Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

International Notes: McGrady, Cooley, Snaer

August 11th, 2013 at 12:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

The NBA free agent market is drying up, leading many players to look for work overseas. Here's the latest from the international scene:

Tracy McGrady spent most of 2012/13 in China before hooking on with the Spurs in the final week of the regular season, and he's mulling whether to return to China or seek another NBA deal, according to the Global Times.
We heard yesterday that undrafted big man Jack Cooley spurned several training camp invitations from NBA teams for a deal with a Turkish team, and agent Adam Pensack let Shams Charania of RealGM.com know the identity of those clubs, some of whom offered partially guaranteed contracts. The Blazers, Grizzlies, Spurs, Thunder, Nets, Heat, Lakers, Rockets, Pacers and Cavs all wanted to sign Cooley, Pensack says.
The Nets also invited Michael Snaer to camp, but Sportando's Enea Trapani hears that he'll sign with Enel Brindisi of Italy instead (Twitter link).
A report last month indicated that 42nd overall pick Pierre Jackson, whom the Pelicans acquired in the Jrue Holiday trade, would sign with ASVEL Villeurbanne of France, and Jackson added confirmation via Instagram. Tony Parker owns a share of the French team.
Shooting guard Carlon Brown was in training camp with the Warriors last fall and spent the season in the D-League, but he'll be overseas for 2013/14, having signed with Hapoel Tel Aviv of Israel. The Israeli league announced the signing via Twitter (hat tip to Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).

Lowe On Ledo, Parsons, Draft Changes

August 9th, 2013 at 7:32pm CST by Chuck Myron

The latest dispatch from Grantland's Zach Lowe explores the growing phenomenon of long-term deals for second-round picks, touching on many of the same points I made when I wrote last month about the subtle value of three-year contracts. Lowe focuses on Ricky Ledo's four-year deal with the Mavs, pointing to the Rockets' bargain-basement four-year pact with Chandler Parsons as a model many teams are trying to follow. "With players we think have a big upside, we will only do three- or four-year deals," Mavs owner Mark Cuban said to Lowe. "If their agents don’t like it, we let them go overseas." Lowe reveals more on the Mavs' negotiations with Ledo and the Rockets' plans for Parsons. His entire piece is worth a read, but we'll hit the highlights:

Cuban pushed Ledo's camp even farther than usual, refusing to consider a three-year contract. “Mark Cuban was not going to back down on that fourth year,” agent Seth Cohen tells Lowe. “It wasn’t up for discussion. And if I gave up on anything, I gave up on that. But what I got in exchange was that $60,000 bump and security. And that’s important for Ricky, someone who didn’t play any college basketball.”
Lowe suspects that the Rockets may end Parsons' contract a year early so he'll be a restricted free agent next summer instead of an unrestricted free agent in 2015. If they hang on to him, Lowe thinks that could be a sign the team will trade Parsons, as it did with Chase Budinger before he hit unrestricted free agency after the fourth year of his deal. Lowe refers to a team option on the final year of Parsons' contract, but according to ShamSports, it's a non-guaranteed season that becomes more than 50% guaranteed if Parsons isn't waived by New Year's Day. That could complicate any plans the team has for him next summer.
Over the next couple of years, the NBA and the players union will discuss changes to the draft age limit and a baseball-style draft rule requiring high schoolers to either enter the draft or go to college for multiple years. An increase to the 15-man roster limit will also be on the table, as well as the idea of "hybrid" roster spots for players shuttled between the NBA and D-League affiliates.

Rockets Re-Sign Francisco Garcia

August 1st, 2013 at 8:41pm CST by Zachary Links

8:41pm: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle writes that the second year of the deal is a team option, instead of a player's option as had been originally reported. Team options on veteran contracts are rare, so perhaps year two is simply non-guaranteed.

AUGUST 1ST, 6:37pm: Houston GM Daryl Morey took to Twitter to announce Garcia's official signing, which had been held up as Garcia traveled overseas.

JULY 6TH: The Rockets have re-signed guard Francisco Garcia to a two-year, $2.6MM deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter). Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter link) first reported that the two sides were nearing agreement. Garcia will have a player's option in the second year of his new deal and will also have bird rights after year one, Wojnarowski tweets.

Houston decided against picking up their costly club option on Garcia but still wanted him back in the fold. Rather than pay the 31-year-old swingman $6.4MM, the club will get him back for a fraction of the price. Garcia had interest from teams looking for a solid wing defender who could also shoot it from three point range comfortably, including the Knicks and Lakers.

As shown in the Hoops Rumors Agency Database, Garcia is represented by Aaron Goodwin.

Rockets Sign Jordan Henriquez

July 31st, 2013 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets officially signed undrafted rookie Jordan Henriquez to a contract earlier this month, according to RealGM.com. Although the Rockets never officially announced the move, Henriquez now shows up on both ShamSports' and HoopsWorld's Rockets salary pages. He also tweeted earlier in July that he's looking forward to playing with James Harden in training camp.

Henriquez, 23, averaged 5.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG during his senior year at Kansas State before earning a spot on Houston's Summer League roster. The 6'11" big man is on a three-year deal, but it's fully non-guaranteed. As such, it's unlikely that he'll earn a spot on the roster, particularly since the Rockets have already signed or reached agreements with 17 players, exceeding the regular-season roster limit. Teams can carry up to 20 players in the offseason.

NBA teams are also allowed to hold D-League rights to up to three players who are on the roster in training camp. So the Rockets could ultimately end up cutting Henriquez from the NBA team in the fall, but adding him to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers' roster.

Rockets Sign Marcus Camby

July 29th, 2013 at 12:50pm CST by Chuck Myron

MONDAY, 12:50pm: The Rockets have officially signed Camby, the team announced today in a press release.

SUNDAY, 12:23pm: Camby will sign for one year at the minimum salary, reports Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com (Twitter link).

11:59am: The Rockets will sign Marcus Camby today, tweets Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports. Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston reported just moments earlier that the move was expected to take place (Twitter link). Camby already passed a physical with Rockets team doctors, and agent Rick Kaplan recently told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that the Rockets were at the top of Camby's list of suitors.

Camby, a resident of nearby Pearland, Texas, had a desire to play at home and with a contender, Feigen tweets, giving the Rockets the edge over the Bulls and Heat, the other leading candidates for the 39-year-old. The Bulls appear to be the first runner-up, as talks between Camby and Chicago were reportedly going "extremely well" on Friday. The Heat's interest appeared to be on the wane.

The 17-year veteran will probably receive a minimum-salary deal, though the capped-out Rockets have their full $2.652MM room exception available. Camby has had one prior stint with the Rockets, who acquired him at the trade deadline in 2012 before participating in a sign-and-trade last summer with the Knicks. Camby inked a three-year, $13.151MM contract to go to New York, but injuries kept him from living up to it, limiting him to just 42 points in 24 games this past season.

The Knicks shipped him to the Raptors in the Andrea Bargnani trade this month, and Toronto accepted Camby's request that they buy him out. The Raptors reportedly recouped $2MM of the guaranteed portion of Camby's deal.

Texas Notes: Oden, Mavs, Manu, Rockets

July 28th, 2013 at 3:00pm CST by Zachary Links

Earlier today, Chuck Myron ran down each team's most expensive signings from this summer. The Rockets were among the league's heavyweights with their four-year, $88MM committment to Dwight Howard. Meanwhile, the Mavericks had high hopes for this offseason but their heftiest contract went to Jose Calderon, who got a four-year, $29MM deal. Here's the latest out of the Lone Star State..

A Friday report indicated that the Mavs had sent representatives to Indianapolis to watch Greg Oden work out, but Marc Stein of ESPN.com tweets that it isn't the case. Dallas still remains among the teams interested in the oft-injured big man, whom Stein hears is looking lean and moving well as he auditions for teams. Stein expects teams to make formal offers early this week in advance of Oden's decision by the end of the week (Twitter links).
Manu Ginobili is glad to be back in black (and silver), writes Mike Monroe of the Express News. Ginobili celebrates his 36th birthday today and he is sure that the two-year, $14MM deal he signed with the Spurs this offseason will be his last.
Rockets GM Daryl Morey doesn't view the raiding of his front office as a sign of success, writes Jonathan Feigen of Houston Chronicle. "I don't feel we accomplished much, yet," Morey said. "I'll take more pride when we've actually had more results than before. It's a results league. It should be. Everyone, including ourselves, will be looking at what should be a step forward this year in hopefully a big way. … I'm trying to make sure we actually have some results before we get too excited."

Western Notes: Beasley, Grizzlies, Harden

July 27th, 2013 at 7:24pm CST by Spencer Lund

Michael Beasley is entering the final fully guaranteed year of his contract, and he's in danger of seeing his NBA career come to an early end, as Jeff Caplan of NBA.com examines.

Caplan spoke with 33-year-old Suns GM Ryan McDonough about the their rebuilding efforts designed to add hardworking athletes who can run their up-tempo offense, led by their newest addition in the back-court, Eric Bledsoe.

But when asked if the 24-year-old Beasley–who averaged career lows across-the-board last season in Phoenix–would be a part of the Suns' rebuilding efforts, McDonough's message was loud and clear for the maladroit former No. 2 overall pick:

"I guess what I’ll say generally about that is we’re going to treat everybody the same,” McDonough explained.

“There won’t be any special treatment for anybody on the roster and as Jeff [Hornacek] and I told all the guys coming in, we don’t care how much money you’re making, where you were drafted, how long you’ve been in the league, what, if anything, you’ve been promised in the past. We’re going into this as an open competition, and when training camp comes, guys who buy in and play the right way and play hard will play, and those who don’t, won’t.”

Beasley signed a three-year $18MM contract with the Suns in July of 2012, but the 2014-15 season is only guaranteed for $3MM. According to Mark Deeks at ShamSports.com, the final year becomes fully guaranteed for $6.25MM if the Suns don't waive him on, or before, 5 p.m. Mountain Time on the second day after the team's final gaeme of the 2013-14 season, including playoffs, or June 15th.

Here's what else is happening around the Western Conference on Saturday night…

Mike Krzyzewski's decision to remain as coach of Team USA has swayed Clippers point guard Chris Paul, who tells Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that he's leaning toward playing in the 2016 Olympics.
Mike Miller is set to sign his deal with the Grizzlies on Tuesday, reports Ron Higgins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
James Harden reflects on the growing spotlight with his Rockets team while he’s in the Philippines, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.
Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News on the battle for Los Angeles when Dwight Howard returns to LA with the Rockets to go against some of his former Lakers teammates on November 7th next season.

Latest On Marcus Camby

July 26th, 2013 at 6:26pm CST by Chuck Myron

Marcus Camby scored a total of 42 points over the 24 games he played for the Knicks this past season, so that alone would make it difficult to understand why the 39-year-old is generating so much chatter less than a month into free agency. Teams appear to be focusing more on his production in 2011/12, when he averaged 9.0 rebounds in just 22.9 minutes per game. Here's what we know:

The Bulls met with Camby on Friday, and Chris Haynes of CSNNW.com hears the talks are going "extremely well." He's telling teams he intends to go into coaching after he's done playing, echoing a report from earlier this month indicating he wanted to play two more years and then coach.
Camby recently met with Rockets doctors and passed a physical, as Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston reports. Agent Rick Kaplan told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle a couple of days ago that the Rockets were at the "top of his list" (Twitter link).
Multiple reports show Camby is also considering the Heat, though Miami is showing less interest in him than Houston and Chicago are, tweets Chris Tomasson of Fox Sports Florida.

FA Rumors: Maggette, Blair, Telfair, Tinsley

July 26th, 2013 at 8:54am CST by Luke Adams

Restricted free agents like Nikola Pekovic, Brandon Jennings, and Gerald Henderson represent the most intriguing names left on the free agent market, but in his latest piece for HoopsWorld, Alex Kennedy takes a look at a few unrestricted free agents who have flown more under the radar. Here are some highlights from Kennedy:

Corey Maggette considered retiring to pursue a front office job, but it looks like he'll postpone that plan for at least a year. Maggette would like to play for a contender, and could likely be had for a one-year, minimum-salary deal.
Although more than a dozen teams, including the Bulls and Clippers, have expressed some level of interest in DeJuan Blair, the big man still hasn't been able to secure the sort of multiyear offer he's seeking.
There continues to be mutual interest between the Knicks and Sebastian Telfair, who has also attracted some interest from contenders like the Heat and Thunder.
The Nets nearly signed Jamaal Tinsley earlier in the offseason, but opted for Shaun Livingston instead. Tinsley is now considering teams like the Mavericks, Rockets, Bobcats, and Suns.
Keyon Dooling still appears likely to make a decision on a team within the next week, and he figures to land a one-year contract worth the veteran's minimum.
After turning down the Bobcats last summer to join an apparent contender (the Lakers), Antawn Jamison could end up returning home to Charlotte this time around, according to Kennedy.

Southwest Rumors: Neal, Jackson, Ellis, Dalembert

July 24th, 2013 at 1:41pm CST by Chuck Myron

Yesterday, Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported that the Spurs were in the "process of" withdrawing their qualifying offer to Gary Neal. The RealGM transactions log indicates that the move indeed took place, and if that's so, the timing is key. Yesterday was the deadline for teams to unilaterally withdraw qualifying offers without having to get the player's consent. Teams that pull QOs after the deadline also automatically lose Bird rights to those players. So, the Spurs have not only saved themselves the trouble of getting Neal's permission by presumably withdrawing his QO yesterday, but they've also given themselves more flexibility to re-sign him, if they choose. Here's more on Neal and other notes involving Southwest Division clubs:

It's been a couple weeks since Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times mentioned that the Bucks were among the teams interested in Gary Neal, but today Sam Amico of Fox Sports Ohio indicates that Milwaukee remains in the running (Twitter link).
It appears that this year's 42nd overall pick will play in France. Pierre Jackson, whom the Pelicans acquired as part of the Jrue Holiday/Nerlens Noel trade, has agreed to sign with ASVEL Villeurbanne of France, according to Gabriel Pantel-Jouve of Catch-and-Shoot (translation via Emiliano Carchia of Sportando).
Now that the Mavs' signings of Monta Ellis and Samuel Dalembert are official, Mark Deeks has provided contract details for them on the Mavs page at ShamSports. Ellis has a three-year, $25.08MM deal with a player option in the final season, and Dalembert gets two years and $7,568,030, with only a $1.8MM guarantee in year two. Dalembert also has a 15% trade kicker.
Chandler Parsons believes that he had a critical influence on Dwight Howard's decision to sign with the Rockets, as the big man's new teammate tells Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports.