Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Waive Tyler Honeycutt

March 5th, 2013 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have released Tyler Honeycutt in order to clear room on the roster for Aaron Brooks, tweets Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. Honeycutt had come to Houston along with Thomas Robinson and Francisco Garcia as part of the team's six-player deadline deal with the Kings.

Honeycutt, 22, was drafted 35th overall by the Kings in 2011, but played in just 24 games in a season and a half with the club. Upon joining the Rockets, the 6'8" forward was assigned to the team's D-League affiliate, the Rio Grande Valley Vipers. In two games with the club, Honeycutt averaged 19.0 PPG and 10.0 RPG.

The Rockets will be on the hook for the rest of Honeycutt's salary this season, but his minimum-salary contract for 2013/14 was mostly non-guaranteed, so the team will only have to pay $100K of that amount.

Brooks Clears Waivers, Wants To Join Rockets

March 4th, 2013 at 4:22pm CST by Zachary Links

Former Kings guard Aaron Brooks has cleared waivers and sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports (on Twitter) that he will work to finalize a deal with the Rockets. The Kings bought the veteran out of his contract on March 1st.

Because he was bought out of his contract prior to Friday night's deadline, Brooks will be eligible to play in the postseason for whichever team he signs with. The Rockets are currently sitting in the eighth spot at 33-28 with the Lakers 2.5 games behind them.

The Rockets drafted Brooks 26th overall in 2007 and traded him to the Suns in 2011 for Goran Dragic and a first-round pick. The guard had his best NBA season with Houston in 2009/10, averaging 19.6 PPG and 5.3 RPG while shooting 39.8% from the outside.

Southwest Notes: Vasquez, White, Mavs, Dirk

March 2nd, 2013 at 7:59pm CST by Sean Highkin

With the Spurs attempting to mitigate Tony Parker's ankle injury, the Grizzlies and Rockets firmly in the playoff picture, and the Mavericks attempting to stay out of the lottery, the Southwest Division is one of the more fascinating in the league currently. Here is a roundup of the latest updates:

Jeff Duncan of the Times-Picayune writes that Grievis Vasquez is thriving in an increased role for the Hornets.
Jim Souhan of the Minneapolis Star Tribune profiles Rockets rookie Royce White, who is attempting to carve out an NBA career for himself while managing an anxiety disorder.
Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle is demanding accountability from his rookies, writes Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News.
Dirk Nowitzki is excited to have another native German in the NBA in Rockets rookie Tim Ohlbrecht, Sefko writes.
Jan Hubbard of SheridanHoops.com writes that Jerry Colangelo should hire Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich to coach Team USA.

Brigham On Brooks, Buyouts, Bynum

March 2nd, 2013 at 12:47pm CST by Sean Highkin

Joel Brigham of HoopsWorld has a new column that surveys several topics from around the NBA, including info on several buyout candidates. Here are the highlights:

Brigham writes that Aaron Brooks was frustrated with his minutes with the Kings, leading to Sacramento's decision to buy him out. Brooks is expected to sign with the Rockets when he clears waivers.
The only team that showed interest in Omri Casspi was the Rockets, meaning a buyout did not make sense for Casspi and the Cavaliers.
Brigham disputes rumors that the Lakers were interested in Raja Bell, writing that although Bell has a relationship with Mike D'Antoni and Steve Nash, the front office was hesitant to add yet more salary to the team's payroll.
Brigham writes that Andrew Bynum will command a max contract this summer, and it may be best for the Sixers to cut their losses rather than re-up with the oft-injured big man.

Cavs Won’t Buy Out Omri Casspi Before Deadline

March 1st, 2013 at 11:59pm CST by Chuck Myron

11:59pm: The Rockets' agreement to sign Brooks scuttled Casspi's willingness to accept a buyout from the Cavs, since it took away a likely destination, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (Twitter links).

7:55pm: The Cavs won't buy out the remainder of Omri Casspi's contract before tonight's playoff-eligibility deadline, reports Jason Lloyd of the Akron Beacon Journal. The forward is unpleased with his scant playing time this season, a source tells Lloyd, and his representatives have been engaged in buyout talks with the team.

Bob Finnan of The News-Herald indicated this weekend that Casspi was no longer in the team's plans, and a report from the Israeli website Walla Sport indicated Casspi wanted to wait to have an offer lined up with another team before agreeing to a buyout, just like Raja Bell of the Jazz. That report from Casspi's native Israel pointed to the Grizzlies and Rockets as potential destinations, and ESPN's Marc Stein named the Rockets as a legitimate candidate to sign him if he were released, though Houston might be reluctant to do so now that they're set to sign Aaron Brooks.

Casspi is averaging a career-low 11.4 minutes per game this year, and his numbers have declined virtually across the board in each season since his rookie campaign in 2009/10. That year he put up 10.3 points in 25.1 minutes per game for the Kings, who made him the 23rd overall pick in the 2009 draft. Casspi's currently making $2.277MM in the final year of his rookie-scale contract, but it's no certainty that the Cavs will tender him the $3.3MM qualifying offer required for the team to match offers for him this summer. Without that qualifying offer, Casspi would become an unrestricted free agent in the offseason.

Odds & Ends: D-Will, Kenyon, Blake, Thunder

March 1st, 2013 at 11:15pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Magic have given a higher percentage of their minutes to players who weren't on their roster last season than any other team in the league, notes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Orlando has given 66% of its minutes to newcomers, while the Rockets are second, with 64% of their minutes going to players who weren't with them in 2011/12. Both clubs made a blockbuster deal before the season, and both were involved in smaller swaps at the trade deadline, further altering their compositions. Here's more on players coming and going from around the league:

Bill Ingram of HoopsWorld revists Deron Williams' choice of the Nets over the Mavericks, opining that Dallas wouldn't have been a playoff team this year even with D-Will. Ingram also caught up with J.J. Redick and Stan Van Gundy.
Kenyon Martin didn't play in tonight's game and has only seen five minutes of action more than halfway through his 10-day contract, but as Ian Begley of ESPNNewYork.com observes, Knicks coach Mike Woodson indicated the team is likely to keep him around after his current deal expires. "Kenyon's not going nowhere, he's here," Woodson said (Twitter link).
Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors identified him as an amnesty candidate earlier today, but as Dave McMenamin of ESPNLosAngeles.com chronicles, Blake has recently been playing some of his best ball as a member of the Lakers.
The Oklahoman's Berry Tramel, with the help ofSalary Cap FAQ contributor Jon Hamm, examines the Thunder's payroll for the next few seasons and looks at how they can minimize their tax hit.
Fellow Oklahoman scribe Darnell Mayberry praises the subtle moves the Thunder made at the deadline, and expects such tweaking to become the norm with Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and Serge Ibaka occupying so much room on the payroll.

Aaron Brooks To Sign With Rockets

March 1st, 2013 at 7:43pm CST by Chuck Myron

Aaron Brooks and the Rockets have finalized their agreement, and the point guard will sign with Houston when he clears waivers, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports. Wojnarowski first reported earlier tonight that Brooks would likely sign with the team. Houston has a full 15-man roster, so to clear room, the Rockets will have to waive someone before the deal with Brooks becomes official.

The Kings bought out Brooks today after signing him to a two-year, $6.646MM deal this past offseason. The 28-year-old was deciding between the Kings and the Rockets this summer, tweets HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy, but Brooks and Houston were far apart in negotiations, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle noted. It's unclear how much Brooks forfeited in the buyout, but he probably had to give up at least the amount of next season's $3.396MM player option, as Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors surmised.

Brooks has started 20 games for the Kings this season, but averaged just 10.9 minutes per game in February as he fell behind Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette in coach Keith Smart's playing rotation. As a result, his scoring (8.0 PPG) and assists (2.3) averages are at their lowest since his rookie season. Brooks spent that year in Houston after the Rockets made him the 26th pick in the 2007 draft, and in his third season he averaged 19.6 PPG and 5.3 APG for the team.

Houston traded him to Phoenix midway through the 2010/11 season, and he spent last year playing in China. The Suns held his rights when he returned, but they couldn't reach a deal, and this summer, Phoenix pulled its qualifying offer to Brooks, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Aaron Brooks Likely To Sign With Rockets

March 1st, 2013 at 5:37pm CST by Chuck Myron

5:37pm: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle adds, via Twitter, that Brooks and the Rockets were "pretty far apart" when negotiating over the summer. Still, Feigen expects them to get a deal done this time around, since Brooks "wants it to work" and the Rockets came up short in their pursuit of a veteran point guard at the trade deadline (Twitter link). Brooks has some money left over from his Kings deal, even though we've yet to hear how much he received in the buyout. Brooks must clear waivers before any signing can become official, so another team could nab him if its willing to take on the full value of his Kings contract.

5:27pm: Brooks is likely to sign with the Rockets, Wojnarowski tweets.

5:21pm: Point guard Aaron Brooks is in talks with the Rockets about a contract following his buyout from the Kings today, reports Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports (Twitter link). HoopsWorld's Alex Kennedy speculated earlier this afternoon that Houston could get in the mix for the 28-year-old, since they pursued him over the summer. Kennedy also heard that Brooks plans to take his time before signing, so the discussions with the Rockets might not be that far along.

The Rockets drafted Brooks 26th overall in 2007, trading him to the Suns in 2011 for Goran Dragic and a first-round pick. Brooks enjoyed a career year with Houston in 2009/10, averaging 19.6 points and 5.3 rebounds per game while draining 39.8% of his three-point attempts. He also started all 82 games for the Rockets that season, but Brooks has never started more than 35 games in any other year.

If Brooks signs with the Rockets, the team would have to waive somebody to make room. Still, he makes sense for the team, which has been going with rookie Patrick Beverley as the backup to Jeremy Lin at point guard following the trade that sent Toney Douglas to the Kings. With Brooks seemingly headed to Houston, it seems a little odd, in retrospect, that Brooks wasn't a part of that deal, but now the Rockets will likely get him at a discount, rather than absorb the two-year, $6.646MM contract he signed last summer with Sacramento.

Kings, Aaron Brooks Working On Buyout

March 1st, 2013 at 3:39pm CST by Luke Adams

With a few hours remaining before this season's buyout deadline, the Kings and Aaron Brooks are working on a buyout for the veteran guard, reports Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). Nothing is finalized yet, according to Jones.

After being a regular part of the Kings' rotation for the first two months of the season, Brooks has received less consistent playing time since then. Head coach Keith Smart has recently been using Isaiah Thomas and Jimmer Fredette at the point, with Brooks only appearing in four games in February.

Brooks, who is earning $3.25MM this season, also has a player option worth about $3.4MM for 2013/14. If the Kings were to agree to release the 28-year-old, he'd likely have to give up that option money, as well as a little of this season's salary. Assuming the two sides can reach an agreement, the Rockets, who pursued Brooks last summer, may be interested again, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld. Kennedy adds (via Twitter) that the Knicks could be a nice fit as well, since they've been linked to Brooks in the past and were pursuing another point guard prior to the deadline.

For Brooks to be playoff-eligible for another team, the Kings would have to request waivers on him by 10:59pm CST tonight.

Omri Casspi, Cavs Engaged In Buyout Talks

February 28th, 2013 at 12:21pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers have engaged in talks about a possible buyout with Omri Casspi, reports ESPN.com's Marc Stein (Twitter link). According to Stein, a deal that would see Casspi part ways with the Cavs is possible before tomorrow's buyout deadline.

We passed along a report from Israeli website Walla Sport earlier this week that suggested Casspi was seeking a buyout from the Cavs, and Bob Finnan of the News-Herald has indicated that the forward is no longer in the team's plans. As is the case with Raja Bell and other buyout candidates, however, Casspi is unlikely to agree to give up any money owed to him by the Cavs unless he knows he has another job lined up. According to Stein (via Twitter), the Rockets are a legit suitor for Casspi, though Houston just filled its 15th roster spot by signing Tim Ohlbrecht, so the club would have to release someone on a guaranteed contract to make room.

Since entering the NBA with the Kings in 2009/10, Casspi has seen his minutes, PPG, and PER decrease in each of his four seasons. The 24-year-old, who is earning $2.28MM this season, is set to hit free agency this summer. If the Cavs hang on to him, they'll have the option to make him a one-year qualifying offer, ensuring that he's a restricted free agent, but the club is more likely to simply let him walk.

Players hoping to change teams before season's end and be eligible for the playoffs have until tomorrow night to negotiate buyouts with their current teams. Any players waived after March 1st won't be postseason-eligible if they sign with another club.