Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Raptors Still Trying To Acquire Kyle Lowry

By Luke Adams | at July 4, 2012 4:08 pm

The Raptors continue to try to acquire Kyle Lowry from the Rockets, according to Marc Stein of ESPN.com (via Twitter). The Raps appear to be fading in the Steve Nash sweepstakes, but even if they're able to land Nash, the team will still have interest in trading for Lowry, says Stein.

2 comments Houston Rockets Toronto Raptors Goran Dragic Kyle Lowry

Dwight Howard Rumors: Wednesday

By Luke Adams | at July 4, 2012 10:16 am

Yesterday's round of Dwight Howard rumors was fairly eventful, featuring reports that the Magic are discussing deals with a number of teams, including the Lakers and Nets. The Nets still appear determined to put together a complicated package for Howard, though their increasing cap figure will make it difficult. The Lakers, meanwhile, seem willing to offer Andrew Bynum, but only with Metta World Peace in the deal as well, and only if D12 agrees to sign a long-term deal. I don't think that package gets it done for a Magic team looking for cap relief.

We'll round up today's Howard updates right here, so check back throughout the day for the latest:

0 comments Brooklyn Nets Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Orlando Magic Brook Lopez Dwight Howard

Courtney Lee Becomes Unrestricted Free Agent

By Michael Pina | at July 3, 2012 7:33 pm

7:33PM: Yahoo! Sports columnist Marc J. Spears reports that several teams are interested in Lee's services, including the Bulls, Pacers, Wizards, Mavericks, and Clippers.

6:56PM: The Rockets have withdrawn their qualifying offer to shooting guard Courtney Lee, making him an unrestricted free agent, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The team previously had the right to match any offers for Lee's services.

23 comments Chicago Bulls Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers Los Angeles Clippers Washington Wizards Courtney Lee

Jeremy Lin To Meet With Rockets

By Luke Adams | at July 3, 2012 5:43 pm

5:43PM: In a tweet from Hoopsworld.com's Alex Kennedy, Houston may make a three-year "poison pill" offer to Jeremy Lin that pays Lin $5MM, $5.2MM and $13.8MM. The move would be similar to what the Rockets did earlier this week with restricted free agent Omer Asik.

1:51PM: Restricted free agent Jeremy Lin will visit the Rockets tomorrow, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard. The meeting is yet another indication that Houston is increasingly pessimistic about bringing back Goran Dragic. The Rockets are expected to offer a contract similar to the one Dragic turned down, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

5 comments Houston Rockets New York Knicks Jeremy Lin

Dwight Howard Rumors: Tuesday

By Luke Adams | at July 3, 2012 4:43 pm

4:43pm: The Magic haven't ruled out trading Howard to the Nets, and continue to talk to the Lakers, tweets Ken Berger of CBSSports.com.

12:54pm: The Lakers are prepared to offer Bynum and Metta World Peace in exchange for Howard, providing Dwight agrees to sign an extension, tweets Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com. Based on Wojnarowski's report, I'd be a little surprised if Orlando agreed to that deal. Plus, it would hinge on both big men agreeing to sign new contracts.

The Magic would include Jason Richardson in any Howard deal, Rudolph adds in a second tweet.

12:49pm: The Magic are focusing on Lakers center Andrew Bynum as their top target in Howard trade talks, according to Adrian Wojnarowski. However, the Magic would likely want more than just Bynum for Howard, and they'd need assurances that Bynum, who is also entering the final year of his contract, would sign an extension.

Wojnarowski adds that there's another trade scenario that involves a "significant player" that intrigues the Magic, but the team and player are unknown.

8:42am: There's not "great enthusiasm" within the Magic front office that the Nets can put together the most appealing offer for Howard, tweets Wojnarowski. However, the Magic also haven't received an offer from any team that they feel is enough to seriously consider trading Howard now, Wojnarowski adds in a second tweet.

8:03am: For progress to be made on the Magic/Nets talks, a third team would need to agree to take Humphries in the deal, tweets Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.

7:49am: The Magic and Nets have re-engaged in talks on a possible deal for Dwight Howard, reports ESPN.com's Chris Broussard (all Twitter links). According to Broussard, the two sides are discussing a trade that would send Howard to Brooklyn in exchange for Kris Humphries, Brook Lopez, MarShon Brooks, and three first-round picks (2013, 2015, 2017).

Such a trade would be tricky financially, particularly if the Nets also take on Hedo Turkoglu, as Chris Mannix of SI.com suggests they're willing to (Twitter link). Sign-and-trades for Lopez and Humphries would be subject to Base Year Compensation — if their new salaries are more than 20% larger than their old salaries, then the Nets would use either their previous salary or 50% of their new salary (whichever is greater) for trade purposes, while the Magic would use their full salary. For instance, if Lopez signed for $10MM in year one, it would act as $5MM for the Nets' salary-matching purposes.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports confirms the talks between the Magic and Nets, but says those aren't the only discussions Orlando is having (Twitter links). According to Berger, GM Rob Hennigan is also trying to engage the Hawks, Rockets, Lakers, and possibly Mavericks. Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld hears that Dallas has been aggressive in pursuing Howard, but says the Lakers and Clippers are reluctant to deal without assurances D12 would sign an extension (Twitter links).

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20 comments Atlanta Hawks Brooklyn Nets Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Los Angeles Clippers Los Angeles Lakers Orlando Magic Andrew Bynum Brook Lopez Dwight Howard Hedo Turkoglu Jason Richardson Kris Humphries MarShon Brooks Metta World Peace

Rockets Pessimistic About Re-Signing Dragic

By Chuck Myron | at July 3, 2012 10:18 am

TUESDAY, 10:18am: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle confirms that a Dragic/Rockets reunion appears very unlikely, noting that yesterday's meeting ended with a "thanks and good luck" kind of exchange (Twitter links).

MONDAY, 11:19pm: The Rockets are offering $8MM a year, tweets Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld.

4 comments Houston Rockets Phoenix Suns Goran Dragic

O.J. Mayo Seeking More Than Mid-Level

By Luke Adams | at July 3, 2012 9:24 am

O.J. Mayo has informed teams he's interested in signing for more than mid-level money, according to Mark Murphy of the Boston Herald and Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld. According to Kyler, Mayo's representatives view the 24-year-old as a consolation prize for teams who miss out on Eric Gordon – potentially the Pacers, Rockets, Suns, and Hornets.

0 comments Boston Celtics Houston Rockets Indiana Pacers Los Angeles Clippers Minnesota Timberwolves New Orleans Pelicans Phoenix Suns O.J. Mayo

Odds & Ends: Hawks, D-Will, Calderon, Celtics

By Chuck Myron | at July 3, 2012 12:15 am

It's been another whirlwind day of player movement in the NBA, as the Hawks agreed to two significant trades, sending Joe Johnson to the Nets and Marvin Williams to the Jazz. Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld speculated that Josh Smith may be the next Hawk to go (Twitter link), but Brian Windhorst and Marc Stein of ESPN.com report that Smith is excited about the moves, which would free up plenty of cap space for next summer, when Atlanta could go after Smith and other major targets. Here's news from elsewhere around the busy Association.

0 comments 2012 Olympics Atlanta Hawks Boston Celtics Brooklyn Nets Dallas Mavericks Houston Rockets Los Angeles Lakers Miami Heat Philadelphia 76ers Portland Trail Blazers San Antonio Spurs Toronto Raptors Brandon Bass Deron Williams Jason Terry Jrue Holiday Luis Scola O.J. Mayo Spencer Hawes

Dwight Howard Rumors: Monday

By Luke Adams | at July 2, 2012 11:30 pm

The first day of free agency was a busy one on the Dwight Howard front, as reports suggested D12 was upset with the Magic and that Orlando was discussing potential trades with the Lakers, Nets, and Rockets. Howard denied saying that the Magic "blackmailed" him and told Jarrod Rudolph of RealGM.com that he was tired of hearing reports cite unnamed sources when discussing his situation, but also said he'd only re-sign with one team if he were traded — presumably the Nets. We'll track the latest on Howard throughout the day, with the latest updates on top of the page:

The Mavs' offer for Howard could include some combination of Rodrigue Beaubois, Vince Carter, Dominique Jones and Brandan Wright, Jared Cunningham, Bernard James and Jae Crowder, plus draft picks and a sign-and-trade of Ian Mahinmi, a source tells Dwain Price of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

Earlier updates:

Ric Bucher of ESPN.com hears the Nets are not out of the running for Howard, with the Mavs and Nets sharing space atop the big man's wish list (Twitter link).
With the Nets likely no longer an option for Howard, the Mavs have replaced Brooklyn as D12's single preferred destination, tweets Ric Bucher of ESPN.com.
The Nets would have preferred to deal for Howard instead of Joe Johnson, ESPN's Chris Broussard says, but the Magic were unwilling trade partners. Howard's decision to opt in with the Magic in March scuttled any chance of him going to the Nets, a source tells Broussard (Twitter links).
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld points out the Nets could still acquire Howard by doing a sign-and-trade that sends Brook Lopez to Orlando (Twitter link). However, as Al Iannazzone of Newsday tweets, the Magic hasn't wanted Lopez.
In spite of Howard's request to be traded to Brooklyn, there's no Nets deal that interests the Magic, tweets TNT's David Aldridge.
Matt Steinmetz of CSNBayArea.com tweets that the Warriors have "been there, done that" regarding Howard trade talks, and suggests there's nothing going on now.
A source tells SI.com's Sam Amick that there's no chance Howard is traded to the Clippers if the Magic ask for Chris Paul or Blake Griffin, which of course they would.
Magic GM Rob Hennigan confirmed today that Howard asked to be traded and prefers the Nets, tweets David Baumann of BHSN and News 13. According to Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel (Twitter link), Hennigan said teams have shown "significant" interest in Howard, but talks are still preliminary.
David Pingalore of WKMG Orlando adds the Sixers to the list of teams that have discussed a possible Howard trade with the Magic.
The Warriors are still willing to trade for Howard even with no assurances that he'd re-sign, tweets ESPN.com's Chris Broussard.
The Nets are determined not to "wait around" for a Howard deal to materialize, says Ken Berger of CBSSports.com. As Berger writes, both the Nets and Rockets appear to be moving forward with alternate plans.
Steve Kyler of HoopsWorld adds the Clippers to the list of team that have expressed interest in Howard. According to Kyler, the Magic will likely look to deal Howard quickly, though there is no internal rush to make a bad deal.

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0 comments Brooklyn Nets Dallas Mavericks Golden State Warriors Houston Rockets Los Angeles Clippers Orlando Magic Philadelphia 76ers Blake Griffin Brook Lopez Chris Paul Dwight Howard

Suns Rumors: Gordon, Dragic, Nash

By Chuck Myron | at July 2, 2012 10:54 pm

The Suns have been notable in recent years for the way their training staff has perpetuated the careers of Steve Nash and Grant Hill. They may not have as many aging bodies to work with next season, though, as several other teams are chasing Nash, and Hill is drawing plenty of interest as well. When Luke Adams of Hoops Rumors previewed Phoenix's offseason in May, he said that if Nash leaves, the Suns might be best served by saving their ample cap space for the future and focusing on building through the draft for now. Still, the Suns appear to have significant free agent targets, including Eric Gordon and Goran Dragic, and there's more news on them tonight.

The Suns are considering making a maximum four-year, $58MM offer to Gordon, Chris Broussard of ESPN.com tweets.