Rockets To Decline Option On Cole Aldrich
The Rockets will not exercise their 2013/14 option on the recently-acquired Cole Aldrich, according to Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter link). Aldrich, who came over from the Thunder on the weekend, would have been in line for a $3.25MM next year, but will instead become an unrestricted free agent in the summer.
Faced with five decisions on 2013/14 options, the Rockets elected to exercise only Marcus Morris' and Patrick Patterson's. Besides turning down Aldrich's fourth-year option, Houston waived another player acquired from the Thunder, Lazar Hayward, meaning the team won't be on the hook for his '13/14 option. The Rockets also released JaJuan Johnson without picking up his third-year option.
With Aldrich's option set to be declined, there's now just one outstanding 2013/14 option decision remaining, according to Hoops Rumors' tracker: Quincy Pondexter of the Grizzlies.
Odds & Ends: Curry, Gibson, Warriors, Thabeet
Stephen Curry didn't want extension talks to go down to the wire, but it appears that's the case, as Curry's comments to Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle lead Simmons to conclude that agent Jeff Austin and Warriors GM Bob Myers continue to try to work out a deal (Sulia link). Since Curry left a preseason game after tweaking his ankle ten days ago, we've heard multiple reports suggesting a deal was unlikely. Nothing's final until tomorrow's 11:00pm Central time deadline, and with about 24 hours to go, there's news on another extension-eligible player among notes from the first night of the 2012/13 regular season.
- There's "growing speculation" the Bulls will let the deadline pass without signing Taj Gibson to an extension, reports Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times.
- Andrew Bogut believes "a lot is riding on this year" for the Warriors, and Marcus Thompson II of the Bay Area News Group says much of that is riding on Bogut's shoulders. Fellow Bay Area News Group scribe Monte Poole goes the other way, suggesting Curry is the focal point of the team.
- Thunder coach Scott Brooks has confidence in Hasheem Thabeet, and his performance in the preseason was one reason the team included Cole Aldrich in the trade, as John Rohde of The Oklahoman chronicles.
- The Bobcats are counting on offseason trade acquisition Ben Gordon to be their go-to scorer at the end of games, writes Scott Fowler of the Charlotte Observer.
- With a year still to go before his five-year max extension kicks in, the Clippers want to make sure Blake Griffin stays healthy for the long haul by incorporating more mid-range shooting into his arsenal, as Elliott Teaford of the Los Angeles Daily News examines.
- Mavericks owner Mark Cuban reportedly had to be talked into waiving Delonte West, and Earl K. Sneed of Mavs.com notes the affection he has for the troubled guard (Twitter link).
- The James Harden trade has the Rockets thinking playoffs, as Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle documents.
Thunder Trade James Harden To Rockets
MONDAY, 1:30pm: All the physicals and paperwork relating to the Harden trade have been completed, meaning the Rockets can now officially negotiate and sign an extension for Harden, reports Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle (via Twitter). As Feigen notes, extension talks shouldn't drag on, since a max-salary offer is expected.
SUNDAY, 1:49pm: According to SI.com's Ben Golliver, Harden has indicated he will sign a maximum extension with the Rockets before Wednesday's deadline.
10:15am: Harden has expressed interest in the maximum-salary deal that the Rockets will offer him, Mark Berman of Fox 26 hears (Twitter link). Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle has no doubt Harden will sign the extension, calling it a "slam dunk" (Twitter link).
SATURDAY, 10:42pm: Wojnarowski adds that the Rockets, unlike the Thunder, are able to give Harden a five-year maximum extension. Under the Collective Bargaining Agreement, each team is allowed to designate one player to receive a five-year max extension, and the Thunder have already given one to Russell Westbrook. You can view a complete list of teams who have used their five-year extensions here.
10:20pm: Wojnarowski reports (Twitter links) that the Thunder's final offer to Harden was for between $53 and $54MM over four years, and the extension the Rockets will give him once the trade is completed will be worth $60MM over four years.
10:14pm: ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports that the Rockets plan to sign Harden to the maximum four-year contract extension he was seeking from the Thunder before Wednesday's deadline.
10:06pm: Wojnarowski has clarified the draft picks the Thunder will receive in the deal (Twitter links). Oklahoma City will receive 2013 first-round picks from the Rockets belonging to Dallas and Toronto, in addition to a 2013 second-round pick belonging to Charlotte.
10:02pm: Specifics of the picks the Thunder will receive from the Rockets are not clear, but Wojnarowski reports that they will be "significant." He adds that Thunder GM Sam Presti quickly decided to trade Harden after extension talks broke down. Earlier Saturday, Wojnarowski reported that Harden had rejected an offer of four years at $52MM from the Thunder but that the sides were continuing to negotiate.
9:47pm: Yahoo's Adrian Wojnarowski reports (all Twitter links) that the Oklahoma City Thunder have traded James Harden to the Houston Rockets along with Cole Aldrich, Lazar Hayward, and Daequan Cook in exchange for Jeremy Lamb, Kevin Martin, and future draft picks.
Thunder Notes: Orton, Harden, Perkins, Thabeet
Thunder GM Sam Presti addressed the media in Oklahoma City earlier today at his preseason press conference. While the Thunder GM was typically evasive on issues like James Harden's contract negotiations, he shared a few notable nuggets. Here are some of the highlights, from The Oklahoman's coverage of the presser:
- After making the Finals this spring, the Thunder will look to continue with the mentality and approach that got them there — thinking big and building small.
- Presti on the possibility of biting the bullet and going into the luxury tax to keep the team's core together: "There are certain realities that we face, and there are some inherent challenges that we face. I don't feel comfortable talking about limitations and things that we ultimately have to decide on, but we're making a commitment to try to put a competitive team on the floor. But we have to do that right thing for the organization."
- The new CBA "is what it is," and the Thunder will have to work within its confines, says Presti.
- The Thunder like Daniel Orton, who signed with the team this summer. He's got a "nice edge to him," according to Presti.
- Asked about Kendrick Perkins' prediction that Harden will want to sign an extension once he gets to camp, Presti stressed that he doesn't want to place expectations on specific people and predict how they're going to react.
- The Thunder hope to have Perkins healthy for the first game of the regular season, but Orton, Hasheem Thabeet, and Cole Aldrich should receive plenty of preseason action while Perkins recovers from wrist and groin injuries.
- Thabeet's conditioning is much improved, according to Presti.
Thunder Notes: Hayward, Prospects, Aldrich
The Thunder are winners of eight of their last ten games and sitting atop the Western Conference. After falling short to the Hawks on Saturday night, it appeared that Kevin Durant did not want to deal with the thought of losing, writes Darnell Mayberry of NewsOK. The team will have an opportunity to regroup tomorrow night against the Mavericks, but for now there are other noteworthy points of discussion:
- Lazar Hayward has been re-called from D-League, according to NBA.com.
- Mayberry spoke with GM Sam Presti to discuss the statuses of Latavious Williams and Tibor Pleiss, two Thunder prospects who are currently playing overseas.
- In a separate article, Mayberry reports that Cole Aldrich could be making a play toward becoming the team's primary backup center.