Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets To Pursue Sign-And-Trade For Jimmy Butler

June 25th, 2019 at 5:44pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets‘ top priority this offseason will be to recruit Jimmy Butler via sign-and-trade to Houston, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.

The Rockets are unlikely to carve out enough cap room to sign Butler outright, so a sign-and-trade is the most feasible option to bring the four-time All-Star to Texas, as Wojnarowski details. In that scenario, Philadelphia would receive players back as opposed to losing Butler for nothing had he signed with a team with cap room.

Clint Capela and Eric Gordon would likely leave Houston in a potential sign-and-trade with a third team possibly getting involved due to Base Year Compensation rules, Woj writes. Of the two, Gordon would be the better fit for Philadelphia, particularly if the team believes J.J. Redick may depart in free agency.

We recently detailed some of the roadblocks standing in the way of a potential Butler acquisition by the Rockets after The Houston Chronicle first reported that the team would pursue the standout swingman.

[RELATED: Why NBA Sign-And-Trades Are Rare]

Butler could receive a four-year, max deal from Houston worth roughly $141MM. The Sixers plan to be aggressive in their attempts to retain Butler and the franchise could offer him the full five-year, $190M max deal at the start of free agency to trump any rival offer.

Houston previously pursued Butler when he was in Minnesota. The franchise reportedly offered four first-round picks in exchange for the wing.

Giannis Antetokounmpo Named League MVP

June 24th, 2019 at 10:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Bucks forward Giannis Antetokounmpo was named the league’s Most Valuable Player on Monday. NBA commissioner Adam Silver made the announcement at the league’s annual awards show.

Last year’s winner, Rockets guard James Harden, and Thunder forward Paul George were the other finalists.

Antetokounmpo’s overall excellence while leading the Bucks to a 60-22 record was enough to beat out Harden’s big scoring numbers. The Greek Freak averaged 27.7 points, 12.5 rebounds, 5.9 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.5 blocks. Harden averaged 36.1 points, the highest total since Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 during the 1986/87 season.

The voting wasn’t as close as expected. Antetokounmpo received 78 of the 101 first-place votes and was second on the other 23 ballots. Harden had the reverse, with 23 first-place votes and 78 second-place selections.

The Bucks dominated the awards ceremony, as Mike Budenholzer won Coach of the Year and GM Jon Horst was named Executive of the Year.

Harden was Hoops Rumors’ consensus choice.

Links to the other major awards handed out on Monday can be found below:

Chris Paul: “I Never Asked For A Trade”

June 24th, 2019 at 11:23am CST by Luke Adams

Appearing at a youth basketball clinic in Los Angeles on Sunday, Rockets point guard Chris Paul addressed last week’s report on his supposed trade request, suggesting that it didn’t happen.

“I never asked for a trade,” Paul said, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. “I never demanded a trade.”

Last week’s report from Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports suggested that the relationship between Paul and fellow Rockets guard James Harden was “unsalvageable” and that the two stars didn’t want to play together anymore. Goodwill’s report came on the heels of a separate story from Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com, who didn’t report that Paul had requested a trade, but outlined many of the same details Goodwill did when it came to the discord in Houston.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey quickly shot down the idea that Paul had requested a trade and said that CP3 will be on the roster next season, a sentiment the veteran echoed on Sunday, according to Feigen.

“I’ll be in Houston,” Paul said. “I’m happy about that. I’m very happy about that. I’m good.”

Feigen notes that Paul wasn’t very specific when asked on Sunday if there are issues to be worked out between him and Harden, and it seems clear that the two guards didn’t always see eye-to-eye during the 2018/19 season and postseason.

Still, with three years and more than $124MM left on Paul’s contract, it will be difficult for Houston to find a taker for him this offseason even if CP3 wants out. As such, it makes sense for both sides to prepare to move forward together.

Rockets, William McDowell-White Agree To Deal

June 21st, 2019 at 11:19am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have reached an agreement with William McDowell-White, according to Olgun Uluc of FOX Sports Australia, who reports (via Twitter) that the undrafted combo guard will sign an Exhibit 10 contract with Houston.

McDowell-White was 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, he spent a season and a half with German club Brose Bamberg, leaving the team earlier this year to prepare for the 2019 draft.

Besides McDowell-White, the Rockets have also lined up deals with UCLA center Moses Brown and Campbell guard Chris Clemons to play for their Summer League squad, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

It’s possible that the club’s agreement with Clemons will be for more than the Summer League. Both Alykhan Bijani of The Athletic and Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston (Twitter links) classify that deal as an undrafted free agent signing, which may include an invite to training camp.

The Rockets had a quiet night on Thursday, as they were one of the only teams that didn’t have a draft pick in either the first or second round.

Western Notes: Rockets, No. 4, Davis, Holiday

June 20th, 2019 at 2:49pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Houston intends to aggressively pursue Jimmy Butler in free agency and Kelly Iko of The Athletic hears that the Rockets will be just as determined to land Butler now as they were in prior to Minnesota dealing him to the Sixers. GM Daryl Morey reportedly offered four first-round picks in exchange for Butler during the season.

It’s no secret that the Rockets are looking to shake up their roster this offseason. They continue to discuss trades involving Clint Capela, and Iko hears that they’ve discussed sending him to the Pelicans for the No. 4 overall pick. In that scenario, Houston would look to insert that pick into a package in order to land another player.

Here’s more from Houston and rest of the Western Conference:

The Rockets had interested in trading for Anthony Davis and reached out to the Pelicans prior to New Orleans making the deal with the Lakers. Houston was aware that it wasn’t high on Davis’ preferences and that a trade was not likely to happen.
The Lakers could have asked Davis if he’d waive his trade bonus of roughly $4.1MM in order to make salary-matching easier, but they never broached it during negotiations, league sources tell Bleacher Report’s Howard Beck. Los Angeles is still attempting to maximize its cap room for an additional star after agreeing to the Davis deal.
Several NBA executives are skeptical that the Lakers can build a title-winning team around Davis and LeBron James after the haul they just gave up, Beck relays in the same piece. “[The] Lakers overpaid by a significant margin, given the conditions,” one executive said, adding, “Never let your GM be in a spot where he needs to make a trade to save his job.”
The Suns are not interested in Aaron Holiday, Phoenix-based radio host John Gambadoro tweets. J. Michael of The Indianapolis Star identified the Suns as one of a handful of teams that has interest in acquiring the Pacers point guard, mentioning the Timberwolves, Bulls, and Hawks as well.

Knicks Rumors: Paul, Davis, Free Agency, Ntilikina

June 19th, 2019 at 2:04pm CST by Luke Adams

Conflicting reports on the dynamics between Chris Paul and James Harden surfaced on Tuesday, with one report describing their relationship as “unsalvagable,” while GM Daryl Morey declared that everything is fine in Houston.

Regardless on exactly where things stand, the Rockets may be stuck with the pairing for the foreseeable future. There’s “not a team in the league” that’s eager to trade for Paul, Shams Charania of The Athletic said on a recent radio appearance (h/t E.Jay Zarett of Sporting News). The veteran point guard will make approximately $38.5MM next season, $41.4MM in 2020/21, and just over $44.2MM on a 2021/22 player option.

“Even some teams that they’ve called, I’m told, as just a [salary] dump, like, ‘We’ll give you Chris Paul for free,’ those teams are like ‘We’re good,'” Charania said (video link). “So the value just is not there right now.”

The Knicks are apparently one team that has passed on the idea of taking on Paul, according to Kevin O’Connor of The Ringer, who reports that the Rockets recently explored the idea of trading CP3 into New York’s cap space. The Knicks rebuffed that offer, per O’Connor.

Here’s more on the Knicks:

Before the Pelicans agreed to trade Anthony Davis to the Lakers, the Knicks “made overtures” for Davis to join them as a free agent in 2020, a league source tells Howard Beck of Bleacher Report. New Orleans wasn’t believed to be fond of the Knicks’ assets, and New York recognized the futility of trying to acquire AD via trade, Beck notes.
In a follow-up tweet, Beck wonders if the Knicks’ efforts imply that they don’t expect to land two stars in free agency this summer — the team almost certainly wouldn’t have cap room for Davis in 2020 if two free agents sign max deals this summer.
Marc Berman of The New York Post, who has previously reported that the Knicks are expected to explore trading Frank Ntilikina for a draft pick, reiterates that the club is “extremely open” to such a deal. New York is still hoping to land a late first-round pick or an early second-rounder for Ntilikina, says Berman.

Chris Crouse contributed to this post.

Rockets Expected To Pursue Jimmy Butler

June 19th, 2019 at 9:27am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets came up short in their pursuit of Jimmy Butler during the 2018/19 season when the standout forward was on the trade block, despite reportedly offering a package that featured four first-round picks. With Butler on track to reach free agency this summer, the Rockets are expected to once again aggressively go after the 29-year-old, according to Brian T. Smith of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter links), who reports that Butler’s name will be atop Houston’s offseason wish list.

As Smith explains, the Rockets consider Butler an ideal fit on both ends of the court, viewing him as a piece that could push the team over the hump in the Western Conference. Per Smith, Houston’s ideal scenario would be to add Butler to its James Harden/Chris Paul pairing, despite rumors of significant discord between the two guards.

Smith’s report lines up with recent comments made by general manager Daryl Morey, who talked about the possibility of adding a third star to the Rockets’ roster this offseason.

Although the Rockets would love to add Butler and the Houston native may have interest in joining his hometown team, the club’s salary cap situation will make it difficult — especially since Butler has talked about expecting to sign a maximum-salary contract, which would start at about $32.7MM.

There’s no realistic way for the Rockets to create the cap room necessary to sign Butler to anything close to the max, so that’s likely not an option. That leaves two other potential pathways — a sign-and-trade or an opt-in-and-trade.

A sign-and-trade would require the Sixers to be on board, which means the Rockets would have to send some appealing assets Philadelphia’s way, including perhaps shooting guard Eric Gordon. Even then, salary-matching would be difficult and might require a third team to trade for Clint Capela or another Rocket. Houston would also be hard-capped in that scenario, significantly limiting the club’s flexibility.

[RELATED: Why NBA Sign-And-Trades Are Rare]

If Butler were to exercise his $19.84MM player option for 2019/20 instead of opting out as planned, it’d create a much cleaner path to a deal. The two teams could then negotiate a straight trade, like the Rockets and Clippers did two years ago when Paul wanted to play in Houston, though as with a sign-and-trade, the Sixers would have to sign off.

Additionally, Butler would presumably be reluctant to give up a longer-term, maximum-salary deal this summer unless he has assurances that such a deal would be waiting for him from the Rockets in 2020. That’s essentially what happened with Paul in 2017 — his payday was delayed until 2018, but there was never any doubt Houston would give it to him.

Of course, owner Tilman Fertitta has reportedly complained since day one about the team’s long-term investment in CP3, so it’s not clear if the club would be willing to make a similar wink-and-nod commitment to Butler.

The idea of the Rockets acquiring Butler still looks like a long shot at this point, but Morey has creatively completed deals in the past, and will certainly explore every avenue he can to do so again this time around.

Ben McLemore, Jaylen Morris Work Out For Rockets

June 19th, 2019 at 8:27am CST by Luke Adams

Free agent guards Ben McLemore and Jaylen Morris recently worked out for the Rockets, tweets ESPN’s Jordan Schultz.

Rockets Worked Out John Konchar

June 18th, 2019 at 5:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets are among the teams that brought in Purdue Fort Wayne’s John Konchar for a pre-draft workout, tweets ESPN’s Jordan Schultz.

Harden, Paul Relationship Described As “Unsalvageable”

June 18th, 2019 at 4:54pm CST by Luke Adams

4:54pm: Responding to today’s report, Morey said Paul and his reps haven’t asked for a trade, adding that the point guard will be on the Rockets next season, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). According to Morey, Paul and Harden don’t have issues with one another — Morey says he has spoken to both players often this offseason about free agency plans, Feigen adds.

While Morey’s dismissal was expected, reports of a rift between the Rockets’ two stars are becoming increasingly frequent. We’ll have to wait and see if the team is actually willing to bring both players back in the fall.

3:46pm: The relationship between Rockets guards James Harden and Chris Paul has been described by sources as “unsalvageable,” according to Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports, who reports that the two stars no longer want to play alongside one another.

Sources tell Goodwill that Paul asked Rockets management for a trade, while Harden issued a “him or me” ultimatum after the team was eliminated from the playoffs this spring by Golden State.

The two players didn’t speak to one another for nearly two months during the season, according to Goodwill, who adds that Harden has rebuffed CP3’s repeated attempts to communicate so far this offseason.

“There’s no respect at all, on either side,” a source tells Goodwill. “They need to get away from one another. Chris doesn’t respect James’ standing in the league, and James doesn’t respect the work Chris has put in to this point.”

Goodwill’s story comes on the heels of a similar report from ESPN’s Tim MacMahon, who suggested that the disconnect between Harden and Paul stemmed from their different preferred playing styles and personalities. Harden thrives in an isolation-heavy attack, while Paul prefers a style predicated on more ball movement.

Sources tell Goodwill that Paul would curse at head coach Mike D’Antoni, complaining about the offense bogging down when Harden replaced Paul in the second unit. MacMahon passed along similar anecdotes in his story, reporting that Paul would cherish the opportunity to play in that second unit without Harden and “barked” at D’Antoni to keep Harden on the bench as the NBA’s leading scorer lobbied to check back in.

MacMahon and Goodwill each provided details on the personality clash between the two All-Stars as well, with Goodwill indicating that Paul’s “grating personality” has irritated Harden. The former MVP snapped back at CP3 after the Rockets’ elimination last month, telling Paul that he didn’t always know best and talked too much, according to MacMahon.

“Chris has a personality where he just doesn’t let anything go,” a team source told MacMahon. “He just keeps pestering and pestering and pestering and pestering. Sometimes James has had enough — and not just him. That’s what makes [Paul] a winner and also what keeps him from being a big-time winner. He’s got to temper that.”

MacMahon’s and Goodwill’s reports add more context to why the Rockets have apparently been exploring the trade market for Paul and other key players this spring. However, Paul has one of the league’s least team-friendly contracts, which will make him difficult to trade — that deal will pay the veteran point guard $38.5MM in 2019/20, and $124MM in total over the next three years.

Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta has “grumbled” about the team’s investment in Paul and expressed regret to staffers about that signing, according to MacMahon, who adds that Fertitta has even griped about the deal in front of rival executives. Goodwill’s report lines up with MacMahon’s — sources tell Yahoo that Fertitta has complained about CP3’s contract since it was signed.

For what it’s worth, Rockets GM Daryl Morey has downplayed the tension within the organization and recently denied that Paul had asked to be traded. However, the situation in Houston looks increasingly untenable. We’ll see how the Rockets’ front office and players respond to the latest reports, but at this point it looks like a roster shake-up may be on the horizon.