Rockets Waive Tarik Black, Sign Smith
11:22pm: The Rockets have formally announced the signing of Smith and the waiving of Black.
10:49am: Unable to find an acceptable deal to open a roster spot for Josh Smith, the Rockets waived center Tarik Black today, as Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports writes in a full story. Citing an unidentified league source, Wojnarowski says the Rockets have decided to part ways with the rookie center out of Kansas. He adds that the team hopes Smith can complete a physical and sign a contract in time to play tonight against the Grizzlies, but that remains uncertain at this point.
Smith, who was waived Monday by the Pistons, announced his intention to join the Rockets even before clearing waivers on Wednesday. With Houston already having 15 players on its roster, an opening had to be created. The Rockets spent the past two days trying to work out a deal involving Black, Nick Johnson, Isaiah Canaan, Joey Dorsey or Clint Capela. Of the five, Black was the only one without a fully guaranteed contract. He signed a two-year, partially guaranteed deal in August.
Wojnarowski says several teams are interested in claiming Black. He has already earned more than the partial guarantee amount on his non-guaranteed contract. The money that Black has already earned will stick on Houston’s cap figure if he clears waivers, but another team will assume that amount on its cap if it claims him.
Black averaged 4.2 points and 5.1 rebounds in 25 games with the Rockets, and started 12 games when Dwight Howard was out of the lineup with knee pain. He earned a roster spot with the Rockets after an impressive performance in the summer leagues.
And-Ones: Selby, Cavs, Knicks, Rockets
Josh Selby, a 2011 second round draft pick of the Grizzlies, nearly quit the game as he bounced between playing overseas and the NBA D-League, David Pick of Basketball Insiders writes. Selby is currently trying to catch the eyes of NBA scouts while playing over in Israel, though Selby said that no NBA teams have been in contact with him this season, Pick notes. “I want to help my team reach the playoffs and take them as far as possible,” Selby said. “As long as I take care of business and win here, the NBA will come find me.”
Here’s more from around the league and abroad:
- Joe Alexander has officially inked a deal with Maccabi Tel Aviv, the team announced (translation by Emiliano Carchia of Sportando). Alexander had a $45K buyout amount on his D-League contract with the Santa Cruz Warriors, Gino Pilato of D-League Digest reports (Twitter link).
- The Cavs are performing their due diligence on available options, but are in no rush to replace the injured Anderson Varejao, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Cleveland is intrigued by the possibilities of playing “small ball,” Spears adds.
- Knicks president Phil Jackson took to Twitter yesterday to promise fans that 2015 would hold better things for New York than 2014 has. But the Knicks’ star player, Carmelo Anthony, noted that Jackson doesn’t have much time to make the necessary changes before the year ends to ensure that statement comes true, Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com writes. Anthony is also growing increasingly frustrated with the team’s lack of consistency and progress, Begley adds. “We have spurts throughout the course of the game where we are showing something, showing that we’re getting it and we’re focused and we have the energy to go out and do it,” Anthony said. “But there are times where we show that we’re not even out there on the basketball court. We gotta start trying to put a whole game together.”
- The Rockets hope to open up a roster spot for Josh Smith by completing a trade by Friday rather than waiving a player, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reports (Twitter link). Houston is currently pursuing various deals to try to make this happen, Stein notes. The Rockets are reportedly willing to trade Isaiah Canaan, Joey Dorsey, Tarik Black, Nick Johnson and Clint Capela.
Southwest Notes: Mills, Rockets, Pelicans
The Spurs will welcome the injured Patty Mills back to their lineup soon, according to Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (Twitter link). Mills hasn’t played yet this season after having rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder during the summer. Mills said he has been cleared for full practices, but is not ready for game action. Coach Gregg Popovich will be careful not to rush him back into the lineup. “If he messes up the shoulder again, we lose him for the season,” Popovich said. “He’s too important.” Mills played through pain last season and was a key contributor off the bench in San Antonio’s run to the championship. Despite the long rehab, the Spurs opted to reward the free agent guard with a contract worth approximately $11MM over three years.
There’s more from the Southwest Division:
- The Rockets had their eyes on Josh Smith for several years before he was waived by the Pistons, reports Zach Buckley of Bleacher Report. Houston was interested in a sign-and-trade with the Hawks when Smith hit the free agent market in 2013, but wasn’t able to work out a deal. Instead, Smith inked a four-year, $54MM pact with Detroit. Smith cleared waivers Wednesday and has been open about his intention to join the Rockets, but the team must clear a roster spot before a deal can be finalized.
- Smith confirmed to Michael Lee of The Washington Post that Dwight Howard had a lot to do with his decision to choose Houston. Smith and Howard have been friends since their AAU days, and Howard served as best man at Smith’s wedding. The Rockets’ center made a recruiting pitch to Smith after he was waived. “Dwight the player was big,” an unidentified person close to Smith said. “Dwight the person didn’t hurt, let’s be honest.”
- Coach Monty Williams questioned the Pelicans‘ toughness after Tuesday’s loss to the Pacers, writes John Reid of The Times Picayune. “What I didn’t like is we didn’t respond to the physicality,” Williams said. “… We spent too much time worrying about the calls than playing the game.” The Pelicans have been plagued by inconsistent play despite the presence of MVP candidate Anthony Davis and the offseason addition of Omer Asik.
Rockets Put Five On Trade Block
The Rockets are trying to make deals involving five players in order to create a roster spot for Josh Smith, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link). The available players are Isaiah Canaan, Joey Dorsey, Tarik Black, Nick Johnson and Clint Capela.
Smith, who was released Monday by the Pistons, cleared waivers Wednesday afternoon and announced publicly that he plans to sign with Houston for the team’s $2.077MM biannual exception. However, the Rockets have the maximum 15 players under contract and cannot make Smith a formal offer until an opening is created. Stein said the Rockets are confident they can work out a deal, and would prefer a trade to waiving one of the players.
Black is the only one of the five without a fully guaranteed contract, agreeing to a two-year, partially guaranteed deal in August. Canaan makes $816K this year and a non-guaranteed $947K next season. Dorsey will be paid more than $948K this season and more than $1MM next year. Capela and Johnson are both rookies. Capela, a first-round draft pick, makes $1.189MM this year and is under team control through 2018/19. Johnson, a second-rounder, earns a little over $500K and is under team control through 2017/18.
Rockets Notes: Jones, Smith, Capela
The Rockets apparently added one power forward to their lineup Wednesday after Josh Smith cleared waivers, and Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reports that another one may be on the way. “Terrence Jones has been able to do some stuff that honestly he hasn’t been able to do since that thing happened,” said coach Kevin McHale, referring to the nerve problem in Jones’ knee that has kept him out of the lineup since November 3rd. “I was excited just to see Terrence with a smile on his face. He ran on the treadmill. He ran on the floor. He’s been jumping a little bit. I don’t know when – it’s not imminent – that’s just like making a trade for a really quality player and not giving anything up.”
There’s more from an eventful day in H-Town:
- Smith, who committed to joining the Rockets Wednesday afternoon, told Amin Elhassan of ESPN.com that he plans to help his new team in several ways. “I think I can add to their toughness,” Smith said. “I think I can add to their versatility at the four position, being able to pass the basketball and score the ball down low. Just add another basketball IQ, which will help when we make it to the postseason.” Smith is also looking forward to playing alongside James Harden, whom he called “the best two-guard in the game right now.”
- Smith is a perfect fit in Houston, opines Avery Stone of USA Today. Stone likes the match because of Smith’s elite defensive skills, his ability to finish in transition and the Rockets’ lack of a proven NBA power forward.
- Rookie center Clint Capela was recalled Wednesday from the team’s Rio Grande Valley affiliate in the D-League, according to a tweet by Feigen. Capela was sent there December 17th after getting little playing time in his latest two-week stint with the Rockets despite injuries to Jones, Dwight Howard and Kostas Papanikolaou.
- The Rockets were among the teams that pursued James Johnson last summer before he landed in Toronto, according to Shams Charania of Real GM. The Grizzlies and Jazz also requested meetings with the free agent forward, who signed a two-year deal with the Raptors worth $2.5MM per season. Houston also had interest last season before he left the D-League and signed with Memphis.
Rockets Sign Kevin McHale To Extension
1:10pm: The deal is official, the team announced via press release.
10:36am: 
The Rockets and coach Kevin McHale have agreed to a three-year extension, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. McHale entered the season in the final year of his contract and under a degree of pressure after last season’s first-round exit from the playoffs. However, Houston has started the season 20-7 in spite of the absence of Dwight Howard for a dozen games and an offseason that saw the Rockets purge much of their depth. The extension will be worth nearly $13MM over the three seasons, Wojnarowski adds (Twitter link). There are no team options involved, reports Marc Stein of ESPN.com, unlike the previous arrangement between the team and McHale (Twitter link).
“He’s done a great job and I think can take us very far in the playoffs,” Rockets owner Leslie Alexander said, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston tweets.
Houston picked up McHale’s option for this season shortly after its playoff ouster last spring, a hedge between an immediate change at the helm of a still-fluid roster and the long-term commitment that the team is making now. Alexander said in November that he wouldn’t judge McHale solely on the team’s performance in the playoffs, and it seems the club’s strong start to the regular season was enough.
The Hall of Fame forward/center took over the Rockets before the lockout-shortened 2011/12 season, when the franchise was stringing together mediocre seasons just outside the playoffs in the Western Conference. Houston finished outside the postseason at 34-32 in McHale’s first year, but the Rockets have been a playoff team each of the last two years following the acquisition of James Harden in the fall of 2012 and Howard in the summer of 2013. The team has improved its winning percentage in each season since McHale’s first as coach, including this season, as the team is on pace to win 61 games.
McHale has gone 153-104 in the regular season over his time with the Rockets, who lost in six games in the first round of the playoffs in 2013 and 2014. He’s 192-159 in the regular season overall, including his time on the bench for the Timberwolves. McHale began the season as the only coach in the NBA on the final year of his contract, as Stein notes (on Twitter).
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
And-Ones: Mavs, Nuggets, Mekel
Mavs president of basketball operations Donnie Nelson expressed confidence that Dallas would soon bolster its bench with the addition of either Jermaine O’Neal or Josh Smith, Tim MacMahon of ESPNDallas.com reports. “I feel pretty good that we’ll be able to come to terms with one,” Nelson said. “Certainly to come up with both would be just hitting a grand slam home run. Look, there’s a long line for suitors on both fronts. I think the fact that Jermaine has chosen Dallas to be his home in the long term certainly has its place and resonates with time with family and such. And here’s a guy who has a long history not only with our coach but with our point guard/quarterback. That certainly has a place.”
As for Smith’s potential role with the team, Nelson said, “If he did fit and if he joined us, it would be a sixth man situation, but we’d see him as a starting-caliber type guy. He’s got a very rare combination of strength and versatility. He’d be a great addition for whatever team is lucky enough to get his services, but he understands and is fully aware that we have a power forward that we’re very comfortable with and Tyson [Chandler] has got the center position locked down, so he would be a heck of a piece at any one of our three frontline positions.”
Here’s more from around the league:
- Nuggets coach Brian Shaw has repeatedly told his players that they must improve their play soon or the team is at risk for changes, Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post reports (Twitter links). “You see teams are making moves and making changes. I’m sure we’d be one of those teams, too,” Shaw said.
- The Rockets sent the Wolves $1MM as part of the Corey Brewer trade, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders reports (Twitter link).
- Gal Mekel‘s agent, Maurizio Balducci, is exploring a return overseas to Maccabi Tel Aviv for his client, who was recently waived by the Pelicans, David Pick of Eurobasket reports (Twitter links). Maccabi is offering Mekel a long-term agreement with multiple NBA outs, Pick adds. New Orleans coach Monty Williams had also previously indicated that the Pelicans were considering offering a new deal to Mekel.
Poll: Best Fit For Josh Smith?
Pistons coach and president of basketball operations Stan Van Gundy pulled quite a stunner on Monday when he waived Josh Smith. Smith won’t come off waivers until Wednesday, but it’s likely that he won’t be without a team for long. Numerous franchises have reportedly expressed interest in signing Smith, including the Clippers, Rockets, Mavericks, Heat, Lakers, Grizzlies, and Kings. While Houston is currently rumored to be the favorite to obtain Smith’s services, the veteran forward is apparently in high demand despite only averaging 13.1 points on 39.1% shooting this season, with both numbers being below his career averages of 15.4 PPG and 45.6%.
The competition to ink Smith is most certainly due to the price tag he can be had for, which will be more than likely for the league-minimum salary, or not much more than that, which is all that most of the teams linked to Smith have to offer the big man. Detroit had garnered little to no interest in its efforts to deal Smith prior to its decision to release him, when his price tag would have been $13.5MM for this season, and whose contract ran for two more seasons at the same rate.
While Smith was clearly not performing up to his contract this year, which according to Hoops Rumors’ 2014/15 Salary Rankings, was good for the ninth highest cap hit amongst small forwards in the league, he’ll be a bargain at around the league-minimum for whichever franchise signs him. But which team would be the best fit for Smith?
One of the biggest issues with Smith’s production in Detroit was its insistence on trying to make him a small forward in an oversize frontcourt, a spot that Smith clearly was not suited to play. On his next team, if his coaches are wise, he’ll more than likely go back to his natural power forward position, though he can also provide some minutes at the three as well in a pinch.
Smith has been a starter for 758 of the 781 career games that he has appeared in, though this trend isn’t necessarily going to continue with his next team. Here’s a quick rundown of the starting power forwards on the teams reported to be in the hunt for Smith:
- Clippers: Blake Griffin [23.1 PPG, 7.7 RPG]
- Lakers: Carlos Boozer [12.8 PPG, 7.3 RPG]
- Heat: Chris Andersen [3.3 PPG, 4.1 RPG] or Udonis Haslem [4.1 PPG, 4.0 PPG]
- Grizzlies: Zach Randolph [16.1 PPG, 11.4 RPG]
- Rockets: Donatas Motiejunas [10.6 PPG, 6.1 RPG]
- Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki [18.5 PPG, 5.8 RPG]
- Kings: Jason Thompson [5.4 PPG, 6.7 RPG]
The quandaries for Smith when making the decision on which team to sign with is how to best market himself for next season and which circumstance would allow him to best rebuild his value. Does he try and chase a ring with a contending team? Or does he try to maximize his playing time, as well as have the best opportunity to put up numbers? Out of the teams listed, Smith would only be a clear upgrade as a starter for the Kings, Heat, and Lakers. Miami is the only one of those three that has a realistic shot at the playoffs, mainly because the Heat reside in the much weaker Eastern Conference, which should give Pat Riley‘s squad the edge amongst that group if Smith chooses the playing time route.
If Smith wants to join a contending team, as has been mentioned as being one of his criteria, then relocating to Texas may be his wisest decision. Smith is close friends with Dwight Howard and Rajon Rondo, who have each campaigned for their respective teams to ink the veteran, and joining the Rockets or the Mavs would certainly be appealing for him as a result of those relationships. Both of those franchises have realistic shots to go deep into the playoffs, but Houston would also offer Smith a much better opportunity to log significant minutes with Motiejunas currently penciled in as the starter.
So where do you think the best fit for Smith to land would be? Cast your votes and sound off below in the comments section to expand on why you believe this would be the best situation for Smith.
Western Notes: Love, Leonard, Smith
The end of Kevin Love‘s time with Minnesota was “pretty much set in stone” in January 2012 when he inked a four-year extension with a player option after year three instead of a five-year extension, Wolves coach/executive Flip Saunders admits, according to Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune. The move that owner Glen Taylor and former GM David Kahn made to withhold a five-year extension from the budding superstar seemingly came back to bite Saunders, Kahn’s successor, when Love made it clear this summer that he’d leave the team via free agency in 2015. Still, Love insists it wasn’t the primary reason he wanted out.
“I don’t know, I think more than anything I just wanted to win,” Love said. “Now that we’re doing it here, I’m very happy. I think that was very shortsighted when it first happened, but in the end it was more the constant losing.”
- Spurs coach Gregg Popovich relayed that Kawhi Leonard may end up needing surgery this offseason to repair the torn ligament in his right hand, Mike Monroe of The San Antonio Express-News reports (Twitter link). Leonard is set to become a restricted free agent after the season.
- A pair of D-League assignments this season have not impacted Pelicans rookie Russ Smith‘s confidence, John Reid of The Times Picayune writes. ”If I go back down, then I’ll just go down and get better,” Smith said. ”But if I’m up here [with the Pelicans], I’ll get better as well. So it’s a win-win situation.” In six games with the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, Smith has averaged 16.5 points, 6.2 assists and 1.8 steals.
- Houston’s newest acquisition, Corey Brewer, said he didn’t expect his transition to the Rockets to be so easy, Jenny Dial Creech of The Houston Chronicle writes (Twitter links). “But you get out there with these guys, and they make it easy,” Brewer said. His new coach, Kevin McHale was especially happy to have Brewer on the team, Creech adds. McHale called Brewer, “a breath of fresh air,” and also added that Brewer “plays without an agenda.”
Chuck Myron contributed to this post.
Josh Smith Rumors: Tuesday
The sudden popularity of Josh Smith around the league in the wake of the shocking decision the Pistons made Monday to waive their highest-paid player is indicative of just how much a player’s contract defines his value. His next team will almost certainly have him at a fraction of the cost the Pistons will continue to shell out through 2019/20. Certainly, there are better fits for him than the crowded frontcourt in Detroit, too. Smith won’t come off waivers until Wednesday, but there should be no shortage of updates today about where he’ll be playing soon. We’ll track the latest in this thread, much like we did on Monday, with any additional news added to the top:
- Howard went on record with reporters, including Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston, about his recruiting pitch to Smith (Twitter links). “Have I been in his ear? Yeah, I’ve been in his ear,” the Rockets center said. “The only thing I told him was that if you want to win this would be a great place for you. We’ve won together in AAU. Let’s try to get us one in the big leagues.”
11:37pm update:
- The Clippers have reached out to Smith’s representatives, reports Dan Woike of the Orange County Register (Twitter link). Clippers officials are still “gauging interest,” Woike writes, though it’s unclear if they’re trying to assess Smith’s level of interest or still debating their own willingness to sign him. There were multiple reports going back and forth Monday about whether the Clippers truly wanted Smith.
10:55am update:
- Just about every playoff-bound team has reached out to Smith’s representatives, reports Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, who cautions that in some cases it’s largely a matter of the team performing its due diligence (Twitter link). One exception, according to Broussard, is the Hawks, Smith’s original NBA team.
8:57am updates:
- The Rockets have strengthened their position as the favorites to land Smith, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). Dwight Howard wants Smith, his close friend, on the team and is serving as Houston’s lead recruiter, as Marc Stein of ESPN.com details.
- Rajon Rondo, another friend of Smith’s, said they talk almost every day, and the new Mavs point guard publicly made his pitch for the ex-Pistons forward, as Stein relays in the same piece. “I think we can use an athletic big,” Rondo said late Monday. “They traded me for Brandan Wright. Besides Tyson [Chandler], our other bigs are perimeter shooters. Josh brings a lot to the game — his intangibles, he can make plays, rebound, defend. He’d be a good fit anywhere, but especially here I think he’d be a good fit.”
- Mavs owner Mark Cuban confirmed the team is going after Smith, as Stein also notes. “Josh is super talented and he fits the profile of the guy we love to bring in here,” Cuban said. “He’s one of those guys that gets a bad rap … and we have a great track record of bringing the truth out about guys like that: Monta [Ellis], Stack [Jerry Stackhouse], Jet [Jason Terry].”
- Smith, a client of Brian Dyke and Wallace Prather, is set to meet with his representatives this afternoon, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.