Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Aggressively Pursuing Butler Deal

November 2nd, 2018 at 8:02pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have put together numerous packages in an attempt to acquire Timberwolves swingman Jimmy Butler but Minnesota coach and president of basketball operations Tom Thibodeau has taken a hard and somewhat confusing stance on all potential deals, Kelly Iko of The Athletic reports.

Houston is intent on prying Butler away from the Timberwolves to strengthen its porous defense and give it another special talent to combat the star-powered Warriors. Minnesota is intent on dumping Gorgui Dieng‘s four-year, $62.8MM contract, which still has two more fully guaranteed years remaining, in any deal involving Butler, Iko continues. In general, the Timberwolves are treating negotiations as if they were dealing a difference-maker locked into a long-term contract rather than one who wants out and can opt out after the season.

With the Rockets already dealing with luxury-tax issues, absorbing Dieng’s contract would be virtually impossible. In the earlier stages of negotiations, the Rockets made inquiries to as many as six teams in the hope of involving a third party to facilitate a deal but failed to find a partner, according to Iko.

That’s when the Rockets decided to offer up to four future first-round picks for Butler, in all likelihood their first-rounders in 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025. The reasoning behind that was to entice the Timberwolves to make the deal without Dieng.

The proposal would have allowed Minnesota to pursue a separate deal packaging Dieng and a pick or two to shed his salary. Even though it was willing to mortgage the future in a bid to win the title this season, Houston wasn’t confident that reported offer would get Thibodeau to soften his stance, Iko adds.

The Rockets have a couple of minor trade exceptions — one for $1.545MM and another for $2.85MM — but nothing substantial to help absorb the approximate $35.5MM in combined salaries of Butler and Dieng.

Lawrence: Thibodeau Views Knight, Chriss As 'Dead Weight'

November 2nd, 2018 at 3:12pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves didn’t show much interest in the Rockets‘ trade offer for Jimmy Butler that featured four first-round picks along with Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss, Mitch Lawrence of The Sporting News confirms. According to Lawrence, Tom Thibodeau views Knight and Chriss as “dead weight” and would prefer a deal that includes Eric Gordon and/or P.J. Tucker.

Texas Notes: Rockets, Nowitzki, DeRozan, Murray

November 1st, 2018 at 9:24pm CST by JD Shaw

The Rockets have opened the 2018/19 season with a 1-5 record, struggling to get in a rhythm offensively and playing lackadaisical defense. They’ve dropped games to the Pelicans, Jazz, Blazers, and two separate contests against the Clippers, with their only win coming against the new-look Lakers.

“Right now, we’re playing like crap,” coach Mike D’Antoni said, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “We’re just not playing well. You know, I don’t have a whole lot of answers for you now. We’ll look, and we’ll fight it.”

The Rockets took the Warriors to seven games in the Western Conference Finals last spring, finishing with a 65-17 record and cementing themselves as the second best team in the association. Some of their struggles this season could be blamed on Chris Paul‘s suspension or James Harden‘s hamstring injury, but the losses of Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute in free agency have also hurt.

“We’ve lost our swagger and we’re on our heels,” D’Antoni said.

The Rockets’ upcoming schedule has them playing five straight road games, including contests in Brooklyn this Friday, Chicago on Saturday, and Indiana on Monday.

Here are some other notes out of Texas tonight:

Mavericks forward Dirk Nowitzki is expected to be sidelined for weeks as he continues his rehab from left ankle surgery, according to Dwain Price of Mavs.com. “We’re still looking at weeks at this point,” Nowitzki said.“I haven’t even started running on the court, I haven’t even started running quick on the treadmill. I’ve just been slowly jogging and seeing how the foot reacts. Unfortunately we’re still talking weeks over days.” Nowitzki underwent surgery in April and hasn’t gone through a full practice session this season.
Michael C. Wright of ESPN examines how DeMar DeRozan dealt with being traded and embraced the Spurs, who currently have a 5-2 record on the season. “It took a while for me to get back in that happy place,” DeRozan said, “where I didn’t care about much in the sense of like, ‘Just be happy, man. Just be yourself. Don’t worry about all that other stuff.’
Gregg Popovich plans to use Dejounte Murray in a coaching role on the bench this season, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express-News writes. The idea, according to Popovich, is to make Murray learn and feel part of the group instead of sitting alone in the locker room during games. Murray suffered a torn ACL in the Spurs’ preseason.

NBA G League Assignments/Recalls: 11/1/18

November 1st, 2018 at 6:26pm CST by JD Shaw

Here are Thursday’s G League assignments and recalls from around the NBA:

The Rockets have assigned center Zhou Qi to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, tweets Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Qi, 22, saw one minute of action in the team’s game against Portland on Tuesday. He appeared in 18 contests with the Rockets last season.
The 76ers recalled rookie center Jonah Bolden from the Delaware Blue Coats, the club announced (Twitter link). Bolden is in uniform for the Sixers’ game against the Clippers Thursday night. He was drafted by Philadelphia with the No. 36 pick in 2017, then signed a four-year deal with the club this summer after playing with Maccabi Tel Aviv.

Rockets Among Front-Runners For Butler

October 31st, 2018 at 11:00pm CST by Arthur Hill

Despite being mentioned as a possible candidate in the Jimmy Butler sweepstakes, the Mavericks have no interest in trying to acquire the star forward from the Timberwolves, tweets Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. He lists the Rockets, Sixers and Heat as the top candidates, in that order, and states that the Lakers may make a strong bid as well.
No team has gotten off to a more disappointing start than the Rockets, who went from the league’s best record last year to one of the worst over the first two weeks of this season. Tim Bontemps of The Washington Post examines what has gone wrong in Houston and wonders whether the team was too focused on saving money this offseason. Bontemps agrees that it made financial sense to let Trevor Ariza and Luc Mbah a Moute leave in free agency, especially considering the luxury tax implications of keeping them, but he questions why the Rockets didn’t use any of their mid-level exception and why they dealt Ryan Anderson for Brandon Knight and Marquese Chriss, who may both struggle to get playing time.

Rockets Won’t Pick Up Option On Marquese Chriss

October 31st, 2018 at 5:55pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets have declined their fourth-year option on Marquese Chriss, tweets ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Houston hasn’t seen Chriss in action much since acquiring him two months ago in a trade with the Suns. An ankle injury sidelined him for most of the preseason and the start of the regular season, and he just made his official debut with the team last night.

Chriss, who will be an unrestricted free agent next summer, would have earned $4,078,236 next season, which is now the maximum the Rockets can offer him in the first year of a new contract. Houston is hovering near the luxury tax with $131.5MM already committed for 2019/20, which likely factored into the decision on Chriss.

The Suns were intrigued enough with Chriss’ potential to make a deal with the Kings and take him with the eighth pick in the 2016 draft. After a promising rookie year, he regressed last season, averaging 7.7 points and 5.5 rebounds in 72 games while shooting just 42% from the field.

Chriss was sent to Houston at the end of August along with Brandon Knight in a deal for Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton. He and Knight have reportedly been offered to the Timberwolves along with four draft picks in exchange for Jimmy Butler, but the Wolves don’t appear likely to accept that deal.

Today marks the two-month anniversary of the Rockets acquiring Chriss and Knight, which means both are now eligible to be aggregated in a trade. Any team that deals for Chriss would also be limited to $4,078,236 as a starting salary in a future offer.

Jimmy Butler To Sit Out Wednesday As He Continues Push For Trade

October 31st, 2018 at 1:24pm CST by Luke Adams

1:24pm: There’s a belief within the Timberwolves that Butler could target specific games to sit out, league sources tell ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. However, he’s unlikely to miss high-profile matchups like Friday’s game against the Warriors, according to Wojnarowski, who adds that Butler is expected to play in Golden State.

According to both Wojnarowski and Krawczynski, Butler’s camp remains frustrated with the Wolves’ inaction on his trade request and wants owner Glen Taylor to speed up the process. There’s a “collective belief” among Butler’s suitors that Thibodeau isn’t looking to seriously negotiate a trade yet, sources tell Woj.

Addressing the Rockets’ offer specifically, Krawczynski notes that Minnesota isn’t interested in taking on Knight’s contract. The Rockets have made “no progress” on a Butler deal with the Wolves, tweets Sam Amick of The Athletic.

12:34pm: The situation remains fluid, according to Krawczynski, who tweets that Butler could very well return to the Timberwolves’ lineup for Friday’s game. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reports (via Twitter) that there’s an expectation Butler will fly to Golden State with the team for Friday’s game, adding that it was the Wolves that suggested the 29-year-old rest on Wednesday. Teams talking to Minnesota about Butler say the asking price remains high, per Woj.

11:57am: Jimmy Butler won’t play for the Timberwolves on Wednesday night against Utah, the team confirmed today. While the club cited “general soreness and precautionary rest” as the reasons for Butler’s absence, the four-time All-Star made the decision himself, informing head coach Tom Thibodeau of his plan this morning, according to Shams Charania and Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Charania and Krawczynski report (via Twitter) that Butler’s decision to sit tonight represents the “next step” in his continued efforts to push the Timberwolves to trade him. According to The Athletic’s duo, Butler’s absence could turn into an extended one.

If Butler is healthy enough to play and is opting to sit out against the Wolves’ wishes, the team would have grounds to dock his salary for each game he misses. It’s not clear if that’s where this is headed though — when Thibodeau initially announced the news on Butler, there was no indication that the club wasn’t on board with having him sit out Wednesday’s game.

This is just the latest development in a saga that has had its fair share of dramatic twists and turns since word of Butler’s trade request broke a week before training camps got underway. The All-NBA wing looks like a lock to be traded before February’s trade deadline, but he’s clearly hoping to force Minnesota to make a move well before then.

The Heat and Rockets have been the teams most frequently identified as suitors for Butler, though Marc Stein of The New York Times wrote on Tuesday about “steady rumbles” around the NBA that the Sixers will eventually make a push too. Miami appeared close to landing Butler at one point during the preseason with a package centered around Josh Richardson and a first-round pick, but couldn’t finalize a deal.

As for Houston, the Rockets reportedly offered Marquese Chriss, Brandon Knight, and four first-round picks for Butler. Since it has been two months since Chriss and Knight were acquired from Phoenix, those two players can now have their salaries aggregated together in a trade for salary-matching purposes, meaning that – as of today – such a deal would be allowed. However, the Wolves reportedly showed little interest in Houston’s offer, preferring a package that includes Eric Gordon.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rockets “Leaning Against” Picking Up Chriss’ Option

October 30th, 2018 at 9:22pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets are leaning against picking up Marquese Chriss‘ fourth-year option, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.com.

Chriss came to Houston along with Brandon Knight in a deal that sent out Ryan Anderson and De’Anthony Melton. The former No. 8 overall pick has yet to play this season because of an ankle injury, though he is expected to make his debut tonight against the Blazers.

Chriss won’t be the only young prospect from the 2016 draft to have his option declined. Dragan Bender and Henry Ellenson are among those who will see the same fate. Jahlil Okafor and Wesley Johnson are among the other recent top draft picks who have not made it through year four of their rookie deals.

Chriss has seen action in 154 games in his NBA career. He’s averaging 8.5 points and 4.8 rebounds per contest.

Southwest Notes: Rockets, Anthony, Jordan

October 28th, 2018 at 4:43pm CST by Eric Spyropoulos

With the Rockets dealing with several injuries and the suspension of Chris Paul, the team’s rookies have received playing time to start the season. As Jonathan Feigen writes for The Houston Chronicle, Gary Clark and Isaiah Hartenstein have been the two beneficiaries from the injuries to James Harden and James Ennis III.

Hartenstein has filled in as a backup center in recent games, as both Nene and Marquese Chriss continue to miss time due to injuries. Meanwhile, Clark has filled in minutes on the wing and power forward positions as Mike D’Antoni looks to limit P.J. Tucker‘s workload.

As Feigen notes, this playing time isn’t truly about developing the rookies. D’Antoni understands that player development isn’t the priority at the moment and admits that “the leash is awful short.”

With Ennis and Harden both expected to miss at least one more game and Nene weeks away from returning, Clark and Hartenstein should have more opportunities to show they can contribute right away. Once the Rockets are a healthy team, the rookies will be back to the end of the bench on a nightly basis.

There’s more from the Southwest division:

Amid several offseason changes, the Rockets are beginning to realize that the personnel isn’t perfectly suited to their defensive style of play. Chelsea Howard points out for The Sporting News that Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul have been vocal in calling the team to go back to the drawing board and figure out the scheme that works best for this roster.
As one of the Mavericks’ key offseason additions, DeAndre Jordan has been exactly what the team needed, Eddie Sefko writes for The Dallas Morning News. Jordan is off to a strong start, averaging 16 points, 13.8 rebounds and 2 blocks per game while hitting 84.6% of his free throws.

Wolves Demanding Eric Gordon From Rockets

October 27th, 2018 at 7:40pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Rockets‘ latest attempt to get Jimmy Butler from the Timberwolves by offering Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss and four first-round picks is a non-starter, according to Malika Andrews of ESPN, who hears from sources that Minnesota won’t consider any deal that doesn’t include Eric Gordon.

Coach Tom Thibodeau is focused on returning to the playoffs and wants a trade that will benefit the team right away. Knight and Chriss are both injured and neither has been effective over the past two seasons in Phoenix. Thibodeau still has three years and $24MM left on his contract, but there have been rumors that his job may be in jeopardy if the Wolves commit to a full rebuilding project.

Plan A for Thibodeau is to hold onto Butler for as long as possible — possibly until February’s trade deadline — to help with the playoff push, Andrews adds. However, the team is off to a 2-4 start, including a 30-point loss last night to the Bucks, so that strategy isn’t off to a great start.

Butler, who started the process with a trade request last month, has received assurances from owner Glen Taylor that the team will continue to pursue a deal, according to Andrews, who hears from sources that another serious effort will be made about 10 to 15 games into the season.

Taylor has put GM Scott Layden in charge of working out a trade while Thibodeau coaches the team. The Heat and Sixers remain interested and Taylor has been hoping both teams will consider increasing their offers.

“I don’t consider anything drama,” Butler told reporters after a season-low four-point performance Friday. “I consider it business.”