Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets, Clint Capela Far Apart On Contract Negotiations

July 8th, 2018 at 9:34pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Restricted free agent Clint Capela remains without a deal and there’s a major difference between the Rockets‘ financial valuation of Capela and what the center believes he is worth, as sources tell Kelly Iko of RocketsWire.

Shortly after free agency began, the Rockets met with Capela in Los Angeles and their initial offer was similar to the four-year, $53MM deal that Jusuf Nurkic received from the Blazers, according to Iko’s two sources. Capela may be seeking a contract in the realm of four years and $80MM, close to the deal that Zach LaVine just inked.

Houston wants to keep Capela, though the franchise prefers not to overpay. Capela’s camp may be hard pressed to find a lucrative deal on the open market, with several thought-to-be suitors going in different directions. The Mavs opted to sign DeAndre Jordan; The Suns have their center of the future in Deandre Ayton; and the Lakers, a team that also met with Capela last week, exhausted most of their cap space on LeBron James and a cast of veterans.

The Hawks are roughly $20MM under the salary cap, putting them in position to make a sizable offer. However, Atlanta is reportedly focused on using its cap space to acquire player-friendly contracts in exchange for assets. The Kings have slightly less cap room than the Hawks, but pairing Capela with No. 2 overall pick Marvin Bagley III in the frontcourt would be an awkward fit, and Sacramento has other bigs it likes, such as Harry Giles.

Capela is the top remaining free agent left on the market, according to our 2018 rankings. The big man was ranked No. 6 overall, coming in behind LBJ, Durant, Nikola Jokic, Paul George, and teammate Chris Paul.

Chris Paul Signs Four-Year Max Deal With Rockets

July 8th, 2018 at 10:41am CST by Luke Adams

JULY 8: The new contract with Paul is official, the Rockets announced on Twitter.

JUNE 30: The Rockets will lock up Chris Paul to a long-term deal, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, who reports (via Twitter) that the All-Star point guard has agreed to a four-year, maximum-salary contract with Houston.

As our breakdown of max salaries for 2018/19 shows, a four-year max for Paul should be worth $159,730,592.

Paul turned in a stellar season in his first year in Houston, dispelling any concerns about his ability to mesh with James Harden. Paul averaged 18.6 points and 7.9 assists and helped the Rockets post the NBA’s best record at 65-17. However, he suffered a hamstring injury late in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals and missed the last two games as Houston fell to the Warriors.

The big payday for Paul comes a year after he bypassed free agency and opted in to the final year of his $24.6MM contract to help facilitate a trade from the Clippers to the Rockets. At the time, there was a belief that CP3 and the Rockets had a general understanding that the team would take care of him when he eventually reached unrestricted free agency.

That turned out to be the case, though the 33-year-old was eligible for a full max contract over five seasons, so Houston got a bit of a break with a four-year deal.

With Paul locked up, the Rockets will now shift their focus to retaining key contributors like Clint Capela and Luc Mbah a Moute. If Houston re-signs Capela to a lucrative new deal, team salary figures to exceed the luxury tax threshold for 2018/19.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Would Rockets Be Good Fit For Carmelo Anthony?

July 7th, 2018 at 11:59am CST by Luke Adams

ESPN’s Kevin Pelton explores whether Carmelo Anthony – who is headed for a split with the Thunder – would fit best with the Lakers, Heat, or Rockets, three teams said to be interested in his services.

Rockets, Heat, Lakers Expected To Have Interest In Carmelo Anthony

July 6th, 2018 at 1:18pm CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder intend to part ways with Carmelo Anthony this summer, whether that means trading him, waiving and stretching him, or buying him out and stretching him. With a trade considered a long shot, potential suitors for Anthony expect him to reach the open market, at which point he’ll likely be “pursued vigorously” by contending teams, per ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarwoski and Royce Young.

According to Wojnarowski and Young, the Rockets, Heat, and Lakers are among the teams expected to express interest in Anthony. Word of Houston’s interest was first tweeted by Marc Stein of The New York Times.

The Rockets have their $5.337MM taxpayer mid-level exception available and pursued Anthony last summer. Heading to Houston would allow Anthony to compete for a title and join old friend Chris Paul.

Anthony could also team up with a close friend in Los Angeles, with LeBron James poised to sign with the Lakers. L.A. still has about $5.6MM in cap room available, so the club would be able to offer Carmelo more than the minimum.

As for the Heat, they haven’t used any of their mid-level exception, so they’d be able to go up to $5.337MM, or perhaps even higher if they’re willing to hard-cap themselves. They might not be as close to title contention as the Rockets or Lakers, but the Heat could have a clearer path to a deep playoff run than L.A. at least, given how much more competitive the West will be. They’d also have a Banana-Boater on their roster if Dwyane Wade opts to return.

Recognizing that the Thunder will have to let him go at some point, Anthony may not be incentivized to surrender much money in a buyout agreement with Oklahoma City. However, if he knows he has a $5MM+ offer lined up with another team, it could push him to give up a little of his Thunder salary to accelerate the process.

Trevor Ariza Signs One-Year Deal With Suns

July 6th, 2018 at 12:15pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 6: Ariza’s deal with the Suns is now official, the team confirmed in a press release. “Phoenix was the most aggressive team and the team that showed the most interest in me,” Ariza said today at his introductory press conference. “We all want to feel appreciated and wanted. When a team shows that much appreciation for what you do, naturally you are attracted to something like that.” (Twitter link from Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).

JUNE 30: The Suns and Trevor Ariza have reached an agreement on a one-year, $15MM contract, reports Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Phoenix will use most – if not all – of its available cap room to complete the signing.

Ariza, who turns 33 on Saturday, averaged 11.7 PPG and 4.4 RPG with a .368 3PT% in 67 regular-season games for the Rockets. While his season ended on a low note following an 0-for-12 shooting performance in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals, the veteran played a key role in Houston, knocking down corner threes and playing excellent perimeter defense. His departure will be a blow to the West’s No. 1 seed.

The Suns, meanwhile, continue to add depth to their frontcourt. In the last two drafts, Phoenix has used lottery picks to add Josh Jackson and Mikal Bridges. The team also locked up T.J. Warren to a long-term extension that will take effect this year.

Given Phoenix’s need in the backcourt, the decision to devote the majority of its available cap room to Ariza is a little surprising. However, three-and-D wings are one of the most coveted assets in the modern NBA, and Ariza will provide veteran locker-room leadership as part of a young Suns roster.

While it’s not clear how the Suns will address their hole at the point, their deal with Ariza could be good news for a team like the Raptors, who had been concerned that Phoenix might sign Fred VanVleet to an aggressive offer sheet, tweets Ryan Wolstat of The Toronto Sun. The Suns seem likely to be in the market for a less expensive point guard now.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Free Agent Rumors: Mbah A Moute, Capela, Nwaba

July 6th, 2018 at 11:01am CST by Luke Adams

While the Rockets secured their top target in free agency over the weekend when they reached a four-year, maximum-salary contract agreement with Chris Paul, the club has plenty of other free agents to address.

Houston agreed to re-sign Gerald Green, but lost Trevor Ariza to Phoenix, increasing the pressure to re-sign Luc Mbah a Moute. For his part, Mbah a Moute is very open to a return, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.

“Of course, I want to be here, yeah,” Mbah a Moute said. “I think we had a great year last year. I had a good year. The team did great, a game away from the Finals. Hopefully, we’ll bring everybody back. I know Trevor left. But to bring everybody else back and have the same team and try to go at it again, (that) is what I’m hoping to do. We’ll see what happens.”

Here are a few other free agent notes and rumors, including more on the Rockets:

Clint Capela is perhaps the top free agent still on the board, and his restricted free agency will be fascinating to watch. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst reported earlier this week that – after meeting with the Rockets – Capela’s agent called at least 10 teams around the league, perhaps exploring whether any club might be willing to do an offer sheet (Twitter link via Ben DuBose). However, Orazio Cauchi of Sportando hears from a source that potential suitors are wary of Houston matching any offer.
Cauchi’s source suggests that Capela may be leaning toward signing his qualifying offer, which would allow the big man to become an unrestricted free agent and sign with any team in 2019. Of course, that could be a negotiating tactic — if the Rockets are worried about the possibility of Capela bolting a year from now, it may push them to increase their current offer to him. For what it’s worth, the initial offer from Houston was considered “disappointing” by Capela’s camp, according to Cauchi’s source.
Bulls restricted free agent David Nwaba has received a “barrage” of interest from around the NBA, tweets Jordan Schultz of Yahoo Sports. We heard earlier this week that Chicago was open to sign-and-trade offers for Nwaba.
Kevin Arnovitz of ESPN.com passes along some chatter on free agency from NBA executives at the Utah Summer League this week, while Sean Deveney of The Sporting News identifies some of free agency’s winners and losers so far.

Rockets Sign Pair, Waive Aaron Jackson

July 5th, 2018 at 4:28pm CST by Austin Kent

The Rockets have signed undrafted rookie Gary Clark and second-round pick Vince Edwards, the team announced in a press release. Shortly thereafter, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweeted that the franchise had parted ways with Aaron Jackson, whom they inked at the end of the 2017/18 campaign.

Although terms of the signings have not yet been revealed, it was reported last month that the club had come to terms on a two-way deal with at least Clark. There’s no mention of a two-way contract in Houston’s announcement, so it’s possible Clark received a standard NBA contract, perhaps with an Exhibit 10 attachments. A team can convert an Exhibit 10 contract into to a two-way deal prior to the start of the regular season.

Clark, a renowned rebounding threat out of Cincinnati, spent four seasons with the Bearcats before going undrafted last month. Edwards, similarly, just played out his senior season with Purdue before Houston made him a second-round pick in June.

Jackson, the 32-year-old guard who played a single regular season game for the Rockets last April and played sparingly for the club in the postseason, is expected to pursue a new deal in China, perhaps returning to the Beijing Ducks, Yahoo Sports’ Shams Charania reports. His salary for 2018/19 was non-guaranteed.

DeMarcus Cousins Rumors: Lakers, Rockets, More

July 4th, 2018 at 12:36pm CST by Luke Adams

DeMarcus Cousins‘ free agent decision probably won’t ultimately have the same impact as LeBron James‘ move to the Lakers, but Cousins’ agreement with the Warriors has generated even more discussion over the past couple days based on the shock factor. While many NBA observers expected James to land in L.A., few saw Boogie heading to the reigning champions.

We’ve already relayed several sets of Cousins-related notes, rumors, and other leftovers, but they continue to trickle in today, so we’ve got a few more to round up. Let’s dive in…

The Lakers are fans of Cousins, but felt like they had to pass on him this year because they want to be as competitive as possible in 2018/19 and couldn’t afford to wait on the big man’s recovery from his torn Achilles, league sources tell Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter links). Cousins is trying to make it back for training camp, but is expected to be sidelined until December or January.
ESPN’s Zach Lowe echoes Stein’s sentiment, tweeting that the Lakers never had serious interest in acquiring Cousins this summer, even after trade talks for Kawhi Leonard stalled (at least for now). Stein had reported last night that the Lakers had the opportunity to sign Cousins “at a one-year price point similar to the one that landed him in Golden State.”
According to Sam Amick of USA Today (Twitter link), the Rockets – who also theoretically could have offered Cousins the taxpayer mid-level exception – didn’t consider him a good fit, and had “zero interest.” Amick and Lowe (Twitter links) both point out that not being guaranteed a starting spot may not have appealed to Cousins anyway. Houston remains “all-in” on starting center Clint Capela and plans to match any offer sheet he signs, Amick notes.
In a full article for USA Today, Amick explores the history of notable NBA players suffering Achilles injuries, examining how Cousins’ career might be impacted going forward.

Rockets Sign Michael Carter-Williams To One-Year Deal

July 3rd, 2018 at 1:02pm CST by Luke Adams

JULY 7: The Rockets have officially signed Carter-Williams, per the NBA’s transactions log.

JULY 3: The Rockets have reached an agreement to sign free agent point guard Michael Carter-Williams, reports ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski (Twitter links). According to Wojnarowski, it’ll be a one-year, minimum salary contract for Carter-Williams in Houston.

Carter-Williams, 26, is only four years removed from being named the NBA’s Rookie of the Year, but he has seen his playing time and his production slip precipitously since then in stints with the Sixers, Bucks, Bulls, and Hornets.

In 2017/18, Carter-Williams backed up Kemba Walker in Charlotte, but had the worst season of his five-year NBA career, averaging just 4.6 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 2.2 APG with a .332/.237/.820 shooting line in 52 games (16.1 MPG).

Carter-Williams is an interesting addition for the Rockets, who have James Harden and Chris Paul share ball-handling duties and generally focus on acquiring perimeter players who can make outside shots. Carter-Williams will be able to step in as the backup point guard if either Harden or Paul go down with an injury, and should get minutes even when both players are healthy. However, the 25.0% career three-point shooter isn’t a threat from beyond the arc.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets, having reached agreements with Paul, Carter-Williams, and Gerald Green, the Rockets now have about $119MM in salaries on their books for 2018/19, with restricted free agent Clint Capela still requiring a new deal. Houston will also have the $5.337MM taxpayer’s mid-level exception to use in free agency.

Carter-Williams’ deal will count for $1.51MM against the Rockets’ cap, though he’ll earn $1.76MM.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Lakers Notes: LeBron, Leonard, Roster, Outlook

July 2nd, 2018 at 9:09am CST by Luke Adams

While he didn’t play a part in revealing LeBron James‘ new home this time around, Lee Jenkins of Sports Illustrated has penned another excellent piece on LeBron’s latest decision. According to Jenkins, James initially narrowed down his preferred landing spots to the Lakers, Cavaliers, Sixers, and Rockets, instructing agent Rich Paul to research those organizations and give him feedback when he returned from a June vacation.

While the Rockets became a long shot after James opted out of his previous contract, the four-time MVP planned communications with the Cavaliers and Sixers at the start of free agency. The Lakers were his primary focus though, according to Jenkins, who notes that LeBron spoke to Kobe Bryant on the phone before meeting with Magic Johnson on Saturday night.

As Jenkins details, despite speculation that a second star like Kawhi Leonard or Paul George might be required to lure James to the Lakers, the future Hall-of-Famer had no problem being “the first headliner through the door.” Per Jenkins, LeBron believes that the Lakers have the recruiters, assets, and cap space necessary to build a lasting contender.

Here’s more on the Lakers’ and LeBron’s arrival:

Although he was strongly considering the Lakers before sitting down with Johnson on Saturday night, James wanted to meet face-to-face and see if he and the Lakers’ president of basketball operations could “find a trust” before he made a final decision, sources tells Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.com (Twitter links). Tania Ganguli of The Los Angeles Times has more details on that Saturday meeting between the former and future Lakers stars.
The Lakers‘ status as an iconic franchise and the ability to live full time in Los Angeles with his family were important factors in James’ decision, two people with knowledge of the situation tell Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today. Zillgitt also notes that the Sixers worked hard to trade for Leonard as a selling point while recruiting James, but never made serious traction with the Spurs.
Kevin O’Connor latest article for The Ringer cites multiple league sources who say that the Lakers‘ offers for Leonard have been “underwhelming.” However, O’Connor acknowledges that could change now that the team has secured a commitment from James. A package that sends Brandon Ingram, Julius Randle (via sign-and-trade), multiple first-round picks, and possibly Josh Hart to the Spurs could work, in the view of O’Connor’s sources.
James’ business and basketball worlds will come together in Los Angeles, as Sam Amick of USA Today details in his piece on LeBron’s decision.
Kevin Pelton of ESPN.com takes a closer look at how good the Lakers can be with their current roster and how they can become legit title contenders.
We examined the Lakers‘ cap situation for 2018/19 earlier today.