Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Notes: Durant, Harden, Redick

March 22nd, 2015 at 6:01pm CST by Will Joseph

Staying with the Thunder presents the best opportunity for Kevin Durant, who becomes an unrestricted free agent after the 2015/16 season, to win the NBA championship, opined columnist Howard Beck of Bleacher Report on Bleacher Report Radio (audio link). Beck cited the Thunder’s myriad of injuries has the reason for the down season and added that this year should not erase the franchise’s recent run of success.

“The Thunder have not failed and they have not failed Kevin Durant,” Beck said. “The requisite talent to win championships is there. If you want to finish your career where the best talent is, where your best shot at winning championships is, that’s still Oklahoma City.”

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Rockets have had a very hard time winning games this season when star guard James Harden has had an off night, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. The Rockets are 6-11 in games when Harden has been held to less than 20 points. The team is 40-12 when Harden totals at least 20 points. The Rockets have been without Dwight Howard since early February. The team didn’t bolster its roster with any major deals before the trade deadline, outside of acquiring rookie guard K.J. McDaniels and veteran guard Pablo Prigioni in two separate deals.
J.J. Redick is enjoying a career year and has been especially solid this month (21.2 PPG), writes Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. The eighth-year veteran is in his second season of a four-year, $27MM deal he inked with the Clippers.

Western Notes: Howard, Thunder, Nuggets

March 22nd, 2015 at 2:46pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets expect to have Dwight Howard back on the court soon, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. Howard hopes to play on the upcoming road trip, either Monday in Indiana or Wednesday in New Orleans. Howard said, “That’s a big step” when told his status had been updated from out to doubtful for the Pacers game. (Twitter link). Howard said he hasn’t “circled a day” for his return, but told Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, “It’s going to depend on how I feel … after the workout I just had.” (Twitter link). Coach Kevin McHale offered little indication about Howard’s return, saying, “As I said to you, I’ll talk to you about (Howard) when I see him out on the floor with us.” (Twitter link). Howard has been sidelined since January 23rd because of ongoing pain in his right knee.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

It’s time for the Thunder to shift their focus toward next season, argues Michael Lee of The Washington Post. With fears that Kevin Durant is done for the season and the reigning MVP’s free agency a little more than a year away, Lee contends Oklahoma City’s urgency has already moved to 2015/16. With Serge Ibaka‘s status also uncertain after undergoing knee surgery, Lee’s advice to the Thunder is to avoid rushing Durant back and save him for a run at the title next season.
With all the bad news surrounding the Thunder, Dion Waiters is providing some hope, writes Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman. Waiters broke a long shooting slump Friday with 26 points in a win over the Hawks, giving the Thunder the boost they hoped for when they acquired him from Cleveland in a three-team deal in early January. “He’s a good player,” said coach Scott Brooks. “I told him we’re just going to have to keep working with you.”
The Nuggets are making no effort to hide their intentions to tank, charges Brian K. Schmitz of The Orlando Sentinel. Far out of the Western Conference playoff race, Denver has been “resting” healthy starters, Schmitz claims, and has little interest in picking up late-season wins that might harm its draft position. The Nuggets rank eighth in Hoops Rumors’ Reverse Standings.

Southwest Notes: Rockets, Terry, Mavs

March 22nd, 2015 at 10:31am CST by ChrisCrouse

Memphis sits atop the Southwest Division with a record of 49-21. New Orleans resides in last place in the division, but sits two games back of the Thunder for the eighth seed in the Western Conference with a record of 37-32. The division could become the first since the Central Division in 2006 to have all of its teams make the playoffs.

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Rockets have had their share of injuries this season, but the team views it as an opportunity to get other players valuable experience, writes Jenny Dial Creech of the Houston Chronicle. “It gives the other guys more chances to play and they have to come in the game and really make impacts,” forward Josh Smith said. “It’s a chance for us to be better as a whole.”
Rockets guard Jason Terry admires the career of Steve Nash, who announced his retirement on Saturday, writes Jenny Dial Creech in a separate piece. “He brought back the point in point guard position in our era,” Terry said. “It was a time where guards were starting to become scoring guards. He was a true general on the floor. He was never selfish. He always looked to make his teammates better and he will be missed, but his mark on history will be left.”
Dallas only has $28.06MM in guaranteed salary on the books for 2015/16 season, as Eddie Scarito of Hoops Rumors notes in his Mavs‘ Salary Commitments piece. That figure doesn’t include player options for Raymond Felton, Al-Farouq Aminu and Monta Ellis. I’d speculate that Ellis and Aminu both turn down their options and become free agents.

Western Notes: Collison, Jones, Powell

March 21st, 2015 at 4:15pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The salary cap could jump from $90MM in 2016/17 to as much as $105MM the year after, league sources tell Zach Lowe of Grantland.com. With all the buzz surrounding Kevin Durant, Lowe notes that the increase could give the Thunder another chance to add talent without going into the luxury tax. Although, he adds that giving Serge Ibaka a maximum salary contract on his next deal could limit their flexibility.

Here’s more from the Western Conference:

The Thunder‘s injury woes continue as coach Scott Brooks informed reporters that Nick Collison is expected to miss at least 10 days with an ankle injury, Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman relays. Collison joins Durant, Ibaka and Enes Kanter on the injured list, Mayberry notes. “One thing I do know is our guys are going to continue to fight and rally and our crowd is going to continue to support our guys because they give effort,” Brooks said. “We’ve never, ever given up and felt sorry for ourselves. Our team’s going to continue to rally around each other and help each other fight through it. We’ve had some tough moments this year. That has never stopped us from competing, never stopped us from trying to improve.”
Rockets players have missed a combined 137 games this season due to injury or illness thus far, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle notes. The latest Houston player to sustain an injury is Terrence Jones who suffered a collapsed lung during Thursday night’s contest. Jones will be out of action indefinitely as a result of his injury, Feigen relays. “Guys have to step up,” coach Kevin McHale said. “I sure wish Kostas Papanikolaou [who has been out for 13 games with a sprained ankle] was ready to play, but he’s not ready to play, either. We just have to deal with it and go.“
The Mavs have re-assigned Dwight Powell to the Texas Legends, their D-League affiliate, the team announced in a press release.

Southwest Notes: Llull, Rockets, Anderson

March 16th, 2015 at 9:19pm CST by Charlie Adams

Each club playing in the Southwest Division possesses a realistic shot at making the playoffs this season in the fiercely competitive Western Conference. However, the Pelicans might come just short of a postseason berth thanks to a revitalized Thunder team playing hot down the stretch. Sam Amick and Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today look at the potential impact of changing the structure of the playoffs to include the 16 best teams, regardless of conference. Such an idea would stand to benefit a club like this year’s New Orleans bunch but hinder the postseason dreams of some Eastern Conference squads.

Adam Silver admits there are issues with the way the playoffs are constructed now but contests there’s no easy solution. For now, the Pelicans will just need to continue their strong play if they want to keeping competing past April. We’ll round up the latest coming out of the Southwest below:

Rockets draft-and-stash prospect Sergio Llull acknowledged that Houston has had interest in signing him over the past two or three years, as the point guard told Marca.com (translation via HoopsHype).
The Spurs have recalled Kyle Anderson from their D-League affiliate, the team announced via press release. The rookie out of UCLA has had four stints with the Austin Spurs so far this season, as our list of D-League assignments and recalls shows.
Chris Herrington of the Commercial Appeal looks at the struggling Grizzlies and wonders if Jeff Green‘s presence might be negatively impacting the club’s overall performance. Herrington compares Green to Rudy Gay and thinks in order to succeed, Memphis will need to potentially change the way they’re using him in the offense.
We heard this afternoon that the Mavs are no longer interested in bringing aboard JaVale McGee.

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Mavs Drop Out Of Running For JaVale McGee

March 16th, 2015 at 12:46pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Mavs are no longer interested in signing JaVale McGee, and they aren’t seeking any other upgrades to their roster, a source tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, who writes amid his weekly power rankings. They join the Warriors among the teams who have apparently grown chilly on the idea of signing the free agent center after he and the Celtics failed to reach a deal earlier this month. Dallas reportedly had serious interest in McGee as of a couple of weeks ago.

McGee has been a free agent after securing his release from the Sixers, who acquired him in a deadline-day trade with the Nuggets. There’s little financial pressure for McGee to find a deal, since the B.J. Armstrong client didn’t have to give up any of his $11.25MM salary for this year or his $12MM salary for 2015/16 to part ways with Philly. The Mavs already have 15 players on their roster, as our roster counts show, so there’s financial disincentive for Dallas to make a move. The Mavs were reportedly the front-runners for Jermaine O’Neal earlier this season before he called a halt to his comeback efforts, while Dallas also apparently had cautious interest in Larry Sanders.

The Rockets, Raptors and Heat were still interested in signing McGee as of 10 days ago, Spears reported then. The center has reportedly been seeking a player option for 2015/16 in his next contract, a demand that apparently helped unravel the would-be deal with Boston.

Western Notes: Griffin, Jordan, Nurkic, Lakers

March 14th, 2015 at 9:48pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Clippers‘ Blake Griffin will return to action soon, according to Dan Woike of The Orange County Register. Griffin, sidelined for five weeks with a staph infection in his right elbow, could be ready for Sunday’s game with the Rockets. If not, the team expects to have him Tuesday against the Hornets. A final decision on Griffin will be made Sunday morning, tweets Ben Bolch of the Los Angeles Times.

There’s more from the Western Conference:

Despite a projected jump in the salary cap after the 2016 season, Clippers free-agent-to-be DeAndre Jordan has no interest in signing a one-year contract, reports Arash Markazi of ESPNLosAngeles.com. Jordan, one of the favorites for the Defensive Player of the Year award, is likely to get a maximum deal this summer. “I’m not going to be greedy and sign a one-year deal,” Jordan said. “Nah. I’m just focused on getting it over with and focusing on playing again. I’m just trying to win here.”
Despite being nearly 7 feet tall and weighing 280 pounds, center Jusuf Nurkic fits into the Nuggets‘ running game, writes Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post. Interim coach Melvin Hunt has increased the tempo since taking over in Denver, and he says Nurkic has no problem keeping up. “Jusuf Nurkic is built to run,” Hunt said. “Don’t let it fool you with the big body he has. He likes a fast-tempo game. Look at the way he guards the pick-and-roll and look how fast his hands are. He has incredible hands and feet. Sometimes he gets a little bored when it’s a slow-tempo game.”
Lakers coach Byron Scott described his team as “selfish” and “not very bright” after Thursday’s loss to the Knicks, writes Jovan Buha in a special report for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Scott didn’t mention any players by name, but expressed frustration that his team is losing winnable games. “I thought we came in with a lack of respect for a team that had beaten us in New York,” he said. “We can’t afford to look at teams’ records and think, ‘OK, their record is worse than us, so we’re a better team than they are.’”

Southwest Notes: Gentile, Conley, Ajinca

March 12th, 2015 at 12:35pm CST by Chuck Myron

Swingman Alessandro Gentile didn’t join the Rockets after they drafted him 53rd overall this past June, but he’s growing increasingly fascinated with the idea of playing in the NBA, as he tells the Italian newspaper La Gazzetta dello Sport (translation via Sportando’s Emiliano Carchia). The Rockets have traveled to scout him and been in frequent contact, and they’ve made him feel like a family member, Gentile added. All of it seems like a departure from Gentile’s comments in September, when he said that he had no interest in playing in the NBA and questioned whether he ever would. Here’s more from around the Southwest Division:

The Grizzlies have benefited from Mike Conley‘s discount deal since the 2010/11 season, but they’ll face a challenge when it comes off the books just when teams are set to have plenty of cash to throw around in 2016, as Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com examines in an Insider-only piece.
Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com examines the changes to Alexis Ajinca that have allowed him to become a contributor for New Orleans since rejoining the NBA last season after an absense of more than two years. Ajinca’s minimum-salary deal with the Pelicans is up at season’s end.
The final pick of the 2014 first-round is headed on D-League assignment for the fourth time this season, as the Spurs have sent Kyle Anderson to their affiliate, the team announced. Still, Anderson has averaged 12.6 minutes per game and made eight starts for the big club this season.
The Mavericks have recalled Dwight Powell from the D-League just one day after sending him down, tweets Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com. The rookie power forward scored 33 points in 37 minutes Wednesday for the D-League Texas Legends.

Northwest Notes: Hunt, Afflalo, Exum

March 8th, 2015 at 10:01pm CST by Zachary Links

Rockets forward Corey Brewer spent two seasons in Denver when Nuggets interim coach Melvin Hunt was an assistant and believes he will succeed as a head coach, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I’m not saying for sure it’s going to be [with the Nuggets], but I’m certain he’s going to be a good head coach,” Brewer said. “He just has to get a chance. He knows his players. He knows how to coach. And he has a system. It’s a great system, kind of like George (Karl’s) system. You can watch them play fast, get up and down, and guys play hard.“

There’s more from the Northwest Division:

It’s not always sexy to go with the guy who’s holding down the fort, but that doesn’t mean that Hunt might not be the right guy for the job, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post writes. Hunt is running a system similar to Karl’s and that’s a game plan that has been proven to work.
The loss of Wesley Matthews is unfortunate, but fortunately, Blazers GM Neil Olshey traded for shooting guard Arron Afflalo right before last month’s trade deadline, Jesse Blancarte of Basketball Insiders writes. He’ll be counted on to replace much of Matthews’ production, but what isn’t clear is how much he’ll adopt Matthews’ role, or if he’ll continue to play his usual game.
Jazz rookie Dante Exum said his biggest adjustment to the NBA has been the constant schedule of games and travel, according to Jessica Camerato of Basketball Insiders. The Australian said there were more breaks between games in his homeland. “We had a game Tuesday in Memphis and didn’t arrive at the hotel until 3 a.m. (Wednesday in Boston),” Exum said. ” Just trying to deal with that and having to step back out on the court and play another NBA game, it’s just one of the challenges in the NBA. I learned that I can sleep a lot. Here, that’s the biggest thing. I have to get rest when I can.”

Arthur Hill contributed to this post.

Southwest Notes: Rondo, Pelicans, Howard

March 8th, 2015 at 10:28am CST by ChrisCrouse

Rajon Rondo is still open to re-signing with the Mavs, writes Marc J, Spears of Yahoo! Sports. “It’s a player’s organization. Players first, from our plane, the way we travel. I don’t take that for granted. We eat good. We stay at the best hotels. Of course, it’s the NBA. But this organization has the best. They have PlayStation in the lockers. I don’t play games, but it’s nice to know I got a PlayStation. TVs in your own locker. I heard about it – [Brandon Bass] and J-Terry [Jason Terry] told me – but seeing it and experiencing it,” Rondo said. “I love it here. I don’t dislike anything. I’m not uncomfortable. Of course, the system is different, but I’ve been here for two months. It’s going to take time. Hopefully, sooner rather than later.”

Here’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Grizzlies are leading the division with a record of 44-18 and Broderick Turner of the Los Angeles Times believes that Memphis’ style of play is key to the team’s success. Playing defense has been the Grizzlies’ calling card for the past few seasons. This year, Memphis has the best defense in the league, allowing only 95.6 points per game.
The Pelicans are a half game behind the Thunder for the eighth seed in the Western Conference and Jimmy Smith of the Times-Picayune wonders whether the team has the right mentality to make the playoffs. Coach Monty Williams is a proponent of a relaxed, one game at a time approach, but Smith believes the team needs to look at the big picture and take every game with a little more urgency.
Dwight Howard has begun his on-court rehabilitation, which is the next step in coming back from his knee injury, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “He’s starting to do a combination of treadmill/floor stuff, which is a good sign, but they’re going slow. They want to make sure they have a handle on it. It’s bothered him really all year,” coach Kevin McHale said. The Rockets are 43-20, which currently puts the team in third place in the conference. The Rockets have a nine game lead over the Pelicans, the conference’s ninth place team, so rushing Howard back for the sake of winning regular season games shouldn’t be a priority.