Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Odds & Ends: Nets, Celtics, Mavs, Barea

July 13th, 2013 at 12:07am CST by Chuck Myron

The Nets and Celtics had agreed last month to the framework of a trade that involved Paul Pierce, but not Kevin Garnett, writes Howard Beck of The New York Times. Then, Brooklyn GM Billy King asked Boston counterpart Danny Ainge whether Garnett would be available, too, and the deal began to morph into the nine-player swap that was finalized today. Here's more on an ever-changing NBA landscape:

The Mavs lost a pair of guards to injury, but they aren't interested in a trade that would bring back J.J. Barea, tweets Darren Wolfson of ESPN 1500 Twin Cities.
According to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), it's
worth keeping an eye on Jordanian forward Zaid Abbas, who may be NBA-bound next
month. Amick adds in a second tweet that Abbas is holding off on signing with a
Chinese team due to optimism about potential NBA workouts in August.
The Rockets hold the rights to Kostas Papanikolaou after acquiring him as part of the Thomas Robinson trade, but the Bucks are among other NBA teams with interest in the 6'9" Greek small forward who "definitely" wants to play in the NBA this season, according to Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times (Twitter link).
With Marreese Speights, Wayne Ellington and Omri Casspi all joining other teams, the Cavaliers renounced their rights to the trio today, according to the RealGM transactions log. The Cavs did the same with Luke Walton, who remains a free agent.

Atlantic Rumors: Nets, Kirilenko, Kenyon, Knicks

July 12th, 2013 at 9:20pm CST by Chuck Myron

GM Billy King says there's nothing untoward about the Nets discount signing of Andrei Kirilenko, despite whispers about under-the-table dealings, as Newsday's Roderick Boone reports.

"I can’t control what people think, what they say," King said. "I think some of the same things were said when Miami got the Big 3 together or guys have moved around. When things happen, people are surprised. My conscience is clean. I know in dealing with [Kirilenko's agent] Marc Fleisher and getting this deal done, I can’t control what people think."

There's more on Kirilenko's decision and other Atlantic Division rumblings, as we detail:

King said Kirilenko rejected the Nets' pursuit earlier this month, but the forward had changed his mind by the time King checked in with him again, Boone notes in the same piece.
The Knicks are eyeing free agent Kenyon Martin as they look for a backup big man, and Martin is keeping the Knicks in mind, guard Iman Shumpert tells Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com.
Wolves assistant Bill Bayno and Rockets assistant Jesse Mermuys are set to join Dwane Casey's staff with the Raptors, as Eric Koreen of the National Post passes along.
Philadelphia GM Sam Hinkie held forth on all things Sixers in his interview with HoopsWorld's Bill Ingram, affirming that ownership is on board with the drastic changes he's making to the team.
The Sixers' acquisition of Nerlens Noel for Jrue Holiday, Hinkie's first major move, became official today, as did the Celtics/Nets blockbuster. Brian Mahoney of The Associated Press examines Brooklyn's high-priced gamble.

Rockets Sign Isaiah Canaan

July 11th, 2013 at 8:54pm CST by Alex Lee

The Rockets and second round pick Isaiah Canaan have agreed to a three-year contract with the third year being a team option, according to agent Reggie Brown (Twitter link and story via Fox Houston's Mark Berman). Canaan was said to be drawing first round interest in June's draft, but dropped to No. 34 where the Rockets jumped on him.

Canaan averaged 21.8 points and 4.3 assists per game as a senior at Murray State. He figures to be ready to score at the NBA level, and should be an offensive asset off the bench for the new-look Rockets sooner rather than later. If the rumors that the team is shopping Jeremy Lin prove true, Canaan could be thrust into a significant role on a team with title aspirations.

Pistons Sign Josh Smith To Four-Year Deal

July 10th, 2013 at 12:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

JULY 10TH, 12:11pm: The Pistons have officially signed Smith, the team announced today (Twitter link).

JULY 6TH, 3:47pm: Smith's deal includes $54MM in base salary, but the value could rise to $56MM if he reaches performance incentives, writes Vincent Goodwill of the Detroit News.

2:54pm: No sign-and-trade is planned at the moment between the Pistons and Hawks, so the Smith acquisition figures to be an outright signing, notes Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Windhorst also says the Rockets never engaged in sign-and-trade discussions about Smith with the Hawks.

2:34pm: Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press hears the deal totals just $54MM (Twitter links).

2:01pm: Josh Smith and the Pistons have agreed to terms on a four-year, $56MM deal, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Detroit lands perhaps the most enticing name on the free agent market now that Dwight Howard and Chris Paul are locked up, using its cap space to reel in the athletic forward. The Rockets appeared to be pursuing a sign-and-trade for Smith as recently as last night, but couldn't get any traction on a move that would have reunited Howard with his AAU teammate.

The deal falls short of the maximum contract Smith was looking for, and gives him just a slight bump from the $13.2MM he made last season with the Hawks. The Warriors and Hawks also had interest, and the Celtics reportedly were set to target Smith in the wake of having traded Paul Pierce, but no team pursued him with as much vigor as Detroit, as Wojnarowski writes. The Pistons met with the client of Wallace Prather and Brian Dyke in the first hours of free agency, and though an offer didn't come out of that encounter, it was clear the team regarded him as more than the "Plan B" he appeared to be for other suitors who were waiting to hear from Howard.

The Pistons also had their sights on Andre Iguodala, and would like to have re-signed Jose Calderon, but with both of them agreeing on deals with other teams, it looks like president of basketball operations Joe Dumars and company circled back to their No. 1 option. The team should still have close to $10MM in cap room to complement an impressive front line of Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond.

The 27-year-old Smith saw his numbers dip a bit from his career year in 2011/12, averaging 17.5 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.2 assists this past season. Though Smith is multitalented, the hole in his game is three-point shooting. He took more shots from behind the arc than ever in 2012/13, but he connected on just 30.3% of his 2.6 long-range attempts per game.

Blazers Acquire Thomas Robinson

July 10th, 2013 at 10:54am CST by Zachary Links

JULY 10TH: The Blazers have formally finalized their acquisition of Robinson from the Rockets, according to team owner Paul Allen (via Twitter). The picks being sent to Houston will be a 2015 second-rounder from the Wolves or Nuggets (whichever pick is higher) and a 2017 second-rounder from the Blazers, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

JUNE 30TH: The Trail Blazers have agreed to acquire forward Thomas Robinson from the Rockets, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports. The deal allows Houston to clear enough cap space in order to offer a maximum contract to Dwight Howard.

Portland will send the Rockets the draft rights to Kostas Papanikolau and Marko Todorovic and two future second-round picks, league sources said. With the forward's salary now off of the books, the Rockets can offer Howard a four-year deal worth roughly $88MM in their meeting later tonight.

Robinson earns $3.5MM next season — not an unreasonable amount for a player with his potential, but too much for the Rockets as they need to squeeze in a max contract for this summer's top available big man. Houston also cut Aaron Brooks and Carlos Delfino loose last week in order to carve out space for D12.

The fifth overall pick in the 2012 draft averaged 4.8 PPG and 4.5 RPG in limited playing time last season. This is his second trade with the first coming at the deadline earlier this year, sending him from Sacramento to Houston.

The NBA’s New Maximum Salaries

July 10th, 2013 at 8:57am CST by Luke Adams

After jumping by 5.77% a year ago, the maximum salary for NBA players increased by a much more modest amount this year — about 1%. Here's a breakdown of how this season's maximum salaries compare to last season's, via cap expert Larry Coon (Twitter link):

These changes to the maximum salary won't have an impact on players like Dwight Howard or Chris Paul, whose salaries had already exceeded the max and been previously established. However, they'll have an effect on James Harden and Blake Griffin, who signed max-salary extensions last offseason with the Rockets and Clippers respectively. Those new deals will take effect this coming season, and will use the new max figures.

Because Griffin was voted to two All-Star teams during his rookie-scale contract, he's eligible for the "Derrick Rose Rule" extension, which means he'll earn the max for a player with seven to nine years of experience. Harden will earn the standard max for a player with one to six years of experience. Here's how the two deals will break down:

The new maximum salaries would also impact free agents like Brandon Jennings and Nikola Pekovic, but it appears unlikely that either of those guys will receive max deals.

FA Updates: Brewer, Teague, Hawks, Knicks, Lucas

July 9th, 2013 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

With the July moratorium scheduled to be lifted tomorrow, free agent contracts can finally become official, and tomorrow should be a busy day, as teams and players formally finalize their agreements from the last nine days. However, there are still plenty of players on the market in search of a new team, or a deal with their old team. Here's the latest on a few of them:

Darren Wolfson of 1500 ESPN Twin Cities tweets that the Timberwolves have spoken to Corey Brewer's reps, and Jerry Zgoda of the Star Tribune hears from a source close to Brewer that the Wolves "would love him" (Twitter link).
The Bucks' interest in Jeff Teague is "undeniable," but it's not clear if the Hawks are ready to take back Brandon Jennings or Monta Ellis in a sign-and-trade, says ESPN.com's Marc Stein (via Twitter).
After passing along a handful of Knicks updates this morning, Jared Zwerling of ESPNNewYork.com provides a couple more. According to Zwerling, there's still mutual interest between the Knicks and Aaron Brooks, and the team also has some interest in Shawne Williams, though there's "nothing firm" there (Twitter links).
Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today reports that John Lucas III met with the Jazz in Orlando yesterday, and hears from agent Bernie Lee that Lucas will meet with another team today in his hometown of Houston. According to Bill Oram of the Salt Lake Tribune (via Twitter), four teams, including the Jazz, are interested in the free agent point guard.
Before he agreed to sign with the Pistons, Italian forward Gigi Datome drew interest from the Celtics, Bucks, Rockets, Suns, Spurs, and Grizzlies, tweets Vincent Ellis of the Detroit Free Press.

Lowe On Howard, Wizards, Teague, Pelicans

July 8th, 2013 at 6:28pm CST by Zachary Links

The surprise of the summer might not have been Dwight Howard's departure from the Lakers, but the quickness with which he decided to join up with the Rockets. We're just a week into the free agency period, but executives are already taking the time to survey the entire landscape outside of their own milieu. Zach Lowe of Grantland checked in with basketball people to get their take on things and unearthed some very interesting tidbits..

Lowe wonders why more clubs didn't put their toe in the water for Dwight Howard. His educated guess after poking around is that the Wizards gave it a go while the Bulls, who were once a rumored trade destination, did not. The Bulls have a stern culture, very good talent already on hand, and a tax complication, so Howard would have been a longshot and maybe not the best idea anyway.
The Jazz could have used their cap space this summer to sign Jeff Teague, who sources say is nearly unwanted in the Hawks organization. We've heard previously that the point guard was upset with the lack of communication he's had with Atlanta this summer.
Pelicans owner Tom Benson has told the front office that the team needs to take a significant step forward this season, according to several sources around the league. That would help to explain their sizable commitment to Tyreke Evans this summer.
Other execs have pointed out that the Rockets tend to be sort of annoying, especially around draft day. Daryl Morey & Co. make many, many phone calls, poking the market and chasing tiny deals that move them two spots up in the draft or add an extra second-round pick. People knocked Morey for burning up the phone lines to chase the No. 9 seed a year ago and didn't seem long for Houston, but he has turned a roster with zero top-50 talent into a roster with two top-15 players.
As much as Houston says they want to hang on to center Omer Asik, Lowe would be surprised to see him finish the year with the Rockets.

Odds & Ends: Morrow, Ellis, Rivers, Collison

July 7th, 2013 at 9:20pm CST by Zachary Links

Here's tonight's look around the Association..

The Grizzlies, Warriors, and Bobcats are the latest teams to show interest in Anthony Morrow, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. The Lakers, Spurs, Suns, Rockets, and Knicks have all reached out as well.
Nothing is imminent at this point between the Hawks and Monta Ellis, but the two sides are engaged in talks, Kennedy tweets.
Celtics co-owner Wyc Grousbeck took a shot at former coach Doc Rivers, telling Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald that "Doc left us, period." Still, Grousbeck is confident his team can rebuild, as Bulpett observes in a separate piece.
Many around the league are surprised that the Clippers were able to snag Darren Collison for a starting salary of just $1.9MM, Grantland's Zach Lowe tweets.
The Spurs called 6'8" sharpshooter James Southerland to see if he would consider playing overseas next season if they took him with the 58th pick in last month's draft. Southerland turned down the offer and went undrafted, and is trying to prove himself with the Sixers and Warriors in summer league, as Keith Pompey of the Philadelphia Inquirer writes.
Josh Smith's agreement with the Pistons shatters the notion that marquee free agents won't come to Detroit, observes MLive's David Mayo, who examines how Smith fits on the team and what moves might be next for Joe Dumars and company.

Omer Asik Requests Trade, Rockets Say No

July 7th, 2013 at 5:30pm CST by Zachary Links

Omer Asik has been vocal about his displeasure about the idea of backing up Dwight Howard and he has now taken the step of formally requesting a trade out of Houston, sources told Brian Windhorst of ESPN.com. However, the Rockets have no plans to grant the center's wish.

Asik started all 82 games for the Rockets last season and wasn't ready to take a backseat to the league's No. 1 center. The former Bull averaged 10.1 points, 11.7 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks in his first season with the Rockets. Asik makes a very reasonable $5.225MM next season but his salary balloons to $14.9MM in 2014/15.