game for Vasquez since November 27th, Gardner notes in a separate story. The backup point guard had surgery on his right ankle in December and was sidelined for 58 games. “You miss that many games, and the coach gives you an opportunity to play the game that you love, it means a lot to me,” Vasquez said. “It also shows what a class act this franchise is, because they’ve been with me the whole time.” Vasquez is headed toward free agency after earning $6.6MM this season.
Anyone can have a blog about an NBA team, but some set themselves apart from the rest with the dedication and valuable insight they bring to their craft. We’ll be sharing some knowledge from these dialed-in writers on Hoops Rumors with a feature called Top Bloggers. As with The Beat, our ongoing series of interviews with NBA beat writers, it’s part of an effort to bring Hoops Rumors readers ever closer to the pulse of the teams they follow. Last time, we spoke about the Sixers with Jake Pavorsky, who is the managing editor of SB Nation’s Liberty Ballers. Click here to see the entire Top Bloggers series.
Next up is Ethan Rothstein, the managing editor of SB Nation’s The Dream Shake, a Rockets blog. You can follow Ethan on Twitter at @ethanrothstein. Click here to check out his stories.
Hoops Rumors: Ty Lawson recently told reporters that he thinks the Rockets didn’t use him properly and that he would have preferred to have seen more time as the primary ball handler. While Lawson may not have been an ideal fit in Houston, James Harden‘s propensity to dominate the ball makes finding a playmaker to pair alongside him a tricky proposition. Who do you feel the team needs to go after this offseason, either via trade, draft or free agency, in order to find a long-term backcourt partner for Harden?
Ethan Rothstein: I think the dream scenario, but unlikely, is Mike Conley. He’s a good enough shooter to play off the ball and lacks the defensive and character flaws that doomed Lawson in his time here. But, frankly, Patrick Beverley is a fine point guard. The Rockets’ issues that need to be resolved lie on the wing and in the frontcourt.
Hoops Rumors: One of the most significant questions for the team heading into the summer is what will happen with Dwight Howard. Is Howard’s intention to opt out of his deal a blessing in disguise, seeing as he and Harden don’t appear to be a great fit and it would provide Houston with another $23MM+ to rebuild this summer, or do you believe the team needs to hang on to the big man however it can?
Ethan Rothstein: I think if he opted in to his contract, it wouldn’t be terrible for the Rockets, but signing him to a long-term, high-paying contract would be. He’s clearly on the decline — he’s still effective on the glass and protecting the rim, but his quickness has left him on both ends — and the Rockets no longer play best when he’s on the floor. He’s been great in the playoffs two years in a row now, but Clint Capela has played well enough that the Rockets could spend their money elsewhere and not regret it too much.
Hoops Rumors: Houston landed both Sam Dekker and Montrezl Harrell on draft night last year. Harrell was projected by many, Hoops Rumors included, as a potential first-rounder, and Dekker was slotted anywhere from the late lottery on down. I know it’s difficult to properly judge Dekker thanks to his injury, but which of the pair do you see having the better long-term future in the NBA?
Ethan Rothstein: It’s frankly impossible to say, but I will say that Harrell has surprised me with how good he’s looked this year, and Dekker’s early back problems, combined with just how skinny he is, make me nervous. He’ll have a summer with NBA trainers and hopefully will bulk up and recover further. If I had to put my money on one, it’d be Harrell right now.
Hoops Rumors: We’ve long been fans of K.J. McDaniels‘ abilities and thought the Rockets landed a steal when they re-signed him to a three-year, $10MM deal last offseason, but that contract isn’t looking so great for the team right now with McDaniels buried on the bench. What went wrong? Is it a matter of him regressing or is the coaching staff not using his talent properly?
Ethan Rothstein: I feel it’s definitely the latter. For whatever reason, J.B. Bickerstaff and Kevin McHale before him have remained hopelessly devoted to Corey Brewer and Jason Terry getting minutes as backup wings over giving K.J. a shot. He’s still shot horribly from the perimeter, but he’s such a better, more athletic defender than anyone else on the team that it’s become ridiculous that his playing time hasn’t increased.
Hoops Rumors: What do you think of the job that Bickerstaff has done this season? What are the odds that he’ll earn the removal of the interim tag from his title and remain head coach?
Ethan Rothstein: I think Bickerstaff has been a total nonfactor. The team has had the same issues it did with McHale, except they’ve gotten healthier. There’s clearly discord of some sort in the locker room, and if there isn’t, it’s even more inexcusable, the job he’s done. I’d put the odds on him coming back next year, barring a miraculous postseason run, at close to nil.
Hoops Rumors: Time to take a turn to the purely hypothetical. Say you’re given the opportunity to go back in time and alter one decision, player move, hire, etc., that the Rockets have made the past three seasons. What would you change?
Ethan Rothstein: The decision to fire McHale. The Lawson trade was a gamble that didn’t pay off, but the Rockets gave up so little that if you went back in time and kept McHale, it might have figured itself out. I think McHale’s a good, not great coach who deserved more of a leash. The 11-game stretch at the beginning of the season might have been turned around. But after months of play that has been as low-intensity and disappointing as the first 11 games, it’s clear he wasn’t the problem.
Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors contributed to this interview.
Rockets rookie power forward Montrezl Harrell has been suspended five games without pay by the NBA D-League for shoving a referee to the floor in the midst of an altercation with another player during Rio Grande Valley’s contest on Saturday night, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report relays (on Twitter). The suspension will cost Harrell approximately $45K in salary and Houston will shave roughly $34K off its luxury tax bill as a result, notes Bobby Marks of The Vertical (Twitter link). Harrell will not be eligible to be recalled from the D-League by the Rockets until the suspension is completed.