Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Howard, Martin, Morris

October 10th, 2015 at 9:43pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Fans knew that Dwight Howard was battling a knee injury during last season’s Western Conference finals, but the injury was worse than it seemed at the time, Calvin Walkins of ESPN.com writes.

“I was basically playing with a torn MCL and meniscus,” Howard said. “I never said anything about it. I tried to cover it up saying it was a sore knee. But I was in pain the rest of the series. I just looked at it like, man, you just never know if you will ever make it back to this moment. So just sacrifice your mind, your body and your spirit for your teammates and the city and hope for the best.”

The Rockets intend to utilize second year big man Clint Capela in a larger role in an effort to reduce Howard’s workload this season. In the summer of 2013, Howard signed a four-year, max contract that includes a player option after this season. The health of his knee, along with the level of his play this season, could determine whether he decides to turn down his option, worth slightly more than $23.28MM, and enter free agency in 2016.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

Lang Greene of Basketball Insiders opines that Kevin Martin is a prime candidate to be traded after the Wolves announced that sophomore Zach LaVine will be the team’s starting shooting guard. Martin has two years and slightly over $14.46MM remaining on his current deal and Greene believes if Minnesota wanted to move him, there would be teams willing to bring the veteran aboard at that price.
Although Markieff Morris declared that he wants to remain in Phoenix, the Suns could ultimately end up dealing the forward anyway, Greene opines in the same piece. Morris is on a team-friendly deal that will pay him $32MM over the next four seasons and if he has a good start to the season, more than a few teams should be interested in acquiring him.
After losing LaMarcus Aldridge to the Spurs in free agency, many are not optimistic about the Blazers‘ chances of making playoffs, but statistician Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com argues that competing for a playoff spot is not out of the question, Cody Sharett of NBA.com writes. Pelton cited the additions of Ed Davis, Mason Plumlee and Al-Farouq Aminu, who have all shined in terms of advanced statistics, as reason for optimism.

Southwest Notes: Clippers, Jenkins, Aldridge

October 9th, 2015 at 7:16pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Employing daily meditation and a vegan diet, one that he’s trying to convince Anthony Davis to adopt, Chris Douglas-Roberts is taking a more sanguine approach to his career than he used to as he fights for a regular season roster spot on the Pelicans, as John Reid of The Times Picayune details. The Pelicans have six players, including Douglas-Roberts, who don’t have fully guaranteed salary and 13 who do. ”I was a first-team All-American [in college] — top five player in the country — and got drafted second round,” Douglas-Roberts said. ”So I carried a little bit bitterness and anger from that. I still performed when I was given an opportunity. But my energy just wasn’t right. Now my energy is right.”

Here’s more happenings from the Southwest Division:

John Jenkins has impressed Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle with his aggressive play, though Jenkins, a shooting guard by trade, has had his struggles while filling in at point guard due to a number of injuries, Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com writes. “The learning curve is always going to be there with young players. You know, we’ve got some young guys that are getting a real chance to play and are learning things. That said, I really like Jenkins. You know, Jenkins has played a real aggressive game both of the last two nights. He’s shown he can handle the ball a little bit. He’s done a good job, and he’s got to continue doing what he’s been doing,” Carlisle told Sneed.
The Rockets have been encouraged thus far by the preseason showings of second-year players K.J. McDaniels and Clint Capela, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle notes. Capela was selected with the No. 25 overall pick in the 2014 NBA Draft, and McDaniels re-signed with the team over the summer after having been acquired from the Sixers at last February’s deadline in exchange for Isaiah Canaan and a second-round pick.
LaMarcus Aldridge, who left the Trail Blazers over the summer to sign a four-year, $84MM deal with the Spurs, is still acclimating himself to San Antonio’s system, but he is pleased with his progress thus far, writes Scott Howard-Cooper of NBA.com. After making his preseason debut against his former team, Aldridge said, “The night was [a] little overwhelming because it doesn’t really hit you until you really go put on the jersey and then you go play. I knew I was in San Antonio, but it doesn’t really hit you until you’re on the court trying to figure out how to run an offense again and things like that. But I think the process has been going well so far.“

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Parker, Anderson, Lawson, Mavs

October 9th, 2015 at 11:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Tony Parker has let the Spurs know that he wants another three-year deal when his three-year extension that kicks in for this season expires in 2018, as the point guard said to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports. That would give him 20 years in the NBA, and after that he’d be ready to retire, Parker told Spears, adding that he’s confident he’ll have a bounceback season after struggling last year.

“It’s very rare for any player in any sport – soccer, football, baseball – to play their whole career with the same team,” Parker said. “So it would definitely mean a lot to me to do like David Robinson and Timmy [Duncan] and Manu [Ginobili]. It would be great to be a part of the history of being with the same team. My time will come soon. But I definitely want to enjoy my last years in the NBA.”

Parker also mentioned to Spears that he sought advice from Steve Nash this summer about how to sustain his body. See more from around the Southwest Division:

Ryan Anderson is entering a contract year and thinks the arrival of new Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry will be beneficial for him, as the stretch four explained to Joel Brigham of Basketball Insiders. “His up-tempo pace is perfect for this group, and it’s great for me personally,” Anderson said. “[We’re] able to spread the floor, play naturally and go with the flow of the game rather than being really precise and running specific plays or getting over-organized and over-thinking things. There are players that can do a lot of different things and we want to take advantage of that. I think I fit into that category, that there’s a lot of things that I can do in this offense. We’re pushing it up the floor and pushing the pace. That’s good for me.”
James Harden finished second in MVP voting last season, but the Rockets traded for Ty Lawson in part to change Harden’s role in the offense in a way that Harden called for prior to the deal, as Jonathan Feigen writes for Bleacher Report. “With Ty, I think we can take the ball out of [Harden’s) hands, let him play off the catch, let him play a little more free, not having so much ball responsibilities. I think that will help him. I think he’s harder to guard like that,” Rockets coach Kevin McHale said. “We talked about that. That was kind of our goal.”
The Mavericks are at a potential turning point for their franchise as they slip farther from the elite, and even Dirk Nowitzki admits, as he enters his age-37 season, that the team doesn’t have a superstar anymore, observes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.

Western Notes: Donovan, Capela, Nuggets

October 6th, 2015 at 10:24pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Thunder coach Billy Donovan isn’t focusing on the impending free agency of star small forward Kevin Durant, who is eligible to hit the open market next summer, because he doesn’t want it to take away from his other duties as a coach, Erik Horne of The Oklahoman tweets. “I’ve said this before that I feel that my job and responsibility each day on the court is to our staff and myself to try and help Kevin grow and get better as a player, to try to help the team grow and get better as a team, and put our focus on those things,” Donovan said. “I think for me to focus on something that’s going to be all the way down the road in June or July or during that timeframe, I think I’m taking away my focus on what we need to do. We have enough to do I think right now as a staff to try to improve and get better.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Rockets intend to utilize second year big man Clint Capela in a larger role in an effort to reduce starting center Dwight Howard‘s minutes this season, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. “For me, it’s hard to focus on that right now because I’m really focused on the training camp, getting better every day,” Capela said. “But I think it is good for me. It is a good change. Right now, I have to focus on the right now. I’m going to get there, but I’m not there yet. I will be ready.“
The battle for the Nuggets‘ final roster spot is likely to be between second-year players Erick Green and Nick Johnson, both of whom are competing to be the team’s third point guard, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Both players are signed to the league minimum, but Johnson’s deal is fully guaranteed, while Green’s includes a partial guarantee of $100K, though that won’t likely be the determining factor, Dempsey adds.
The Thunder‘s new offense is opening up scoring opportunities for all the players, and not just the outside shooters, Horne writes in a separate piece. “Definitely. Definitely more space,” point guard Russell Westbrook said. “Guys are in positions where they can score the basketball. The space is especially good for myself and it’s also good for guys that shoot the basketball really well, roll to the basket, whatever it is, can use their strengths really well.”

Southwest Notes: Terry, Grizzlies, Leonard, Gentry

October 6th, 2015 at 12:30pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Pelicans offered Jason Terry more than the guaranteed one-year deal for the minimum salary that the Rockets gave him, but he preferred a better chance to make the Finals with Houston, even though his role on the Rockets will likely shrink, reports Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com.

“I don’t have to play a lot of minutes to be effective,” Terry said. “With the minutes, I know my role and what’s expected out of me, and that goes a long way.”

Terry saw 21.3 minutes per game for Houston in the regular season last year but 28.6 in the playoffs as he filled in for the injured Patrick Beverley, a duty that would now fall to trade acquisition Ty Lawson. See more from the Southwest Division:

The Grizzlies‘ addition of Brandan Wright and subtraction of Kosta Koufos sacrifices defense, and especially rebounding, for the sake of offense, as Chris Herrington of The Commercial Appeal examines. That leads Herrington to wonder if Marc Gasol should undo some of his changes from last season, when he tilted his game more toward the offensive end.
Kawhi Leonard had made a total of less than $8.5MM in his first four years in the NBA before re-signing with the Spurs on five-year max deal worth more than $94MM this summer, but he’s more enthusiastic about the length of the contract than the money involved, notes Dan McCarney of the San Antonio Express-News.
Alvin Gentry is adopting a looser, more relaxed approach with the Pelicans than former coach Monty Williams did, incorporating some techniques from the year he spent as an assistant under Steve Kerr with the Warriors, as John Reid of The Times Picayune details.

And-Ones: Clippers, Paul, Union, Gentile, Bender

October 6th, 2015 at 8:59am CST by Chuck Myron

Clippers coach/executive Doc Rivers acknowledges that if the team doesn’t break through this season, it would be reasonable to conclude that this core of players never will and that major changes are necessary, as he tells Grantland’s Zach Lowe.

“We’re all on that edge together,” Rivers said. “I believe we’re gonna be really good. But if we’re not, it depends on how we play, and what the reason is. That’s what would make you make a big decision.”

See more Clippers-related news amid our look around the league:

Clippers point guard Chris Paul is taking a determined stance in his role as president of the National Basketball Players Association as labor talks with the league approach, writes Kurt Streeter of ESPN the Magazine. Paul’s serious, no-nonsense demeanor helped lead the union to the hiring executive director Michele Roberts, as Anthony Tolliver, one of the union’s vice presidents, explains to Streeter. “At first there was a little bit of, um, hesitancy to elect a woman,” Tolliver said. “Not because we’re sexist, but we just weren’t quite sure how our guys were going to react to that. But Chris was adamant. He thought she’d be the best leader. By the end of the process, every single guy on our committee thought she was the best candidate. Chris said that from the beginning. We ended up following his lead.”
Roberts earned $1.2MM in her first year on the job, according to Liz Mullen of SportsBusiness Journal, who writes in a subscription-only piece.
The Rockets will try to sign draft-and-stash swingman Alessandro Gentile next summer, and a decent chance exists that they’ll make it happen, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com amid a piece on draft prospect Dragan Bender, who dominated Gentile last week in an exhibition between their European teams. Bender wouldn’t be selected lower than third overall if he enters the 2016 draft, Stein believes. Gentile was the 53rd overall pick in 2014 and is under contract with Italy’s EA7 Milano through 2018, as Mark Porcaro shows in our Draft Rights Held Players database.

And-Ones: Bender, Wall, Durant, Brown, Lawson

October 1st, 2015 at 1:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

European phenom Dragan Bender will make his U.S. debut in Chicago tonight for Israel Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv for the first of a pair of exhibitions against EA7 Emporio Armani Milan, as Zach Links of Hoops Rumors first reported he was likely to do. The 17-year-old has stirred no shortage of excitement, as international journalist David Pick writes for Bleacher Report. Almost all 30 NBA teams are set to scout the contests, with the Celtics, Nets, Mavericks, Grizzlies and Bucks among them, sources tell Pick. Hornets GM Rich Cho will be there, too, tweets Jake Fischer of SI Now. The Nuggets, Sixers and Magic have had talks with Maccabi officials about the 7’1″ power forward, Pick also hears. Bender is well ahead of where 2015 No. 4 overall pick Kristaps Porzingis was at the same age, Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress told Pick. Givony has Bender as the fifth-best prospect in next year’s draft, while Chad Ford of ESPN.com ranks him seventh.

“The only thing ’17 years old’ about him is his mustache,” Maccabi coach Guy Goodes said to Pick.

See more on Bender and other NBA news here:

Bender turns 18 next month, so he’ll turn 19 in 2016 and thus be eligible for early entry for the upcoming draft, but it’s not a given that he’ll declare, as Maccabi GM Nikola Vujcic, who also serves as Bender’s guardian, explained to Pick for the same piece. Vujcic suggested to Pick that Bender won’t enter the draft unless he receives a commitment from a team picking in the top three to five selections and suggested that he might decide to stay overseas for a while even if he is drafted.
John Wall says he and Kevin Durant are “really close” and reiterated that he’ll make a recruiting pitch to the former MVP who hits free agency next summer, though he adds that he’ll be cautious not to take an overbearing approach, as the Wizards point guard explains to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders.
The Nets declined to waive Markel Brown by Tuesday’s guarantee date, so his $200K partial guarantee jumped to a full guarantee on his $845,059 minimum salary, notes Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link). That gives the Nets 13 fully guaranteed contracts among the 20 players they have in camp.
The Rockets are trying to minimize their risks with Ty Lawson, having told him that they’ll provide a ride for him to any destination at any time, according to TNT’s David Aldridge, who writes in his Morning Tip column for NBA.com. Lawson, for whom Houston traded this summer despite two DUI arrests in six months, has been on his best behavior so far, Aldridge notes.

Texas Notes: Howard, Lawson, West, McGee

October 1st, 2015 at 10:25am CST by Chuck Myron

Dwight Howard can opt out of his deal at season’s end, but he isn’t planning for the sort of hype that surrounded the last time his contract became an issue, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Howard declined to talk Wednesday about his potential to become a free agent next summer, though Rockets GM Daryl Morey said last week that he intends to keep the core of the team, including Howard, together for more than just this coming season, Feigen notes. Howard shrugged off the notion that he’s headed into an age-related decline.

“I’m 29 years old,” Howard said, accoring to Feigen. “Regardless of me being in the league for 12 years, I’m still fairly young. I’ll give everything I’ve got for these 10, 11 years I have left.”

See more on the Rockets amid the latest from around the Texas Triangle:

Ty Lawson asked James Harden to push the Rockets to trade for him shortly after last season’s Western Conference Finals were over, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The initial rush of major moves in late June and early July passed with Lawson still on the Nuggets, but Houston finally traded for the point guard in late July.
David West has been saving money since his rookie season with the idea that when he came to the end of his career, he could make professional decisions based on basketball only and not worry about finances, as Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio-Express News details. That’s just what he did this summer, when he turned down a $12.6MM player option from the Pacers and signed for a $1,499,187 minimum salary with the Spurs. “There are a lot of people making a whole lot less than we make that live comfortable lives,” West said to McDonald. “I’ve always kept that in perspective. So when it came down to year 13, knowing you’ve got more yesterdays than tomorrows, you say, ‘Take the money off the table and go where you want to go.’”
JaVale McGee is showing frustration as the rehab process from stress fracture in his left tibia drags on, but even though he probably won’t be ready for opening night, the dearth of other center options on the Mavs makes it likely the team keeps him, according to Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com. That means the Mavs would end up cutting one of 15 players with a fully guaranteed contract to accommodate McGee’s partially guaranteed deal on the regular season roster. “We know what he’s capable of doing,” coach Rick Carlisle said of McGee. “He has a body of work. We know he’s an NBA player, and we know he has the ability to be a starting player in the NBA. We know he’s very motivated to play. He’s just had a very odd rehab situation that’s been addressed and he’s doing much better. So that’s something that we’re going to have to evaluate and kind of see what’s what as time goes along, but we consider him a guy that’s a great prospect.”

Clippers Notes: Rivers, Stephenson, Smith

September 30th, 2015 at 1:39pm CST by Chuck Myron

The specter of the Donald Sterling saga hurt the Clippers in free agency last summer, Doc Rivers says, but after this past offseason, one in which Rivers had owner Steve Ballmer behind him, the onus is on Rivers the coach to deliver on what Rivers the executive set up, writes Helene Elliott of the Los Angeles Times.

“The first summer was tough. We didn’t have an owner in place. Recruiting was near-impossible,” Rivers said. “You go in and talk to free agents and their agent would say, ‘Well, we don’t even know who’s going to own your team. Why would we commit to you guys?’ That was a hard summer for us.”

Ballmer’s riches didn’t play too much of a role this year, since Paul Pierce taxpayer’s mid-level exception deal was the only outside signing for more than the minimum that salary cap rules allowed the Clippers to make, but Rivers also made noise via trade, as we examine more closely amid the latest on the Clips:

Rivers still held out hope that his Spencer Hawes signing from 2014 would pan out and didn’t want to mess with his team’s strong play at the time when he passed on a deal that would have brought in Lance Stephenson midway through last season, according to Dan Woike of the Orange County Register. Rivers ultimately traded Hawes in this summer’s deal for Stephenson.
Clippers offseason signee Josh Smith is enthusiastic about what Stephenson can do for the team, calling him a “walking triple-double” who was simply misplaced in Charlotte, as Woike notes in the same piece. “I think it was the wrong fit,” Smith said of Stephenson on the Hornets. “It’s all about a player being comfortable and happy in a situation. Me in Detroit, it was kind of a similar situation. I think he looks at this as a breath of fresh air.”
The Clippers were the first team to contact Smith in free agency this summer, and that helped impress upon him that the Clippers wanted him more than the Rockets, who also made an offer, Smith said, according to Rowan Kavner of Clippers.com. Persistence from GM Dave Wohl also paid dividends, according to Rivers. “I give Dave credit,” Rivers said. “He didn’t stop. He called every single day, like 21 days in a row. He kept calling, and Josh called Dave and said, ‘I’m coming.’ Then Dave called me. That’s how we got the news. I just think the opportunity, he looked at our team and what we had, and I think that’s what sold him.”

Southwest Notes: Matthews, Jones, West

September 29th, 2015 at 10:28pm CST by Eddie Scarito

Mavs coach Rick Carlisle has already reportedly ruled out Wesley Matthews for the team’s opener, but the swingman has designs on proving his new coach wrong, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com writes. “I’m trying to be ready by opening day,” Matthews said. “Whether I can play in it or not, I can’t really control that. But my goal is to [be] ready and available opening day.”

Matthews doesn’t think it relevant to compare how long it has taken other players who have had similar injuries to his own to recover, MacMahon adds. “I don’t really pay too much attention to that because if I paid attention to people that were in my situation before me, then I wouldn’t be up here standing and talking to you guys,” Matthews said, “because I can’t think of too many undrafted free agents that have done what I’ve done.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

Rockets forward Terrence Jones enters the 2015/16 season with a different, more mature outlook, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes. “I felt like I really needed to grow as a person,” Jones said. “I think I am a lot more mature this year.” Jones is eligible to ink a contract extension with Houston prior to the deadline on November 2nd.
David West said that the Spurs‘ signing of LaMarcus Aldridge was the deciding factor for him to join the team as an unrestricted free agent this summer, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express News tweets.
Despite concerns regarding his agility and foot speed, the Spurs‘ signing of center Boban Marjanovic is exactly what the team needed to help offset the free agent losses of Aron Baynes and Tiago Splitter, writes Dan McCarney of The San Antonio Express-News. McCarney notes that Marjanovic’s ample size (7’3″), as well as his inexpensive contract, make the 27-year-old a wise pickup.
Pelicans star big man Anthony Davis is hoping that the additional 15 pounds of muscle he added from working out over the summer will make him an even more dominant player, Brett Martel of The Associated Press relays. “I feel great right now. Even just working out, I feel explosive. I feel quick,” Davis said. “When you start actually going against people and all that, it’s a lot different. So I’m going to see how it is during training camp and preseason and go from there.“
Despite the expectations that arrived in San Antonio along with him, Aldridge is doing his best to fit in and adapt to the way the Spurs organization handles its business, Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News writes. “It’s never been about one guy here,” said Aldridge. “It’s always been about the team. So it’s not about me.”
After missing the end of the 2014/15 regular season and the playoffs, Rockets guard Patrick Beverley is itching to get back on the court, Creech writes in a separate piece. “Six months, nine days,” Beverley said. “That’s the longest I have ever been out and away from basketball. Injuries aren’t something you can control, but I am ready to get back, ready to play and get this thing started.”