Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Focused On Andre Iguodala, JaVale McGee

July 3rd, 2019 at 8:42pm CST by Arthur Hill

After missing out on their top summer target when Jimmy Butler opted for Miami, the Rockets are looking at two former Warriors as they fill out their roster, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

With a need for depth at the wing and in the middle, Houston is turning its attention to Andre Iguodala and JaVale McGee, according to Feigen. With the moratorium is lifted Saturday, Iguodala will be on his way to Memphis, part of a cost-cutting move that enables Golden State to trade for D’Angelo Russell without exceeding the tax apron.

Rockets GM Daryl Morey may be willing to send next year’s first-round pick to the Grizzlies as part of a package to acquire Iguodala, who will make $17,185,185 in the final year of his contract. Morey could hope for a buyout and try to get Iguodala at a better price, but he would risk losing him to another team, such as the Lakers, where Iguodala’s former agent, Rob Pelinka, serves as GM.

Houston pursued Iguodala when he was a free agent in 2017 and put on “the best recruiting presentation of all time,” a source told ESPN. Iguodala canceled his other meetings and was reportedly ready to sign with the Rockets before Golden State increased its offer.

Feigen notes that if a trade happens, Memphis will have pulled off the rare feat of getting one first-rounder for taking Iguodala and another for letting him go.

The Rockets met with McGee, who played for the Lakers this season, on Sunday in a session that two sources told Feigen “went really well.” Houston’s interest in McGee wasn’t just a hedge against a Clint Capela trade, he adds. The team is looking for more size on its reserve unit and likes McGee as a pick-and-roll partner for James Harden and Chris Paul.

However, the Rockets are limited in what they can offer. McGee may be looking for more than a veteran’s minimum deal, and they will become hard-capped if they use the non-taxpayer mid-level exception, leaving them unable to deal for Iguodala or anybody else with a significant salary.

Rockets Sign Ponds, Clemons, McDowell-White To Exhibit 10 Deals

July 3rd, 2019 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have signed undrafted free agents Shamorie Ponds, Chris Clemons, and William McDowell-White to Exhibit 10 contracts, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The three agreements were reported shortly after last month’s draft.

A 6’1″ guard out of St. John’s, Ponds averaged 19.7 PPG, 5.1 APG, 4.1 RPG, and an impressive 2.6 SPG in 33 games during his junior year before declaring for the draft as an early entrant.

Clemons, a 5’9″ Campbell guard, was the nation’s leading scorer in 2018/19, averaging 30.0 PPG on .448/.357/.869 shooting.

McDowell-White was also draft-eligible this season after spending the last several years playing for teams in Australia and Germany. Having began his career with the Sydney Kings, the Australian combo guard spent a season and a half with German club Brose Bamberg, leaving the team earlier this year to prepare for the 2019 draft.

All three players are on Houston’s Summer League roster and appear on track to join the team for training camp in the fall. Assuming they don’t make the Rockets’ regular season roster, they could end up playing for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League affiliate.

Western Notes: Russell, Suns, Beverley, Kings, Rivers, Blazers

July 1st, 2019 at 11:48pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves, led by D’Angelo Russell‘s close friend Karl-Anthony Towns, were confident about their ability to get a commitment from Russell in free agency and went into their Sunday meeting with him ready to make the trades necessary to make a deal work, sources tell Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic. Minnesota was just waiting for the green light from D-Lo to move forward on those trades, but the All-Star point guard instead opted to join the Warriors.

The Suns were viewed as a team that might try to get into the mix for Russell, who has another good friend – Devin Booker – in Phoenix. However, despite Booker’s campaign, Phoenix chose not to pursue the RFA guard, writes Duane Rankin of The Arizona Republic. According to Rankin, the Suns “apparently felt Russell wouldn’t have been a good influence on Booker off the court.”

The Warriors, with their veteran leaders, apparently had no such qualms about D-Lo, who – by all accounts – matured considerably during his time in Brooklyn.

Here’s more from around the Western Conference:

After agreeing to sign a three-year, $40MM deal with the Clippers, Patrick Beverley tells Andrew Greif of The Los Angeles Times that he turned down a more lucrative offer from the Kings to return to L.A. “I got a bigger offer from Sacramento and I took $9-10 million less to come here,” Beverley said. “… It was the right decision. Of course, the human part of you wants to take as much money as you see, but all money isn’t good money. I did what was best for me and my family and I did what was best to stay on a winning team, and I feel like I made the right decision.”
Despite Beverley’s comments, Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link) hears that the Kings offered the veteran guard a guaranteed total of $35MM over three years, with a partial guarantee in year three. Theoretically, it’s possible that Beverley’s claim could still be accurate if that third-year partial guarantee was very small and he’s including the non-guaranteed money as part of Sacramento’s bid.
Before he agreed to return to the Rockets for the veteran’s minimum, Austin Rivers had offers in the range of the $5.7MM taxpayer mid-level exception, tweets Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com. “Now that the league is wide open, I just saw an opportunity,” Rivers said. “You can’t really put a price on happiness. The goal was to come back to Houston all along. I think we have the team to beat.”
The Trail Blazers have announced Terry Stotts‘ coaching staff for the upcoming season, with Nate Tibbetts replacing David Vanterpool as the team’s associate head coach. Portland has also promoted Jim Moran to the front of the bench and hired former NBA guard Jannero Pargo as an assistant.

Free Agency Rumors: Mavs, Rockets, Bulls, Wolves, C’s

July 1st, 2019 at 8:22am CST by Luke Adams

It was a quiet first day of free agency for the Mavericks, but the team still has some irons in the fire and plenty of cap flexibility to work with.

Brad Townsend of The Dallas Morning News tweets that he believes the Mavericks are “in the driver’s seat” with Danny Green, though he cautions that could change if Kawhi Leonard decides to stay in Toronto — Green could join him in that scenario.

Besides Green, Townsend identifies Kevon Looney, DeMarcus Cousins, Willie Cauley-Stein, Seth Curry, and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope as some potential free agent targets to watch for the Mavericks.

Let’s round up a few more notes and rumors related to free agency…

The Rockets will be among the teams with interest in Andre Iguodala if the Grizzlies elect to buy out the veteran swingman, sources tell Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Iguodala is being sent to Memphis from Golden State in a cap-clearing move.
Having used their cap room to land Thaddeus Young and Tomas Satoransky, the Bulls will be in the market for a shooter or another big man with some or all of their room exception ($4.8MM), tweets K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Tribune.
The Timberwolves missed out on top free agent target D’Angelo Russell, but did speak to their own RFA point guard Tyus Jones on Sunday, sources tell Jon Krawcznyski of The Athletic, who speculates that a Jones reunion may be more likely with D-Lo off the table.
In the wake of their sign-and-trade agreement for Kemba Walker, the Celtics are still working to determine which mid-level exception they’ll have at their disposal, tweets Mark Murphy of The Boston Herald.

Free Agent Rumors: Middleton, Butler, Kanter, Temple

June 30th, 2019 at 3:27pm CST by clarkcrum

According to Marc Stein of The New York Times, the quietness surrounding the free agency destination of Bucks’ All-Star forward Khris Middleton is because interested front offices are universally presuming that Middleton is going back to Milwaukee on a “monster” five-year deal.

Middleton, 27, is eligible to sign a five-year, $189.904MM maximum-salary contract with the Bucks, while rival suitors can only (relatively speaking, of course) offer up to $140.791MM over four years.

Echoing Stein’s sentiment from rival front offices, Gery Woelfel of Woelfel’s Press Box reports that Middleton is expected to re-sign with Milwaukee, adding that Brook Lopez and George Hill are also considered good bets to return.

Per Marc J. Spears of ESPN, unrestricted free agent center Enes Kanter is expected to have a phone call with the Blazers and Celtics when free agency tips off tonight at 5:00pm CST.
Spears is also reporting that UFA guard Garrett Temple is getting interest from the Nets, Nuggets, Jazz, and Rockets.
During their meeting this evening, Jimmy Butler is expected to tell the Heat that he wishes to play in Miami, per Tim Reynolds of The Associated Press. It’s unclear whether Butler actually wants to play for the Heat of if he’s simply using this as a negotiating tactic to entice the 76ers to offer him a 5-year maximum-salary contract.
Per Harrison D. Sanford of The Green Room with Danny Green, free agent guard Danny Green is expecting to hear from the Raptors, Lakers, Sixers, Bulls, Mavericks, Rockets, and Knicks.

Kings Plan To Make Offer To Al Horford

June 30th, 2019 at 12:18pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:18pm: Horford has “very real interest” in joining the Sixers if they can make it possible, Amick tweets. Philadelphia is reportedly willing to facilitate a sign-and-trade for Jimmy Butler, but has Tobias Harris and J.J. Redick to address as well. The Kings have a better chance at signing Hawks center Dewayne Dedmon, Amick adds, and are among the teams willing to take on Clint Capela if the Rockets trade for Butler (Twitter link). Houston has found multiple teams interested in Capela and will send him to the highest bidder.

11:58pm: The Kings are ready to pounce on Al Horford with a significant offer once free agency begins, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Sacramento has the cap room to offer the rumored four-year deal in excess of $100MM, and a source tells Stein that the organization “definitely” has strong interest in Horford.

That report is confirmed by James Ham of NBC Sports Bay Area (Twitter link), who adds that the Kings consider Horford a “major target.” However, a source tells Sam Amick of The Athletic that team officials expect him to sign with someone else (Twitter link).

Sacramento is looking for an upgrade at center over Willie Cauley-Stein, and Horford definitely qualifies. He has put up solid numbers for more than a decade in both Atlanta and Boston, earning five All-Star appearances, and is the mobile, floor-stretching style of big man that the Kings want to add.

Horford had been considered likely to stay with the Celtics, either by opting into a $30.1MM salary for next season or negotiating a longer deal with the team. However, he surprised the league two weeks ago by opting out and indicating that another team waiting with a massive contract.

Rockets To Meet With JaVale McGee

June 30th, 2019 at 8:27am CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets’ search for a new big man will include Lakers center JaVale McGee, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Houston officials will meet with McGee today in Los Angeles, along with Warriors center Kevon Looney, as we relayed yesterday.

McGee, 31, averaged a career-best 12.0 PPG for L.A. this season, along with 7.5 rebounds in 75 games. He has also played for the Wizards, Nuggets, Sixers, Mavericks and Warriors.

The Rockets will reportedly move starting center Clint Capela if they can work out a sign-and-trade deal for Sixers free agent Jimmy Butler. Backup Nene opted out of next year’s contract yesterday, leaving no other experienced center on the roster.

Malcolm Brogdon Gets Qualifying Offer From Bucks

June 29th, 2019 at 11:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Bucks took the decision down to the wire, but they have extended a qualifying offer to Malcolm Brogdon that makes him a restricted free agent, tweets Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports. Brogdon’s offer is $3,021,354, according to Basketball Insiders, and that will also count as his cap hold.

The 2017 Rookie of the Year has been limited by injuries the past two seasons. He put up a 15.6/4.5/3.2 line in 64 games before suffering a minor plantar fascia tear in his right foot in March. Brogdon has earned a reputation as one of the NBA’s most efficient shooters, averaging 51% from the field, 43% from 3-point range and a league-best 93% from the foul line this year.

The Bucks may be reluctant to match a huge offer for Brogdon when they have other free agent concerns in Khris Middleton and Brook Lopez. The Suns, Bulls, Mavericks and Pacers have been mentioned among interested teams, but there are lingering concerns about the long-term condition of his foot.

There are a few more decisions on qualifying offers to catch up on:

The Nuggets extended a QO to two-way player Brandon Goodwin, tweets Keith Smith of Yahoo Sports. The point guard got into 16 NBA games during his rookie season.
The Hawks opted not to give a QO to Justin Anderson, making him an unrestricted free agent, according to Chris Vivlamore of the Journal Constitution (Twitter link). Anderson appeared in 48 games for Atlanta after being acquired in a trade with the Sixers last summer.
Jerian Grant will also be an unrestricted free agent after the Magic passed on a QO, tweets TNT’s David Aldridge. Acquired from the Bulls during the offseason, Grant appeared in 60 games for Orlando.
The Clippers didn’t extend a QO to G League Rookie of the Year Angel Delgado, tweets Michael Scotto of The Athletic.
Rockets two-way players Trevon Duval and Vince Edwards didn’t receive qualifying offers, and neither did Warriors two-way player Marcus Derrickson, according to Keith Smith. However, Damion Lee – Golden State’s other two-way player – received a QO (Twitter links).

Gerald Green Expected To Return For Another Season

June 29th, 2019 at 10:41pm CST by Arthur Hill

There’s a strong possibility that veteran forward Gerald Green will return to the Rockets for another season, according to Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic (Twitter link). A Houston native, Green signed with the organization midway through the 2017/18 season, then played this year on a veteran’s minimum contract.

Rockets, Bulls To Meet With Kevon Looney

June 29th, 2019 at 7:32pm CST by Arthur Hill

7:32pm: Looney also has a meeting with the Bulls tomorrow, Medina tweets.

7:02pm: The Rockets will meet with free agent center Kevon Looney tomorrow, tweets Marc Stein of The New York Times. Houston officials are delivering their free agency pitches in Los Angeles, which is where Looney will also talk to the Warriors and possibly several other teams, according to Mark Medina of The San Jose Mercury News (Twitter link).

Looney, 23, emerged as a rotation player for Golden State in his fourth NBA season, averaging 6.3 PPG and 5.2 RPG in 18.5 minutes per night. Coach Steve Kerr called him a “foundational piece” during the playoffs, Stein recalls (Twitter link), and that’s especially true now that starting center DeMarcus Cousins is a free agent.

The Rockets need help in the middle after Nene announced today that he will opt out of the final season of his contract. Houston also reportedly has a deal in place involving starting center Clint Capela if the team can land Jimmy Butler from the Sixers in a sign-and-trade.

The Celtics and Pelicans are other teams that have shown interest in Looney.