Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Warriors Willing To Trade For Jeremy Lin

June 26th, 2014 at 8:49pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Warriors have told the Rockets that they’re on board with trading for Jeremy Lin, reports Marcus Thompson of the Bay Area News Group. Chris Broussard of ESPN.com wrote Wednesday that there was a decent chance that Golden State would be willing to accept the point guard via trade as Houston attempts to clear his salary, as long as Chandler Parsons was also part of the deal. Thompson’s report makes no mention of Parsons, however.

Golden State could use a trade exception worth more than $9.8MM left over from last year’s three-way deal with the Jazz and Nuggets to acquire Lin, as Thompson points out. The Warriors tried in vain to find a capable backup point guard to replace Jarrett Jack this past season, and Lin was once a member of the W’s, who waived him before his sudden rise to fame with the Knicks. Still, it’s unclear just what Houston would have to do to entice Golden State to take back Lin and his nearly $15MM salary for next season, one that dwarfs his nonetheless sizable $8,374,646 cap hit.

Western Rumors: Love, Rockets, Nuggets

June 26th, 2014 at 7:08pm CST by Chuck Myron

Here’s the latest from the Western Conference as the draft gets underway:

The Wolves spent the afternoon in meetings, according to Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN (on Twitter), and he wouldn’t be surprised to see some major news come out tonight regarding Kevin Love and the Warriors.
Meanwhile, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) believes that the odds are still against a Love trade materializing tonight. However, sources tell him that the two sides continue to talk despite the hangup over whether Klay Thompson is in play.
Echoing an earlier report from USA Today’s Sam Amick, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) hears from a rival executive that the Rockets already have a Jeremy Lin deal lined up and ready to execute if they need the cap space to sign Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James. It’s likely that the Rockets flip the first-rounder they’re acquiring from the Pelicans in the Omer Asik trade, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
David Pick of Eurobasket.com has consistently heard that the Nuggets will take Jusuf Nurkic at No. 11 (Twitter link).
The Thunder will either draft a wing player or trade the 29th overall pick for one, a source tells Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Mavs almost certainly won’t trade for a first-round pick in tonight’s draft, Donnie Nelson says, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com notes (Twitter link).

Chuck Myron contributed to this post.

Draft Rumors: Jazz, Clippers, Rockets

June 26th, 2014 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Jody Genessy of the Deseret News (on Twitter) hears the Jazz are “frantically” trying to move up from the No. 5 spot. Everything Utah has remains available for trade consideration. The Jazz reportedly have their eye on forward Jabari Parker and they know there’s no chance of him falling to No. 5. Here’s the latest draft news..

Ramona Shelburne of ESPNLosAngeles.com (on Twitter) hears the Clippers are “50-50” on keeping their first round choice.
One name to watch for the Rockets at either No. 25 or No. 42 is Russian big man Artem Klimenko, tweets Chad Ford of ESPN.com. Houston has been doing some serious research on him in recent months.
The Lakers aren’t sensing a lot of momentum for a pre-draft trade and, as of right now, expect to keep the No. 7 pick, tweets Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
The Knicks, Blazers, and Nets are among the teams trying to land a first-round choice, league sources tell Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
The Hornets have explored moving up from No. 24, league sources tell Kennedy (on Twitter).
The Kings want to acquire a second-round pick, sources tell Kennedy (Twitter link).
There are several picks in the late 20s “to be had,” one exec tells Ken Berger of CBSSports.com (on Twitter). With nine teams lacking a first-round pick, there’s a strong market for them.
Meanwhile, Marc Stein of ESPN.com (on Twitter) hears that we could be in for high number of international picks in the 20-to-30 range. That’s because teams are placing a high value on cap space and want to stay away from the luxury tax so clubs might not be lining up to trade for picks in that range as expected (link). The clubs left holding those selections might prefer to go with draft-and-stash candidates in cases where they don’t have obvious, pressing needs.

Western Rumors: Warriors, Asik, Parker, Kings

June 26th, 2014 at 12:35pm CST by Zachary Links

In an interview with SiriusXM, Warriors star Andre Iguodala said that he doesn’t believe teammate Klay Thompson should be traded as part of a deal for Minnesota’s Kevin Love, writes Diamond Leung of the Bay Area News Group. “That’s not going to happen,” Iguodala said. “I want to clear that up right now. We should not trade Klay Thompson. I tell Klay this every day. I text Klay and say, ‘Don’t worry. I’m your man. I’m going to make sure you get paid. I’m going to get you the max (contract). You’ll be taken care of. Don’t stress.’” Here’s more out of the West..

More dominoes will fall from the deal that sent Omer Asik to the Pelicans, tweets Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. New Orleans may move Austin Rivers to create cap space. One possibility, Windhorst suggests, would be trading him to the Clippers, where Austin’s father holds a trade exception.
The Rockets talked about sending Asik to the Pelicans for Ryan Anderson, but could not get much traction, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
The Jazz remain interested in Jabari Parker, but sources say there’s still a “big concern” about his right foot, which he broke in high school, tweets Jody Genessy of the Deseret News. However, Parker is still in the lead over Andrew Wiggins on their wish list if they can pull off a deal for the No. 1 pick (link).
The Kings appear poised to keep the No. 8 pick, sources tell Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter).
Sponsors continue to be skittish about the Clippers as the team’s ownership situation remains unresolved, as Andrea Chang and Tiffany Hsu of the Los Angeles Times detail.
The Timberwolves received initial criticism for last year’s draft-day trade of Trey Burke to Utah for Shabazz Muhammad and Gorgui Dieng, but one year later, team president Flip Saunders is happy with the returns, writes Andy Greder of the Pioneer Press.

Rockets To Trade Asik To Pelicans

June 25th, 2014 at 10:53pm CST by Cray Allred

10:53pm: The pick is protected so that it will only convey to the Rockets next year if it falls between the No. 4 and 20 selections, tweets Feigen.

9:25pm: The Rockets have a deal in place to send Omer Asik to the Pelicans, sources tell Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. The Pelicans will send a protected 2015 first round pick to Houston, who is moving Asik to clear cap space in pursuit of LeBron James and Carmelo Anthony (all Twitter links). Sam Amick of USA Today first reported that Houston will also send cash to New Orleans as part of the deal, and Windhorst reports that the amount is $1.5MM (via Twitter).

The Rockets were reported to have deals in place for both Asik and Jeremy Lin, so this is not a shocking development. While a source tells Amick that Lin won’t be moved until the Rockets have a marquee free agent lined up to sign, Asik’s overlapping skill set with starter Dwight Howard makes him a less risky player to part with preemptively. The Turkish big man was shopped by the Rockets last season, but the balloon payment on the upcoming final year of his contract cooled teams from acquiring the elite defender. Of course, Houston was interested in getting back a player to help in their playoff run at the time, which wasn’t a factor in this trade.

The pick from New Orleans has layers of protection, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Feigen says it will likely end up going to the Rockets in the late lottery or as high as No. 20 next year, depending on the Pelicans’ regular season performance. Since New Orleans doesn’t own its 2014 first round pick, the trade would need to be finalized following tomorrow’s draft since teams are prohibited from being without a first round pick in two consecutive seasons.

Amick reports that the teams plan to make the deal official in July, suggesting after the July moratorium, when New Orleans would presumably send back contracts to match the roughly $8.4MM cap hit that accompanies Asik. Eric Pincus of The Los Angeles Times notes that the nonguaranteed contracts on New Orleans’ roster would not equal enough in salary to match Asik’s number and stay under the cap for a valid trade. The Pelicans will have to clear more salary in advance of finalizing the deal, since it would be self-defeating for Houston to take back significant salary as part of the deal (Twitter links).

Rockets Eye Lowry As Fallback Option

June 25th, 2014 at 6:30pm CST by Cray Allred

The Rockets will pursue Kyle Lowry in free agency if they fail in their quest to sign a superstar this summer, sources tell Sam Amick of USA Today. While the point guard has been rumored as a potential addition for the Heat alongside LeBron James, Amick suggests that Lowry is likely to be rewarded by a team that misses out on James and is still looking to sign an elite player. The USA Today scribe says that the Rockets’ cap-clearing plans to trade Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin would be pursued in order to secure Lowry, as well as the bigger names on Houston’s radar.

Amick includes the Lakers as a potential landing spot for Lowry, which echoes earlier reports of LA’s interest in the point guard. The Rockets traded Lowry to the Raptors for the 2012/13 season, but tried to reacquire him before the most recent trade deadline. The Raptors were close to sending Lowry to the Knicks, but ultimately retained him and enjoyed a playoff run due largely to his performance.

The ASM Sports client had a career year this season and is expected to net salaries upwards of $10MM per year on any new deal. While Lowry has earned a big payday, he has expressed a fondness for Toronto while surveying his options.

Broussard’s Latest: LeBron, Griffin, Harden

June 25th, 2014 at 2:55pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Clippers aren’t among the top choices for LeBron James, according to Chris Broussard of ESPN.com, who nonetheless wouldn’t rule them out completely. Broussard doubts that James would head there until Donald Sterling is formally ousted as owner of the club, and there’s also concern about how well James would fit on the court with friend Chris Paul, though Broussard doesn’t specify if that’s a concern of James’. Still, Heat president Pat Riley believes acquiring Blake Griffin via sign-and-trade would be the best outcome if James decides to leave Miami, Broussard reports. The ESPN scribe identifies the Heat, Cavs, Rockets, Knicks and Nets as having better chances than the Clippers do of landing James, given the four-time MVP’s preferences, and he has a few bombshells in his report, as we detail.

If the Rockets clear enough cap room to sign one of LeBron and Carmelo Anthony, their next step would be to dangle James Harden to acquire the other via sign-and-trade. The Knicks and the Heat would be receptive to trading for Harden in that scenario, Broussard adds.
Chris Bosh appears sold on Miami, but it’s questionable whether he’d want to stay if James leaves, Broussard writes.
Riley is planning a run at Thunder center Kendrick Perkins, according to Broussard. I’d assume it would involve pursuing him via free agency in the event that Oklahoma City amnesties him, rather than pursuing him via trade, though that’s just my speculation.
Broussard hears there’s a decent chance that the Warriors would be willing to acquire Jeremy Lin if he’s part of a package with Chandler Parsons.
The Nets would prefer trading Deron Williams rather than Joe Johnson in an effort to clear room for James, Broussard says.

Mannix’s Latest: Bradley, Cavs, Magic

June 24th, 2014 at 8:55pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Avery Bradley arguably had the most impressive NBA season of his career to date, averaging 14.9 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 1.1 SPG, and 39.5% from three-point range. With this in mind, rival executives tell Chris Mannix of Sports Illustrated that the 23-year-old guard could land a contract this summer that pays in the range of $7MM-$9MM annually, which could influence the Celtics to consider drafting some insurance for their backcourt this upcoming Thursday.

Below, you can find more interesting tidbits that Mannix passes along in his latest mock draft:

League sources say that the Cavaliers are weighing three options: Andrew Wiggins, Jabari Parker, and Dante Exum. Mannix notes that Exum is a wild card; if Cleveland ultimately walked away with Exum on draft night, I think it’d be plausible to imagine that they’d trade down to select him.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan will not be inclined to draft someone who isn’t ready to play right away, which suggests that Joel Embiid may be out of the question with their No. 4 pick.
Two rival executives say that the Kings have been actively shopping their No. 8 pick.
The Bulls continue to shop their two first round picks – No. 16 and 19, respectively – hoping to land either future first rounders or the chance to move up in this year’s draft. Trading those picks for future selections would aid in Chicago’s attempt to clear cap space to make a run at Carmelo Anthony in free agency this summer.
The Rockets have fielded offers for their No. 25 pick. With their sights set on keeping enough salary cap space clear for a run at Carmelo or LeBron James, Mannix thinks that drafting and keeping an international player overseas next season would make sense if Houston decided to retain their selection.

Hawks Ponder Run At Carmelo Anthony

June 24th, 2014 at 9:05am CST by Chuck Myron

The Hawks are thinking about launching a run at Carmelo Anthony, according to Ramona Shelburne and Marc Stein of ESPN.com, who deem Atlanta a “sleeper” team in the race for the star forward. A run at ‘Melo reminiscent of last year’s darkhorse pitch to Dwight Howard is one of many options that Hawks GM Danny Ferry is considering, though it would require that the team clear a significant amount of cap space.

Atlanta and the Heat are on the fringes of an Anthony sweepstakes that more prominently features the Rockets, Mavs and Lakers, as well as the Bulls, who appear to have taken the lead, as Shelburne and Stein write. The Knicks are in the running, too, as they bid to keep Anthony from leaving New York.

The Knicks can re-sign him using Bird rights, but the Lakers have the most cap flexibility among the teams in the race. Still, Anthony wants the Lakers to upgrade their roster before he would consider them, according to Shelburne and Stein. That’s why rumors involving No. 7 pick and Steve Nash have cropped up, as Lakers look to part with them in search of improvements, as the ESPN scribes explain. Sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com that ‘Melo met recently with Kobe Bryant in Europe, and while Bryant denies that any meeting took place, he said a meeting with Anthony is indeed on his agenda (Twitter link).

Ferry would have to make a few trades of his own just to open up room for a competitive contract offer. The Hawks have slightly more than $47MM in commitments to eight players next season, not counting their first-round pick at No. 15 overall. If the Hawks renounced all of their free agents, roster charges would bring Atlanta’s cap hits to about $49MM, leaving only about $14.2MM under the $63.2MM projected salary cap to bid for Anthony, who can make a starting salary of nearly $22.5MM.

Florida Notes: LeBron, Rockets, Magic, Draft

June 21st, 2014 at 4:57pm CST by Charlie Adams

Rumor has it that the Rockets might make a run at LeBron James this offseason, but Ira Winderman of the Sun Sentinel suggests that Dwight Howard‘s relaxed demeanor and reputation as a locker room jokester might end up deterring the Heat superstar from signing with Houston. Here’s the latest from the Sunshine State:

The only spot that makes sense for LeBron is Miami, surmises Mike McGraw of the Daily Herald. McGraw doesn’t think the Heat’s loss in the finals will give LBJ enough of a reason to opt out of his contract and leave.
Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel takes a look at the reasons it might be smart for the Magic to trade Arron Afflalo sooner rather than later. Victor Oladipo would stand to benefit, since in Afflalo’s absence, he could play more shooting guard, his natural position.
The Magic hold the fourth pick in this Thursday’s draft, and Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders takes a look at what prospects Orlando should consider taking. The Magic’s most pressing need is at the point guard position, opines Taylor.