Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Dwight Howard To Choose Rogers As New Agent

March 17th, 2016 at 8:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

Dwight Howard will select Perry Rogers as his new agent, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports. The move will become official when Rogers files paperwork with the National Basketball Players Association, which could happen as early as Friday.

Howard will be the first active NBA player to become a client of Rogers, who gained fame as the representative for tennis star Andre Agassi. He also represents basketball Hall of Famer Shaquille O’Neal, who has carried on a long-running public feud with Howard. Rogers was able to lure Howard by selling him on the marketing possibilities of the “Superman” image that Howard has carried since the early days of his career in Orlando, Charania reports.

Howard parted ways with agent Dan Fegan last month, offering little public explanation other than, “I just made a decision based on what I feel I needed to change.” The Rockets center is expected to turn down a player option of more than $23.282MM and test the free agent market this summer. Fegan was reportedly working with the Rockets last month to find a team willing to trade for Howard, but no deals materialized. Howard fired Fegan about a week after the trade deadline passed.

Southwest Notes: Lee, Pachulia, McDaniels, West

March 16th, 2016 at 5:31pm CST by Arthur Hill

David Lee was excited about pairing up with Dirk Nowitzki even before he formally joined the Mavericks, according to Adi Joseph of The Sporting News. Dallas was Lee’s first choice after he agreed to a buyout with the Celtics, and he signed almost immediately after clearing waivers. Lee has provided a potent scoring punch off the bench, as the Mavericks’ points per 100 possessions are 4.1 higher with him on the court during his time with Dallas. “I saw the possibilities on paper, thought it’d be a great fit on both sides,” Lee said about deciding to join the Mavericks. “But you know, you’ve just got to make it [happen]. It’s still, until you go out there and play, you never know how you’re going to feel with the guys and how things are going to work. But I think it’s been a tremendous fit here, and I’m just excited — excited to be here and excited to give it everything I have for them this year.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Center Zaza Pachulia, who has played well since being acquired in a summer trade with the Bucks, is trying to be a professional about his recent demotion from the Mavericks‘ starting lineup, writes Tim MacMahon on ESPN Now. Pachulia had started the season’s first 61 games before coach Rick Carlisle adjusted the lineup Monday to try to stop a losing streak. “As a soldier, as a player, of course I had no problem with it, because we were losing and nobody was happy with the losing streak, including me,” Pachulia said. “… It’s not like I haven’t been in this situation. Yes, I have in previous years, but this year was going so different. I just wasn’t expecting that, but you have to be respectful and represent the right way, and that’s what I’m doing. I care about this team more than my personal stuff.” Pachulia is making $5.2MM this season in the final year of his contract.
Rockets swingman K.J. McDaniels has new representation, tweets Liz Mullen of the SportsBusiness Journal. He signed with ASM Sports and his new agents will be Andy Miller and Christian Dawkins.
David West is happy to be with the Spurs, even though he gave up about $11MM from the Pacers to sign in San Antonio, writes Buck Harvey of the San Antonio Express-News. “Every moment, every play means something,” West said. “That’s what I wanted. Every game, every possession means the world to us.”

And-Ones: Horford, Howard, LeVert, Simmons

March 15th, 2016 at 3:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey is unsurprisingly a major fan of soon-to-be free agent big man Al Horford, as Jason Quick of CSNNW.com tweets. Horford will reportedly prioritize the fifth year that the Hawks, and no one else, can offer him in a new contract this summer, but he hasn’t made any commitments despite his fondness for Atlanta, and he reportedly has a degree of interest in the Magic. Portland wouldn’t offer the geographical advantage of no state income tax and proximity to his college home of the University of Florida that the Magic could, but the Blazers have an intriguing backcourt of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum to showcase to Horford and other free agents this summer, when the team will have only about $47MM in guaranteed salary on the books against a salary cap expected to be twice that amount. See more from around the league:

Rockets GM Daryl Morey was mum when ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan asked him whether he planned to re-sign Dwight Howard this summer, as Matt Dollinger of SI.com notes in a roundup of last week’s MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Agent David Falk regards Bulls owner Jerry Reinsdorf as the toughest negotiator he’s ever gone against, Dollinger notes in the same piece.
Positional versatility and a strong overall package make Michigan swingman Caris LeVert an intriguing prospect, but he looks ill-suited to become a go-to guy, and his history of injuries is a concern, write Josh Riddell and Mike Schmitz of DraftExpress.
Sean Deveney of The Sporting News sides with LSU combo forward Ben Simmons in the debate over whether Simmons or Duke small forward Brandon Ingram is the top prospect in this year’s draft, listing Simmons atop his first mock draft. Ingram follows, with European power forward Dragan Bender at No. 3.

Kings Rumors: Cousins, Karl, Divac

March 13th, 2016 at 4:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Kings center DeMarcus Cousins is the latest in a series of stars who have clashed with George Karl during his long coaching career, as Jason Jones of The Sacramento Bee examines. Sacramento GM Vlade Divac suspended Cousins for Friday’s game after his latest verbal tirade directed at Karl. It’s the most recent step in their tumultuous 13-month relationship that started when the Kings hired Karl in February of last year. “I’m the authoritative figure, and when you lose games, frustration evolves in many different ways, and sometimes it crosses the line,” Karl said. “Unfortunately, I’ve had many [difficult relationships] in my career, and fortunately some of them turned out to be very, very good.” He identified Gary Payton, Kenyon Martin and World B. Free as past stars whom he clashed with but now considers friends. Cousins is signed through the end of the 2017/18 season, which is also when Karl’s contract expires, but the coach was nearly fired before the All-Star break and is widely believed to be on the way out once the season ends.

There’s more news out of Sacramento:

Karl played down the seriousness of a procedure he had on his neck Thursday to treat skin cancer, Jones writes in the same piece. Karl described the event as not “dangerous,” and he coached the next night.
Cousins’ blowup this week bolsters the argument that Divac should ship him out of Sacremento, contends Andy Furillo of The Sacramento Bee. Furillo says Cousins has long displayed disrespect for the game as well as coaches, officials and other players. He picked up his league-leading 15th technical foul on Wednesday, then had to be restrained from attacking an assistant coach in the middle of a verbal tirade during a timeout. Furillo argues that the Kings need to trade Cousins, even if they can’t get equal value in return, before they move into their new arena next season.
A dissenting view comes from Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee, who says Sacramento’s front office shouldn’t be so desperate to trade Cousins that it accepts a bad deal. Voisin expects Cousins to be sent somewhere this summer, maybe by draft day, and speculates about the Rockets, Mavericks, Celtics, Lakers and Clippers as possible trading partners.

And-Ones: Ulis, Dawson, Lawson, Budinger

March 13th, 2016 at 2:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

University of Kentucky coach John Calipari this week erased nearly any doubt that sophomore point guard Tyler Ulis will enter this year’s draft, telling reporters he’ll be drafted this year, as Kyle Tucker of The Courier-Journal relays. The 20-year-old, who today won the SEC Tournament MVP award, hasn’t made a formal announcement, but Chad Ford of ESPN.com lists him among those “officially” in the draft, for what it’s worth. Ford ranks Ulis as the 25th-best draft prospect this year, while Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has him 37th on his top prospects list. See more from around the NBA:

Clippers rookie Branden Dawson is in custody on $50K bail after police arrested him this morning on felony domestic violence charges, reports TMZ Sports. Dan Woike of the Orange County Register confirmed the arrest (Twitter links). The team recalled Dawson, last year’s 56th pick, from the D-League on Saturday.
The contract Ty Lawson signed with the Pacers was a prorated minimum-salary deal that covers just the rest of this season, meaning he’s still on track to hit free agency this summer, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders. He’ll see $265,068 from Indiana, meaning he came out slightly ahead after giving up $225K in his buyout with the Rockets.
Pincus also lists the Pacers with a $5MM cap hit for the waived contract of Chase Budinger, indicating that he didn’t give up any of his salary to secure his release. Previous reports referred to the parting of ways as a buyout.

Texas Notes: Cuban, Martin, Goudelock, Holt

March 13th, 2016 at 2:00pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavericks haven’t been a real contender for a few seasons, but owner Mark Cuban isn’t ready to shift gears and begin the rebuilding process, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. Dallas lost Saturday to the Pacers to drop to .500 and just two games up in the loss column on ninth-place Utah.

“We’ll always be opportunistic,” Cuban said. “It takes a little bit of luck. I don’t care who it is. Then you look at the teams that said, ‘OK, let’s just blow it up.’ Who’s it worked for lately?”

The Mavericks are nonetheless stuck on the mediocrity treadmill, having no clear path to becoming legitimate contenders, MacMahon contends in the same piece. MacMahon examines the team’s decisions since winning the title in 2011 and doubts that Dallas can attract marquee free agents during the upcoming summer due to the plethora of teams set for ample cap flexibility. See more on the Mavs amid news from the Lone Star state.

Kevin Martin was linked to the Mavs, Rockets, Cavaliers, Hawks, Heat and Thunder as he worked a buyout with the Timberwolves a couple of weeks ago, but he said the Spurs were his choice all along, according to The Oklahoman’s Anthony Slater (Twitter link). “There was only one team I’d do a buyout for and it was here [San Antonio],” Martin said.
Andrew Goudelock believes he significantly expanded his game in the nearly three years that passed between the end of his time with the Lakers in 2013 and his signing with the Rockets this week, observes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “My basketball IQ has grown,” Goudelock said. “I’ve seen a lot of different things. I’m able to read offenses and defenses better. I’m able to handle the ball a lot better. I’m able to play both guard positions. I’m able to see things on the floor I wasn’t able to see before. I was just a scorer. That’s all I brought to the game. Now, I’m passing the ball and defensively I’ve gotten a lot better. I’ve come a long way defensively. That was one of the knocks on me. I’m a pretty decent defender now.”
Critics could argue that Peter Holt, who transferred control of the Spurs to his wife this past week, simply rode the wave of success that coach/president Gregg Popovich built, but Holt’s faith in Popovich amid difficulty early in his coaching tenure shows that the outgoing owner deserves credit, opines Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

Grizzlies Sign Ray McCallum To 10-Day Deal

March 12th, 2016 at 2:29pm CST by Eddie Scarito

2:29pm: The signing is official, the team announced via press release. It will be a 10-day pact for McCallum, per the official announcement.

SATURDAY, 11:29am: The signing is expected to be announced today, Charania tweets. It’s unclear if it will be a 10-day arrangement or cover the remainder of the season.

THURSDAY, 9:09pm: Free agent point guard Ray McCallum is en route to Memphis to meet with the Grizzlies and the team is likely to sign him, Shams Charania of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports reports. The Grizzlies currently have 15 players on their roster, provided Briante Weber was indeed signed to a 10-day deal. Weber’s signing took place Wednesday, according to the RealGM transactions log, though Memphis has made no official announcement regarding the move.

It is unclear if Memphis has been granted a hardship exception by the league that would allow them to add a 16th player, which McCallum would be if the Weber signing is indeed official. The move to add McCallum is in response to Mario Chalmers being lost for the season due to a torn Achilles tendon. The team waived Chalmers earlier today in an effort to clear roster space. Marc Gasol is also done for the season, while Jordan Adams, Chris Andersen, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph and Brandan Wright are all out for indefinite periods with maladies of some kind.

McCallum has had contract discussions with the Knicks and the Rockets since the Spurs waived him last month, Charania notes. McCallum is eligible to appear in the playoffs for the Grizzlies since he was released on February 29th, one day before the cutoff for postseason eligibility, Bobby Marks of The Vertical on Yahoo Sports tweets. The 24-year-old has appeared in 31 games this season and is averaging 2.2 points, 1.0 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 8.3 minutes per outing.

And-Ones: Anderson, Howard, Ellis

March 11th, 2016 at 10:25pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Southeast Missouri State freshman Tony Anderson intends to enter the 2016 NBA Draft, Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com reports. “This was the plan before I got to college,” Anderson told Goodman. “I don’t plan on playing college basketball again. I know it’s a rare situation, but my goal is to play in the NBA.” The league’s new rules allow underclassmen to again “test the waters” and take part in the NBA combine while still maintaining their college eligibility should they decide to withdraw from the draft. But it appears Anderson is set on leaving school, telling Goodman he has already withdrawn from classes and intends to hire an agent. The power forward did note that he hasn’t spoken with any potential representatives yet, the scribe adds. “I’m taking the process slow of getting an agent,” Anderson said. “I’m letting God lead me in that.”

If Anderson does hire an agent he won’t have the option to return to school, which could prove problematic if he goes undrafted in June, an outcome that is a distinct possibility, according to several NBA executives Goodman spoke with about the player. “He needs to go back to school,” one executive told Goodman. “With his numbers — on that team — he doesn’t have a chance.” The 18-year-old only notched 4.8 points and 2.3 rebounds in 14.9 minutes per contest this season.

Here’s more from around the league:

If LeBron James can return to Cleveland and be embraced by the fans, the possibility exists that the same could happen for Dwight Howard in Orlando, Brian Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel posits. The scribe notes that a reunion, while improbable, has the potential to benefit both sides. Returning to a star-hungry Magic squad would allow Howard to be the primary option once again on offense, while Orlando would land itself an upper-tier player who could help attract other free agents, Schmitz adds. Howard’s firing of agent Dan Fegan could also help make a reunion happen, as Fegan’s relationship with the team was a contentious one, Schmitz also notes. The Rockets center is widely expected to turn down his player option and hit free agency this summer.
The Mavericks believe they will be better off in the long run having allowed Monta Ellis to depart as a free agent and adding Wesley Matthews in his stead, despite Matthews not yet providing the same production Ellis did during his two-year stint in Dallas, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes. Coach Rick Carlisle did note that he was pleased with Ellis’ play for the team and added that salary cap constraints factored heavily into the decision to not pursue the shooting guard last summer, Sefko relays.
The Suns, Nets, Wizards and Pelicans all saw disabled player exceptions expire Thursday, the leaguewide deadline to use them. Phoenix’s was worth $5.464MM to offset Eric Bledsoe‘s injury, Brooklyn had one worth $3.1MM for Jarrett Jack, Washington’s came in at $2,806,750 for Martell Webster, and New Orleans had one for $1,691,012 because of Quincy Pondexter‘s injury.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Atlantic Notes: Rambis, ‘Melo, Carroll, Ainge

March 11th, 2016 at 3:02pm CST by Chuck Myron

Knicks president Phil Jackson acknowledges he has a close relationship with Kurt Rambis and that he talks more frequently with the interim coach than with former coach Derek Fisher, as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com relays from the Zen Master’s chat with reporters today (Twitter link). Jackson wouldn’t commit to keeping Rambis beyond the season but hinted that he’d like to see him earn the removal of his interim tag, observes Frank Isola of the New York Daily News (on Twitter), which jibes with an earlier report that Jackson was pulling for Rambis to win the permanent job when he named him interim boss. Jackson didn’t appear eager to move on from Carmelo Anthony either, saying he still feels as though ‘Melo is a franchise cornerstone, Begley relays (Twitter link). Jackson cited the team’s system when he said he’s not going to obsess over chasing an elite point guard in free agency this summer, according to Begley (via Twitter), so the triangle remains at the heart of all things Knicks. See more from the Atlantic Division:

DeMarre Carroll is likely to return later this month, according to Josh Lewenberg of TSN.ca, though the Raptors didn’t give a timeline today after he visited his surgeon, Sportsnet’s Michael Grange notes (Twitter link). Some questions existed about whether Carroll would return to play at all this season after he underwent right knee surgery in January, but it appears that dire outcome won’t come to pass.
Celtics president of basketball operations Danny Ainge is the best negotiator Rockets GM Daryl Morey says he’s come across, tweets Jake Fischer of SI Now, relaying Morey’s comment from the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference today. Ainge and Morey have only pulled off one trade, a three-teamer with the Trail Blazers in 2012 that sent Courtney Lee to Boston.
The Celtics have recalled Coty Clarke and Jordan Mickey from the D-League, the team announced (Twitter link). The pair, along with James Young, went to D-League Maine on Thursday for what turned out to be a one-game stay. Clarke, a 10-day signee, had a team-high 18 points on 6-of-7 shooting while Mickey scored 14.

2015/16 Salary Cap Update: Houston Rockets

March 9th, 2016 at 9:30pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The NBA’s salary cap for 2015/16 is set at $70MM, which is good for an 11% increase from last season, and the luxury tax line is fixed at $84.74MM. With the February 18th cutoff date for trades and the de facto deadline of March 1st for buyouts now past, we at Hoops Rumors are in the process of updating the salary cap commitments for each NBA franchise for the 2015/16 campaign. Here’s the cap breakdown for the Houston Rockets, whose regular season roster can be viewed here:

2015/16 Salary Cap= $70,000,000
2015/16 Luxury Tax Line= $84,740,000
Fully Guaranteed Salary Commitments= $87,990,852*
Remaining Cap Room= –$17,990,852
Amount Above Luxury Tax Line= $4,107,995**

*Note: This amount includes the $83,583 in salary paid to Chuck Hayes, the $12,179,495 due Ty Lawson and the $947,276 owed to Marcus Thornton, all of whom were waived by the team.

**Note: Josh Smith‘s and Jason Terry‘s salaries for tax purposes are $1,499,187. Lawson’s league suspension cost him $563,840 in salary and removed $281,920 from Houston’s payroll for tax purposes. Dwight Howard‘s league suspension cost him $406,534 in pay and removed $203,267 from Houston’s payroll for tax purposes.

Cap Exceptions Available:

Mid-Level Exception: $1,274,206

Cash Available to Send Out In Trades= $2,960,000

Cash Available to Receive Via Trade= $2,943,079

Note: Despite the trade deadline having passed, the NBA season technically doesn’t end until June 30th. Teams are able to again make trades upon the completion of the regular season or when/if they are eliminated from the playoffs, whichever comes later. So these cash limits still apply.

The Basketball Insiders salary pages were used in the creation of this post.