Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Josh Howard Seeking Camp Invite

September 28th, 2013 at 1:45pm CST by Luke Adams

Josh Howard's 2012/13 season was cut short after just 11 games when he suffered a torn ACL, becoming one of many Timberwolves to miss time due to injury last year. But Howard is looking to return to the NBA, and is hoping to land a camp invite before the preseason gets underway next week, according to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports (via Twitter).

We heard back in May that Howard was participating in a workout that included many veteran free agents represented by ASM Sports. There haven't been any reports on potential suitors for Howard since then, but Spears indicates that the veteran forward had "good workouts" for the Spurs and Rockets. It's not clear if either of those teams is interested in bringing him to camp, but it sounds as if he at least showed he was healthy.

Howard, 33, spent the first seven seasons of his NBA career with the Mavericks before stints in Washington, Utah, and Minnesota. He's extremely unlikely to replicate his Dallas numbers again, but he could be a useful piece coming off the bench on a minimum-salary deal, assuming he's back to 100% health.

Rockets Notes: Morey, Asik, Howard

September 27th, 2013 at 7:36pm CST by Chuck Myron

For the Rockets, "Everything is all-in on right now," GM Daryl Morey said to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle and others as training camp begins, hinting that more moves are to come after a summer in which Houston landed Dwight Howard. Here's more from the Rockets boss and other news on the team as it begins training camp:

"Our young guys have to step up," Morey also said. "We’re not there. We’re not a finished team. We’re not a finished product. We’re focused on we want to be great come mid-April. That’s our focus. We need to get ourselves homecourt in the first round and making sure we’re humming come mid-April with guys stepping up or whatever is needed."
Omer Asik's summer trade request seemingly makes him a candidate for the team's next move, and the 7-footer offered up a "no comment" today, telling Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com and others gathered for media day that he just plans to do his job (Twitter link).
The happy-go-lucky James Harden and the rest of the Rockets are a much better fit for Howard on and off the court than the Lakers and straitlaced Kobe Bryant, opines USA Today's Sam Amick.

Dwight On McHale, Health, Houston

September 26th, 2013 at 7:54pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Jason Friedman of Rockets.com sat down with Houston center Dwight Howard for a Q&A session earlier today. Here are some highlights from the transcript:

On his relationship and strong connection with head coach Kevin McHale:

I think Kevin sees a lot of potential in me and how I can grow as a player. I’m so excited to have him as my coach and just having the opportunity to really learn and grow from him. I’m just happy that he has more life than he’s had in a while. I think he’s very excited. Just watching him and just the few times I’ve been around him getting the chance to talk basketball and to share his past experiences with me, I really enjoy it.

How he feels now compared to last year's offseason, when he was still recovering from injuries:

I’m so much better. My body feels a lot better. The little aches and pains that I was having for the most part of last season are gone already. It’s going to continue to get better. I’m very excited. I’m excited about the possibilities of what I’ll be able to do this season because my body is so much healthier. It’s a big difference. Last year I couldn’t really move the way I’m used to moving until the end of the season. Some of my bounce is coming back. I’m so happy about that.

On the idea of playing pick-and-roll with James Harden and Jeremy Lin:

We’ve had a lot of conversations about it. The main thing that I tell any guard that I play with is that when I set the screen, attack that big. Make the defense make a decision. Make my man make a decision. If he’s going to stay with me, you’re going to get a dunk or a layup. If he leaves me, just throw it to the rim. We’ve talked about all of this. The biggest thing I tell those guys is that every time they get the ball in the pick-and-roll is to just be aggressive – it opens up the whole floor. I want to be aggressive in rolling, but there’s times where, the way that I set those guys up, it’s going to open up everything for everybody else. I’m going to get my shots.

People who know basketball understand the effects of a good screen-and-roll. It starts with the point guard, it goes on to the bigs and then the rest of the guys on the perimeter. So I’m looking forward to it.

On rediscovering his joy in Houston:

The last two years haven’t been easy. It was very tough to get through that, but storms don’t last forever. One thing that I allowed those situations to do to me was take my joy away. I can’t let that happen. These guys, especially these young guys, they’ve brought some life back to me. Just being in this city, the opportunities we have as a team and the things I feel like I can do for this community, it’s given me new life. I’m excited about it and just so full of joy to be able to get back to doing what I do, and doing it with joy.

Western Notes: Aldridge, Kanter, Gallinari, Pau

September 26th, 2013 at 7:23pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Ben Golliver of BlazersEdge relays a portion of the transcript from a radio interview between Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports and John Canzano of 750 AM The Game as it relates to trade rumors surrounding LaMarcus Aldridge. Wojnarowski believes that while the circumstances could change, he can't imagine Aldridge leaving Portland in the foreseeable future and adds that the team hasn't shopped him. He's also not sure if the market is currently presenting anything worth trading for and doesn't think Trail Blazers GM Neil Olshey is likely to deal the 6'11 big man for pennies on the dollar. Here are more miscellaneous notes out of the Western Conference tonight, including a handful of injury updates:

Tim Cowlishaw of SportsDayDFW thinks that while the Mavericks could be okay this year, he's concerned about two to three years down the line when the team might not have any young stars to build around.
In a piece for The Oregonian, Canzano says that he wants someone from the Trail Blazers to step up and guarantee a playoff berth.
Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune reports that Jazz big man Enes Kanter has looked great in workouts, has had no issues with his shoulder, and participated in 5-on-5 scrimmages today for the first time since his injury (Twitter links).
Nuggets head coach Brian Shaw wouldn't commit to any projected recovery timetable for injured forward Danilo Gallinari, saying that it isn't "anything that anyone can determine at this point" (Christopher Dempsey of The Denver Post).
Mark Medina of InsideSocal passes along an injury update from Lakers forward Pau Gasol, who looks to be fully healthy heading into this season after a summer of much-need rest and rehab.
In a piece for Sports Illustrated, Ben Golliver made note that Rockets guard James Harden believes that he is a top-10 player (hat tip to Comcast Sportsnet Houston): "For sure. Last year I got a chance to prove it, I kind of broke out of the shell a little bit. Even though it was my first year (as a starter), I've got a lot more to prove. I've always kind of been the underdog, always been looked over, so it's nothing new."
Sean Meagher of OregonLive.com provides season previews for the Thunder and Jazz with help from Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK and Bill Oram of The Salt Lake Tribune, respectively.
Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com continued his list of reasons to be excited about training camp in New Orleans, listing a fresh start for Tyreke Evans at number five.

Western Notes: Rautins, KJ, Lin, Suns

September 21st, 2013 at 10:45pm CST by Chuck Myron

The three teams doling out the greatest number of $10MM+ salaries this year are all from the Eastern Conference, as I examined this evening, but of the leaguewide total of 60 salaries of $10MM or more this season, Western Conference teams are set to pay 29 of them. That's a remarkably even split considering nearly a quarter of those salaries are concentrated with just the Nets, Knicks and Bulls. It demonstrates a depth of highly compensated talent in the West, which has been widely perceived as the NBA's power conference for years. Here's the latest news from the Western Conference:

Author R.E. Graswich contends in his book that Sacramento mayor Kevin Johnson played a secondary role to David Stern in the fight to keep the Kings from moving, as Graswich explains to Cambi Brown of CBS13 in Sacramento. Graswich also claims that Johnson harbors a grudge against the Kings, who drafted Kenny Smith one spot before Johnson went off the board in 1987.
Andy Rautins spent last October with the Thunder, but it doesn't look like he'll be in an NBA camp this time around. The Fraport Skyliners of Germany have announced on their website that they've signed the former second-round pick (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Jeremy Lin tells ESPN.com that he believes Dwight Howard's arrival in Houston will alleviate some of the pressure the Harvard grad felt to perform for the Rockets last season, when he was down on himself for not duplicating "Linsanity."
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic profiles new Suns coach Jeff Hornacek's assistants, two of whom were Suns teammates of Hornacek in their playing days.

Odds & Ends: Grizzlies, Sixers, Wolves, Kennedy

September 20th, 2013 at 1:41pm CST by Luke Adams

Few NBA teams had less roster turnover this offseason than the Grizzlies. As our free agent tracker shows, the only player who signed with the team for more than the minimum was Tony Allen, who has played in Memphis since 2010 and emerged as one of the club's leaders. However, the team will be in for some changes on the bench, where former assistant Dave Joerger takes over the head coaching job from the departed Lionel Hollins. Joerger tells Lang Greene of HoopsWorld that while he'll stick to many of the things that made last year's team successful, he expects to add a few new wrinkles to the mix as well.

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the NBA:

Former Pistons head coach John Kuester is currently the top candidate to be hired as Brett Brown's lead assistant with the 76ers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
Jorge Sierra of HoopsHype spoke to Ricky Rubio, who identified the Timberwolves' new deals with Nikola Pekovic and Chase Budinger as the club's best signings of the summer.
Rebuilding is often a necessary process, but it has to give way to something substantial eventually, writes Mark Deeks of ShamSports.com. Deeks examines the free agent fates of Paul Millsap and Al Jefferson, noting that the Hawks were able to land Millsap for fewer years and dollars than the Bobcats signed Jefferson in part because Charlotte is paying a sort of "Bobcats tax" based on its reputation as a perennial lottery team.
In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Larry Coon lists the Nets, Bobcats, and Rockets among the winners of the league's new CBA, while placing the Celtics, Bulls, and Thunder in the losers column.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside takes a look at D.J. Kennedy's persistent quest to earn a spot on an NBA roster. Kennedy will be in camp with the Mavericks in October.

Odds & Ends: Dwight, Bulls, Deron

September 19th, 2013 at 10:50pm CST by Ryan Raroque

Amidst the buzz surrounding the 2013 Basketball Hall of Fame induction a little over a week ago, you may have heard legendary Brazilian basketball player Oscar Schmidt proclaim that he could have been one of the best 10 players ever if he had joined the NBA. In hindsight, it's interesting to ponder some of the 'what ifs' and how they may have altered the landscape and history of the league.

One could think about how the NBA would have been different if Larry Bird didn't fall five spots to the Celtics during the 1978 draft, if Kobe Bryant hadn't fallen to number 13 in 1996, or if Michael Jordan hadn't retired before the 1993/94 season to name a few. Regardless, there are plenty of other possibilities to consider.

Jonathan Abrams of Grantland sheds light on one particular what-could-have-been, chronicling the rise and fall of Korleone Young, a promising 6'7" small forward who like Kobe, Tracy McGrady, and Kevin Garnett before him attempted to make the jump from high school to the NBA in 1998. In his comprehensive piece, Abrams supplements Young's story with commentary from several people who had crossed paths with him along his journey, including Young's prep-school rival Al Harrington, former Pistons head coach Alvin Gentry, and former Pistons assistant (and current Bucks GM) John Hammond, who had this to share based on what he'd seen in practices:

"We used to talk about the way in which (Young) defended (then-star) Grant Hill on a daily basis. We used to say it tongue-in-cheek but [also] somewhat seriously: 'No one defended Grant Hill in this league as well as Korleone Young."

With that aside, let's round up the rest of tonight's miscellaneous links from the NBA:

Sam Amick of USA Today writes about how Dwight Howard has found greener pastures in Houston and why the rest of the NBA will have to lament the reality that another Western Conference contender has been born.
A handful of HoopsWorld panelists put together a season preview of the Bulls for 2013/14. With much of the team's success hinging on how much Derrick Rose can return to form, three writers pick Chicago to finish second in the Central Division, while two have them running away with the division title.
Nets guard Deron Williams was spotted at his charity dodgeball event earlier today with a walking boot over the same ankle that had been giving him problems last season, though he insisted that the boot was just precautionary: “As long as I’m ready (for the season opener), that’s all that matters to me…If it was up to me, I would be playing right now. I can walk fine. It doesn’t hurt. It’s just protecting me from myself” (Stefan Bondy of the New York Daily News).
Eddie Sefko of SportsDayDFW says that with Dirk Nowitzki healthy, the Mavericks won't take a backseat to anybody in the league in terms of talent at the power forward position.
Tommy Dee of Ridiculous Upside presents a scouting report of free agent big man Hassan Whiteside, who had recently drawn reported interest from the Knicks, Heat, and Bucks.
Keith Schlosser of Ridiculous Upside explains why the NBDL will continue to develop front office executives at a much more efficient rate than players at this point, mentioning that while prospective staffers can work to rise up the ranks while committed to a specific NBA franchise, the players can be called up at anytime and by any NBA team regardless of D-League affiliation.
HoopsWorld's Moke Hamilton held his weekly chat with readers earlier this evening, offering his thoughts on why he thinks the Knicks will repeat as Atlantic Division champions, why teams might be shying away from Renaldo Balkman, the Western Conference playoff race, and the Warriors' ceiling among other topics.
Jim Eichenhofer of Pelicans.com continues his countdown of reasons why New Orleans fans should be excited about training camp, placing the offseason progress made by the team's quartet of sophomores – namely Anthony Davis, Austin Rivers, Brian Roberts, and Darius Miller – at number 13.

Western Notes: Kobe, Kelly, Parker

September 19th, 2013 at 6:47pm CST by Ryan Raroque

As Lakers' star Kobe Bryant continues his path toward recovery, Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News hears from team athletic trainer Gary Vitti that the 35-year-old guard is a few weeks away from advancing to full-weight bearing running and hasn't suffered any setbacks. With that being said, Vitti added that there still isn't a projected return date. Here's more out of the Western Conference tonight, including another injury update from Medina:

As for most recent second-round pick Ryan Kelly (whom Vitti says is "asymptomatic"), the trainers have still decided to take a conservative approach with his rehab and aren't sure when he'll be returning to action either.
Tony Parker tells Mark Woods of ESPN that general manager R.C. Buford wants him to play less minutes at Eurobasket, but added that he has a great relationship with the Spurs and appreciates them letting him play for the French national team.
Dan McCarney of Spurs Nation relays a snippet of Marco Belinelli's interview with HoopsHype, noting that the 27-year-old guard chose San Antonio over several other teams because of the opportunity to play for Gregg Popovich and a chance to win a championship.
Rockets guard Jeremy Lin tells Mark Berman of Fox 26 about how great it was to work out with Hakeem Olajuwon and says that "anybody with (Dwight Howard) is a deadly combination" in response to the 50-year-old's recent comments about Lin and Howard being a potent duo next season (All Twitter links).

Odds & Ends: Hunter, Extensions, Lin, Thibodeau

September 18th, 2013 at 8:27pm CST by Alex Lee

Here are some odds and ends from around the NBA on Wednesday:

The Warriors have officially added Lindsey Hunter to Mark Jackson's staff as an assistant coach, the team announced today in a press release. Ric Bucher of 95.7 The Game initially reported last week that the former Suns head coach was finalizing a deal with Golden State.
It wouldn't be a shock if none of the 16 extension-eligible players from the rookie class of 2010 signed a deal before hitting restricted free agency next summer, writes Mark Deeks of SB Nation. Deeks opines that teams would rather let external offer sheets set the market for their own hard-to-project players than committing big dollars prematurely. Of course, based on a report this afternoon, it seems that Paul George will be extended this offseason.
While he has certainly been through a lot, it is important to remember that Rockets point guard Jeremy Lin is still in the early stages of his career, writes Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld, who notes that Lin has had less starts (107) than fellow young point guards Kyrie Irving and Brandon Knight. Assuming he isn't traded, Lin will return to the team he was on the year before for the first time in his career.
The Luol Deng situation in Chicago has put Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau in a "vortex of drama," writes Sean Deveney of the Sporting News, who says that the list of coaches who dislike distractions more than Thibs is very short.

Rockets Links: Howard, Backcourt, Grasso

September 18th, 2013 at 10:13am CST by Luke Adams

When free agency opened on July 1st this year, the Rockets were the first team to meet with Dwight Howard. While that ultimately worked out well for the team, it made GM Daryl Morey uncomfortable at the time, as he told MaD Radio in Houston.

"By going first, I think the other teams have somewhat of an edge. They can trash us in the future meeting," Morey said. "We felt like we had the strongest story and that is what won the day. Dwight was very positive after our meeting, so we felt good at that point."

Here's more on the Rockets, from Morey and others:

In the same conversation with MaD Radio, Morey admitted that there are probably at least three teams in the NBA currently stronger than the Rockets. "I think [the Heat, Thunder, and Spurs], I would say going in for sure are better than us, and they’ve definitely proven more," Morey said. "I think the Bulls and the Pacers, they’re very good as well this year. I am hoping we are in the mix with them, maybe equal quality."
In an Insider-only piece for ESPN.com, Bradford Doolittle ranks the top backcourts in the NBA by projected WARP, and the No. 1 team is a bit of a surprise: Houston's backcourt, led by James Harden, Jeremy Lin, and Patrick Beverley, tops the list.
Adam Zagoria of SNY.tv hears that Iona assistant Jared Grasso is in discussions with the Rockets about coaching their D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers (Twitter link). We heard last week that Houston was talking to another NCAA assistant, Billy Lange, about the job, but he reportedly turned down the team's offer.