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Tad Brown Hired As Sixers’ CEO

July 12th, 2021 at 2:06pm CST by Luke Adams

Longtime Rockets executive Tad Brown has reached an agreement to become the new CEO of the Sixers, as well as the NHL’s New Jersey Devils, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. Both franchises are owned by Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment, which officially announced the hiring today in a press release.

“We are thrilled to welcome Tad to the HBSE family,” Sixers co-owner Josh Harris said in a statement. “Tad is an exceptional leader in our industry, and one with a deep passion for innovation and community engagement. With nearly twenty years’ experience leading the Houston Rockets and Toyota Center, we are confident that he will bring a fresh energy and new ideas to our teams, organization and local communities.”

Brown spent 15 years as the Rockets’ CEO, announcing earlier this year that he’d be stepping down from that position at the end of the 2020/21 season.

It didn’t take Brown long to find a new job. The position in Philadelphia will reunite him with former Rockets general manager Daryl Morey, who is now the Sixers’ president of basketball operations. Brown will be replacing Scott O’Neil, who left the franchise last month after eight years as the CEO of Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment.

During his time in Houston, Brown helped the Rockets secure All-Star games in 2006 and 2013 and oversaw the sale of the club in 2017. In his new role with the 76ers, he’ll oversee the team’s business functions, per ESPN’s report.

Although his role is ostensibly on the business operations side of the franchise, Brown did discuss basketball matters with the media a number of times during his tenure in Houston and figures to be involved in negotiations involving players or coaches in Philadelphia. As Wojnarowski notes, Brown and Morey developed a “shorthand” with one another during their many years of collaboration that should be beneficial going forward.

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Examining Pros And Cons Of Drafting Evan Mobley

July 11th, 2021 at 8:53pm CST by JD Shaw
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Rockets Talked To Pacers About No. 13 Pick

July 11th, 2021 at 11:57am CST by Arthur Hill

The Pacers are looking for a player who can contribute right away and are willing to trade the 13th pick in this year’s draft for veteran help, according to J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star (hat tip to RocketsWire). A source tells Michael that Indiana talked to the Rockets about a possible deal.

Michael adds that the Pacers want somebody who is under contract for at least two more years, which suggests Eric Gordon is a target in any deal with Houston. Gordon will make $18.2MM in the upcoming season and $19.6MM in 2022/23, along with a non-guaranteed $20.9MM for the 2023/24 season.

The Rockets are rebuilding after posting the league’s worst record and would welcome another lottery selection. They own three picks in the upcoming draft and may be willing to send No. 23 or 24 to Indiana in the deal.

Gordon, 32, is an Indiana native and played college basketball at the University of Indiana. Injuries limited him to 27 games this season, but he was still productive when he was on the court, averaging 17.8 points and 2.6 assists in about 29 minutes per night.

The Pacers would have to match salary in any deal, and Ben DuBose of RocketsWire notes that Jeremy Lamb, who has a $10.5MM expiring contract, would be a good start. The Rockets originally drafted Lamb in 2012, but shipped him to Oklahoma City in the James Harden trade.

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Rockets Love Cunningham, But Price May Be Too High

July 9th, 2021 at 2:21pm CST by Luke Adams
  • Within his latest mock draft, Harper also says there’s a belief the Rockets have been “fixated” on Cade Cunningham, but are likely unwilling to pay Detroit what it would take to move up to No. 1. Additionally, sources tell Harper that people around the league believe Spurs guards Dejounte Murray and Derrick White could be “gettable” in trades.
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Cavs, Rockets, Pelicans, Thunder Evaluating What It Would Take To Trade Up To No. 1

July 7th, 2021 at 8:07am CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers, Rockets, Pelicans, and Thunder are among the teams that are “making overtures” to evaluate what it would take to trade up to the No. 1 spot in this year’s draft, sources tell Jonathan Givony of ESPN.

Givony cautions that any talks are in the very early stages and says that if the Pistons make a deal involving the No. 1 pick, it would happen much closer to the draft. Givony adds that he’s skeptical at this point that Detroit would actually trade out of the top spot, suggesting that the team is simply leaving “no stone unturned” in its evaluations. The most likely scenario is that the Pistons stay put and snag top prospect Cade Cunningham.

Still, Givony – like several other reporters – has heard that the Pistons continue to do their homework on prospects like Jalen Green and “especially” Evan Mobley. The USC big man may be Detroit’s target if the team were to move down, according to Givony.

If the Pistons do want Mobley, they likely wouldn’t feel comfortable moving down further than the No. 2 or No. 3 spot, which would make Cleveland or Houston a logical trade partner. New Orleans (No. 10) and Oklahoma City (Nos. 6, 16, and 18) pick later in the lottery, though both teams have a huge surplus of future first-rounders that could intrigue Detroit if general manager Troy Weaver is open to the idea of moving out of the top five.

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Rockets Adding Chris Wallace, Matt Bullard To Front Office

July 6th, 2021 at 11:28am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets are hiring Chris Wallace and Matt Bullard to positions in their front office, according to reports from Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link) and Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

Wallace, a longtime NBA executive who has decades of experience in front office roles, previously served as the general manager for both the Celtics and the Grizzlies. He was re-assigned to a scouting job when Memphis shook up its basketball operations department in 2019.

According to MacMahon, Wallace will join the Rockets as the team’s director of scouting. As MacMahon explains, Houston has prioritized adding experience and expertise to its front office around general manager Rafael Stone, making an effort to invest in infrastructure during the organization’s rebuilding period.

As for Bullard, his résumé looks quite different than Wallace’s. A former NBA forward for the Rockets, Hawks, and Hornets, Bullard transitioned to broadcasting after he retired. He had been a television analyst on Rockets broadcasts for the last 16 years, up until an announcement last month that AT&T SportsNet Southwest wouldn’t be renewing his contract for the coming year.

Bullard’s exact role is unclear, but he’ll become the third former player in Houston’s front office, joining Ed Pinckney and Chuck Hayes, Feigen notes.

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Kenyon Martin Jr. Showed Promise In Rookie Season

July 3rd, 2021 at 4:11pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rookie Rockets small forward Kenyon Martin Jr., a second-generation NBA player, showed promise during his first NBA season, per Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle.

Martin noted that living his childhood while his father Kenyon Martin Sr. enjoyed a successful 15-year NBA career helped prep him for the ups and downs of the Rockets’ fortunes during Jr.’s first season.

“My first game back from the G League, I honestly got kind of nervous or whatever but I just thought to myself, ‘It’s still basketball,’ so I just go out and play and not really think about that,” Martin said. Across 45 games for the Rockets, the 6’6″ rookie averaged 9.3 PPG and 5.4 RPG, while shooting a solid .509/.365/.714.

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Cam Reynolds Signs With Italian Club

July 3rd, 2021 at 9:03am CST by Dana Gauruder

Small forward Cameron Reynolds has signed a one-year contract with Italy’s Dolomiti Energia Trentino, Alessandro Maggi of Sportando relays.

Reynolds finished this NBA season with the Rockets. He inked a 10-day contract under the hardship provision in May and appeared in two games, averaging 6.5 PPG in 17.0 MPG. The Rockets have an excess of wing players, which would have made it difficult for Reynolds to gain a spot with them next season.

Reynolds, 26, also appeared in three games with the Spurs this season after signing a 10-day contract in late March. He played just six total minutes and wasn’t offered a second 10-day deal. Reynolds was a member of the Austin Spurs in the G League bubble after getting waived by San Antonio in December.

Reynolds was named this week to the U.S. Select team, which will help Team USA prepare for the Olympics.

He also played 19 games for the Timberwolves during the 2018/19 campaign.

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Roster Announced For U.S. Select Team

July 1st, 2021 at 12:26pm CST by Arthur Hill

The roster has been released for the U.S. Select Team, which will help Team USA prepare for the Olympics, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic.

The Select Team, which will practice with and scrimmage against the national team during the upcoming training camp in Las Vegas, is made up mostly of first- and second-year NBA players. It will be coached by Erik Spoelstra of the Heat.

Making up the roster are:

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