Rockets Rumors

The Mechanics Of Offering Four First-Round Picks

The Rockets have made the Timberwolves a trade offer for Jimmy Butler that includes four first-round picks, according to a Thursday report. However, there’s still no indication that the Wolves are close to accepting that offer, or any others, per Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).

While it may seem shocking that Minnesota would turn down an offer featuring so many first-rounders, it’s worth digging into the details on those picks to get a sense of when they might change hands and how high they might land. Various reports on Houston’s offer haven’t entirely filled in those gaps, but we can make a few deductions based on a pair of rules included in the NBA’s Collective Bargaining Agreement.

The Stepien Rule:

As we explain in a glossary entry, this rule – named after former Cavaliers owner Ted Stepien – prevents teams from making trades that leave them without first-round picks in consecutive future years. A team that traded away its 2018 first-round pick can now trade away its 2019 first-rounder. However, if that team trades its 2019 first-round pick, it would be prohibited from trading away its 2020 first-rounder, unless it has acquired another team’s ’19 or ’20 pick.

This sounds a little complicated, but the upshot is that the Rockets couldn’t simply offer their 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 first-rounders to Minnesota — they’d have to spread them out more than that, to avoid leaving themselves without first-round picks in consecutive future seasons.

The Seven-Year Rule:

The other key restriction on traded draft picks is that teams can’t trade future selections more than seven years in advance. That means that during the 2018/19 league year, the latest pick a club could trade is a 2025 selection — the 2026 draft is eight years away.


When the Hawks reportedly offered four first-round picks to the Pacers for Paul George at the 2017 trade deadline, their situation was a little different. Because Atlanta had already acquired a handful of extra first-rounders, the club could have just sent Indiana four first-rounders from the 2017, 2018, and 2019 drafts and avoided violating the Stepien rule.

The Rockets, on the other hand, don’t have the luxury of having stockpiled extra draft picks. They only hold their own. So, in order to adhere to both the Stepien rule and the seven-year-rule, Houston only has one path to putting four first-rounders on the table — they’d have to offer their 2019, 2021, 2023, and 2025 picks.

Now, typically when a team trades away a first-round pick, that pick will include some sort of protection, and will roll over to the following year if it doesn’t convey. For example, the Cavaliers owe the Hawks their 2019 first-rounder, but it’s top-10 protected. If it lands in the top 10, Cleveland would instead owe Atlanta its 2020 first-round pick, which would once again be top-10 protected.

Due to the limitations imposed by the Stepien rule and the seven-year rule, it would be very tricky for the Rockets to include similar protections on the first-rounders they’re offering to Minnesota. That 2019 first-rounder couldn’t roll over to 2020 without impacting the traded 2021 pick, due to the Stepien rule, which in turn would create a domino effect on the rest of the picks.

That doesn’t necessarily mean that all four picks would be unprotected though. Let’s say that Houston, confident in its ability to be a contender for at least the next three years, made the 2019 and 2021 first-rounders unprotected, believing that they’ll fall in the mid- to late-20s. But maybe the Rockets are less confident about that 2023 pick. In theory, they could put protections on it like the Raptors put on the pick they traded to the Spurs in the DeMar DeRozan/Kawhi Leonard blockbuster this summer.

The Raptors’ first-round pick acquired by San Antonio in that trade is top-20 protected. If it lands in the top 20, the Spurs would instead receive a pair of second-round picks (2020 and 2023). Houston could do something similar with that 2023 first-rounder — maybe it could be top-10 protected, and would turn into 2023 and 2024 second-rounders if it lands in the top 10. The Rockets could perhaps take a similar approach with that 2025 pick, though the seven-year rule would be a hindrance.

We don’t know for sure that the Rockets are going that route, but a couple reports on their latest offer indicated that there are, at least, “limited” protections on the picks they offered. If that’s the case, it would reduce the chances of one or two of those first-rounders turning into a blue chip asset, like multiple Nets picks did in their infamous trade with the Celtics. That would reduce the appeal of the offer for Minnesota.

It’s also worth noting that the Rockets would still need to send out enough salary to take back Butler’s $20.45MM salary. An Eric Gordon/P.J. Tucker combination would work, but I’m skeptical that Houston would put those players on the table in an offer that also features four first-rounders — a willingness to surrender four picks suggests a win-now mentality, and Gordon and Tucker are two players that will help the Rockets win now.

Instead, the Rockets are believed to be offering a package of Brandon Knight ($14.63MM) and Marquese Chriss ($3.21MM). Those players, acquired from Phoenix on August 31, can be aggregated in a trade two months after that deal — so, anytime after next Wednesday.

Chriss still has some upside and his cap hit is modest, but Knight hasn’t played since 2016/17 due to injuries and has another guaranteed year on his contract beyond this season, reducing his value. Neither of those players would have the sort of immediate impact that Tom Thibodeau is seeking in a trade package for Butler.

Ultimately, while a Rockets offer that features four first-round picks sounds tantalizing on the surface, there are multiple variables that could diminish the actual value of the offer, and at least a couple of those first-rounders wouldn’t change hands for at least five years.

It’s unclear whether those 2023 and 2025 picks would sway GM Scott Layden and Thibodeau, who may not be a part of the Timberwolves organization by then. Perhaps owner Glen Taylor would be more tempted by the offer, but it’s worth considering that Taylor is 77 years old and has been waiting for years for his franchise to return to contention — he also may not be enthusiastic about the idea of counting on a player drafted in 2025.

The Timberwolves still have more than three months until this season’s trade deadline, so we’ll see if they remain patient or if this latest offer helps push the saga toward a resolution.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Anthony Morrow Interested In Joining Rockets

  • Free agent Anthony Morrow is interested in joining the Rockets if the team looks for additional shooting, according to The Athletic’s Kelly Iko. “Absolutely,” Morrow said. Mike (D’Antoni) knows I love him, tell him to give me a call.”

Rockets Offer Four First-Round Picks For Jimmy Butler

The Rockets are making a renewed bid to trade for All-Star shooting guard Jimmy Butler, proposing an offer that includes four first-round draft picks, according to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Houston is likely offering first-rounders in 2019, 2021, 2023 and 2025, a proposal that could help solidify the Timberwolves’ future alongside Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns. NBA rules prohibit teams from trading first-round picks in consecutive future years or picks more than seven years in advance.

Minnesota is said to be seeking a complete haul of future assets, young players and star talent, with Butler’s original trade request reaching the public more than a month ago. Butler has remained on the roster over a week into the season as the team continues to sift through potential trade packages.

Wolves owner Glen Taylor could have more interest in future assets than president Tom Thibodeau, who has prioritized a win-now mentality by seeking proposals that can help the team in the present day.

“When you look at Jimmy (Butler), he’s a top-10 player in the league,” Thibodeau said at Media Day last month. “We’re not going to make a bad deal. If it’s a good deal, then we’re interested.”

For Houston, the trade proposal shows their willingness to go all-in on a deep playoff run this season. Talks between the two teams are currently fluid, according to the ESPN.com report. The Rockets are currently dealing with injuries to James Harden, Nene and James Ennis, along with Chris Paul‘s  multi-game suspension.

Butler, a top two-way player in the NBA, has averaged 24.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.8 steals in four games this season. He most recently requested to Wolves management that he be traded to the Heat, another team with longstanding interest in him. It’s unclear if he’d have interest in re-signing with the Rockets on a long-term deal once he reaches free agency in July of 2019.

Rockets Notes: Nene, Harden, Ennis, D’Antoni

Rockets big man Nene will miss at least two weeks of action due to a right calf strain, the team announced on Thursday (Twitter link). Nene underwent an MRI on Wednesday after feeling additional pain caused by the injury.

Nene, a 17-year NBA veteran, experienced a setback this week and re-aggravated his calf, according to The Athletic’s Kelly Iko (Twitter link). It’s possible that he winds up being sidelined 3-4 weeks.

Nene is in his third season with the Rockets, providing depth in the frontcourt and a veteran presence essential to contending teams. He averaged 6.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 14.6 minutes per contest in 52 games last season.

There’s more news out of Houston today:

  • James Harden will miss the next two games after suffering a Grade 1-Plus left hamstring strain, the club announced. Harden left Wednesday’s game against the Jazz early in the fourth quarter and underwent an MRI Thursday morning. He will be reevaluated again next week, a crushing blow to a team already without suspended guard Chris Paul.
  • The Rockets also announced a third injury, revealing that forward James Ennis sustained a Grade-2 right hamstring strain during the fourth quarter of Sunday’s road game against the Clippers. Ennis will miss the next two games and is set to be reevaluated next week.
  • Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni sat down with The Athletic’s Sam Amick to discuss the current team, his time with the Suns and the strong locker room dynamic in Houston this year. The Rockets fought through a close seven-game series with the Warriors in May, showing the heart and promise lying within their talented roster.

Latest On Jimmy Butler

With the 2018/19 regular season underway, trade chatter around the NBA has quieted down for the time being. Typically, teams don’t complete many trades near the start of the season, since they’re still taking stock of what they have on their rosters — plus, many players don’t become eligible to be dealt until December.

Still, given all the Jimmy Butler trade rumors we heard in the weeks leading up to opening night, it’s a little jarring how quickly those rumors were put on the back burner, as Butler plays alongside the teammates he reportedly berated in practice earlier this month.

Appearing this week on The HoopsHype podcast with Alex Kennedy, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst revisited the Butler situation, exploring where things stand at the moment, and discussing when a deal might get done. Here are a few highlights from that conversation:

  • Although team owner Glen Taylor acknowledged that the Timberwolves almost certainly have to trade Butler before February’s deadline, Windhorst thinks it might be “a while” before a deal is completed.
  • As Windhorst observes, the Heat always appeared to be the most logical trade partner for Minnesota, but they didn’t want to bid against themselves. When Miami backed off trade talks before the season began, the club was betting that the Timberwolves had no other viable trade possibilities out there for Butler, and that might be true, says Windhorst.
  • While the Heat and Rockets, who won’t have cap room in 2019, have reason to pursue Butler in an in-season trade, teams with cap space can afford to be more patient, especially if the four-time All-Star won’t turn them into a title contender right away. Windhorst points to the Clippers as one team that won’t go all-in for Butler on the trade market when they could have an opportunity to go after him in free agency in the summer.
  • Interestingly, Windhorst identifies the Mavericks as one of the teams that still has interest in Butler. We heard last month that the Mavs had gauged the asking price for the All-NBA swingman, but a report out of Dallas suggested that it wasn’t a realistic landing spot for him. Like the Clippers, Dallas will have cap space in 2019.
  • Windhorst believes that, while they won’t say so publicly, several of the young players on the Timberwolves‘ roster will be “excited” if and when Butler is dealt.

2019/20 Rookie Option Decisions Due In One Week

Unlike player and team options on veteran contracts, which generally have to be exercised or declined by the end of June, rookie scale contracts include third- and fourth-year options that teams must decide on a year early. The deadline for those decisions is October 31, which means that clubs have one more week to pick up or turn down those rookie scale options for the 2019/20 season.

While several teams have already announced their rookie scale option decisions for 2019/20, there are 14 clubs that will need to decide one way or the other on those options within the next week.

Below, we’ve listed the outstanding rookie scale option decisions for 2019/20, sorting them by their likelihood of being exercised. The first list features options that are certain to be exercised, such as Ben Simmons‘ or Jayson Tatum‘s. The second list features the rest of the options, which may still be picked up, but aren’t necessarily locks.

Let’s dive in…

Locks to be exercised:

Not necessarily locks to be exercised:

Because rookie scale salaries are typically so affordable, many of the options that we don’t view as locks to be picked up will still be exercised. For instance, even if Labissiere barely has a role in the Kings’ crowded frontcourt at the moment, Sacramento doesn’t have much guaranteed money on its books for 2019/20 and may view a $2,338,847 cap hit for the big man as a worthwhile investment.

Still, many of the players in that second list don’t currently have sizable rotation roles, so teams will have to decide whether it’s worth it to continue trying to develop those players in 2019/20, or if it makes more sense to simply replace them with minimum-salary veterans. That could be an especially tricky question for teams that project to be over the luxury tax line next season — in those cases, every saved dollar matters.

For a full list of the rookie scale options for 2019/20, including the ones that have already been picked up, check out our tracker.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Rondo Calls CP3 “Horrible Teammate,” Denies Spitting

Three days after participating in an on-court altercation between the Lakers and Rockets, and two days after being suspended for his involvement in that fight, Rajon Rondo told ESPN on Tuesday that he didn’t intentionally spit on Chris Paul, and offered some harsh criticism of the Houston point guard.

“I had a mouthpiece in my mouth and I exasperated because I was about to tell him to ‘Get the [expletive] out of here,'” Rondo said. “Look at my body language [in the video]. My hands on my hips. I turn away for a second. Look at Eric [Gordon] and Melo [Carmelo Anthony] in the video. If they saw me spit, they would have turned their face up or something. They had no reaction.”

Rondo, who was displeased that he received a longer suspension than Paul, bemoaned the fact that both the NBA and the media – in his view – sided with CP3’s account of what happened on Saturday. League sources tell ESPN that Rondo claimed he was provoked into throwing a punch at Paul after the Rockets guard poked a finger into his face and left a scratch under his eye.

Arguing that Paul’s actions to “provoke the situation” were overlooked, Rondo suggested that the media-created images of the two point guards contributed to that portrayal of the incident.

“Everyone wants to believe Chris Paul is a good guy. They don’t know he’s a horrible teammate,” Rondo said. “They don’t know how he treats people. Look at what he did last year when he was in L.A.; trying to get to the Clippers locker room. They don’t want to believe he’s capable of taunting and igniting an incident.”

While Rondo has never played on the same team as Paul, this isn’t the first time we’ve heard claims that CP3 isn’t a perfect teammate. During the final years of the Lob City era in Los Angeles, there were rumors that Paul rubbed teammates like Blake Griffin the wrong way and often didn’t see eye-to-eye with head coach Doc Rivers.

The Rockets and Lakers will meet again on December 13 in Houston.

Injury Updates: Cousins, Howard, Knight, Murray

Warriors center DeMarcus Cousins is making good progress from his torn left Achilles tendon and will be “integrated into controlled aspects of team practices” in the near future, according to a team release. He is not ready to participate in scrimmages at this point but he will continue off-court strength and conditioning, the release adds. While the news is encouraging, it’s apparent that Cousins won’t see the court any time soon. Golden State will take it slow with its surprise free agent prize to make sure he’s healthy for the postseason. Golden State hasn’t set a timetable for his return. Cousins signed a one-year, $5.3MM pact with the aim of winning a ring before returning to the free agent market.

We have more injury-related news from around the league:

  • Dwight Howard didn’t travel with the Wizards for the start of their five-game road trip, Candace Buckner of the Washington Post tweets. Howard returned to practice last week after suffering a buttocks injury during training camp but has yet to make his Washington debut. It’s possible Howard could rejoin the team during the trip but the fact that he didn’t travel to Portland for the game on Monday night suggests his return is not imminent.
  • Rockets point guard Brandon Knight isn’t close to returning, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reports. Acquired from the Suns in late August, Knight sat out last season after surgery on his left ACL. He then developed an infection after another minor procedure during the offseason that dramatically set back his rehab, according to Feigen. There’s no timetable for Knight’s return. “I feel it’s going well,” Knight said. “Every day I’m working hard to feel like my normal self, to get back to playing, game mode. It’s tough to put a timetable on things. Just going day-by-day and attack each day as best I can and win the day. That’s kind of how I look at it.”
  • Spurs guard Dejounte Murray underwent knee surgery on Friday, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Murray suffered a torn right ACL during a preseason game and is expected to miss the season.

Suspensions Handed Out To Ingram, Rondo, Paul

As expected, the three players at the forefront of the scuffle that broke out in last night’s game between the Rockets and Lakers have received suspensions. Adrian Wojnarowski has reported (via Twitter) that Brandon Ingram will be suspended for four games, Rajon Rondo three games and that Chris Paul will sit for two games.

As a result of these suspensions, Ingram and Rondo will miss the Lakers’ upcoming games against the Spurs, Suns and Nuggets (with Ingram missing another contest against the Spurs later in the week). Meanwhile, Paul will sit out games against the Clippers and Jazz before returning to action.

Financially speaking, Bobby Marks of ESPN has reported (Twitter link) that Ingram will lose $158,816 for his four game suspension, Rondo will lose $186,207 for his three missed games and Paul will miss out on $491,782 for the two games he will be suspended for. The financial penalties are based on total salary divided by 145 for each game of the suspension.

Marks also notes that the Rockets will receive a $245,891 credit (half of Paul’s lost salary) that will be applied to their luxury tax at the end of the season.

These suspensions were inevitable, as all three players played key roles in the back-and-forth late in the fourth quarter of last night’s game.

Texas Notes: Mbah a Moute, Anthony, Mavericks, DeRozan

Luc Mbah a Moute only played one season with the Rockets, but he admits it’s going to be an odd feeling when he faces his former teammates tonight, relays Mirjam Swanson of The Daily Bulletin. Mbah a Moute came to Houston as a free agent last summer at the urging of Chris Paul, then returned to the Clippers over the offseason after receiving a one-year, $4.3MM offer.

“It’s always, always [weird],” said Mbah a Moute, who has been with six organizations in his 10-year career. “Especially that team, we had a really good team and a chance to do something special, so it’s going to be weird, but I look forward to it.”

Mbah a Moute provided a strong defensive presence off the bench for the Rockets. He averaged 7.5 PPG and shot .364 from 3-point range, but a late-season shoulder injury limited his effectiveness in the playoffs.

There’s more NBA news from the Lone Star State:

  • Carmelo Anthony seems like an uncomfortable fit with a Rockets team that emphasizes 3-point shooting, and a look at the stats shows he will have to change his game to be effective in Houston, according to Ben Alamar of ESPN.
  • The future the Mavericks envision was on display in Saturday’s win over the Timberwolves, writes Eddie Sefko of The Dallas Morning News. First-round pick Luka Doncic had 26 points and six rebounds, while last year’s star rookie, Dennis Smith Jr., poured in 19 points, including the game-winning shot. “Hey, if that was a peek at the future, it’s looking good,” said J.J. Barea. “Great win. And you see Luka. He just plays the game. And Junior, he had foul trouble, stuck with it and made the big shot. He took a tough shot and made it. They’re tough.”
  • DeMar DeRozan has adapted quickly to his new situation with the Spurs, relays Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express News. DeRozan had a difficult time changing teams after nine seasons in Toronto, but he’s averaging 28.0 PPG through his first two games with San Antonio. “He’s absorbed everything we’ve given him so far, knowing full well it’s a new system,” coach Gregg Popovich said. “It will take some time for him to feel totally comfortable, but he’s highly intelligent. It’s the NBA, it’s not rocket science so he’s picking it up pretty quickly.”
  • Former Spurs forward DeJuan Blair is back in the organization after being drafted by Austin in Saturday’s G League draft, McDonald adds in the same story.