Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Lou Williams Wins Sixth Man Award

June 25th, 2018 at 8:39pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Lou Williams career year earned him the league’s Sixth Man of the Year award, it was announced at the NBA’s annual awards show. The 31-year-old Clippers guard easily beat out the other finalists, the Rockets’ Eric Gordon and the Raptors’ Fred VanVleet.

Williams had always provided instant offense off the bench during his career but he turned it a couple of notches this past season. He easily surpassed his previous scoring standards by averaging 22.6 PPG while dishing out 5.3 APG, another career best. Williams shot 43.5% from the field and 35.9% on 3-point attempts in 79 games in 19 career starts.

Williams scored 30 or more points in 17 games and blew up for a career-best 50 points against the Warriors on January 10th. Gordon won the award in 2017 while Williams was one of the finalists.

Victor Oladipo Captures Most Improved Award

June 25th, 2018 at 8:29pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Pacers guard Victor Oladipo was named the league’s Most Improved Player award, it was announced during the NBA’s annual awards broadcast.

He beat out Rockets center Clint Capela and Nets guard Spencer Dinwiddie, as expected. Oladipo blossomed into a star after getting dealt by the Thunder in the Paul George blockbuster.

Oladipo averaged 23.1 PPG, 4.3 RPG and 5.2 APG while leading the Pacers to the playoffs, where they pushed the Cavaliers to the brink before succumbing in seven games. He also shot a career-best 47.7% from the field and 37.1% from 3-point range.

Oladipo had never averaged more than 17.9 PPG in his previous four seasons.

'Strong Sense In Rockets Circles' That CP3 Will Re-Sign

June 23rd, 2018 at 3:56pm CST by Luke Adams

There’s a “strong sense in Rockets circles” that Chris Paul isn’t go anywhere this offseason as a free agent, writes Sam Amick of USA Today. While a recent report from Chris Broussard of Fox Sports hinted at possible tension between Paul and the Rockets, Amick spoke to two sources with knowledge of the situation who disputed the idea that there’s any friction there.

Broussard’s report suggested that there might be a disparity between what sort of free agent contract Paul expected when he accommodated a trade to Houston last summer and what the Rockets are willing to offer now. According to Amick, there was indeed a “mutual understanding” in 2017 of what Paul’s next contract would look like, and it’s not clear if a five-year, maximum-salary agreement will be on the table. However, it seems likely that the two sides will reach an agreement, per Amick.

Cougars Guard Rob Gray Gets Invite From Rockets

June 22nd, 2018 at 6:34pm CST by Dana Gauruder

University of Houston guard Rob Gray will play for the Rockets’ summer league team and apparently has a training-camp invite, according to Joseph Duarte of the Houston Chronicle.

Gray revealed the agreement in a text to Duarte.

“I will be playing summer league/training camp with them trying to earn a roster spot for the upcoming season,” Gray said.

Gray did not get drafted despite being a prolific scorer the past two seasons. He averaged 19.3 PPG, 4.4 APG and 3.7 RPG in his senior year while leading Houston to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, where it lost on a buzzer-beater to eventually national championship runner-up Michigan. Gray averaged 31.0 PPG and 9.0 RPG in those tournament games.

The 6’1” Gray shot 35.9% from long range last season after making 38.2% of his 3-point attempts as a junior, when he averaged 20.3 PPG.

Latest On Chris Paul, Rockets

June 22nd, 2018 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

Chris Paul is considered unlikely to leave the Rockets in free agency this summer, but an agreement between the two sides may not be a done deal quite yet. According to Chris Broussard of Fox Sports (video link), there might be a little “tension” between Paul and the Rockets.

As Broussard explains, it’s widely believed that there was a mutual understanding between Paul and the Rockets last summer that the team would give him a long-term, maximum-salary contract in 2018 after he passed up on free agency in 2017 to accommodate a trade to Houston. Now, it’s not clear if the Rockets will be willing to invest on a four- or five-year max deal for CP3.

The Rockets’ new ownership could play a role in the situation too, according to Broussard, who notes that Tilman Fertitta bought the franchise from Leslie Alexander after the team acquired Paul last summer. If Houston doesn’t put a long-term max offer on the table for Paul, the club could point to that ownership change as one reason why, Broussard suggests.

While it’s possible that the Rockets and Paul may not be on entirely the same page when it comes to his next contract, I’d be surprised if the two sides don’t get there within the next week or two. After all, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported just a few days ago that Paul was expected to return to Houston and was focusing more on LeBron James‘ free agency than his own.

The situation is somewhat reminiscent of Jrue Holiday‘s and Kyle Lowry‘s free agencies last year. In those cases, neither star point guard got a true maximum-salary contract, but they both got massive near-max deals from their previous teams, who had the ability to offer them more years and higher raises than any rival suitor. I’d anticipate a similar arrangement for Paul and the Rockets.

Cavaliers Rumors: LeBron, Sexton, K. Walker

June 22nd, 2018 at 2:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Cavaliers don’t yet know what LeBron James plans to do with his 2018/19 player option or his potential free agency, but GM Koby Altman said on Thursday night that the team has established a “good dialogue” with James’ camp, per Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com.

“I think LeBron has more than earned the right to approach his contracts the way he does. He’s done that before, so this is nothing new for us,” Altman said. “We want to respect his space during this process, and I continue to have really good dialogue with his management team as he goes through that process. That’s probably all I can say at this point regarding him, but we don’t take him for granted. We love him, this city loves him. He means the world to us and this franchise.”

While James has yet to tip his hand on his preferred destination for the 2018/19 season, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst suggested during an appearance on the network that the family aspect of LeBron’s decision probably favors the Cavs and Lakers, as opposed to team like the Rockets. Windhorst isn’t sure that James’ family would feel comfortable going to Houston (video link via Lakers Outsiders).

Here’s more on the Cavs:

A previous report indicated that LeBron’s camp is high on Alabama point guard Collin Sexton, who was drafted eighth overall by the Cavs in last night’s draft. Although the Cavs hope that the idea of playing with Sexton could appeal to James, they were comfortable picking Sexton either way, sources tell Ken Berger of Bleacher Report. According to Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com, the Cavs fully intend to keep Sexton rather than trading him.
Two league sources tell Berger that the Cavaliers continue to explore the possibility of a Kemba Walker trade with the Hornets. It’s hard to imagine such a deal being completed without the inclusion of Sexton.
Executives who spoke to Berger were extremely skeptical that the Cavaliers’ addition of Sexton would move the needle at all for LeBron. However, according to Berger, opinions among executives are split on the Cavs’ chances of retaining the future Hall-of-Famer. One Eastern Conference exec says it would take “ownership of the team” for James to stay in Cleveland, while a Western executive put the odds at 50-50.
GM Koby Altman, who said that team owner Dan Gilbert will “spare no expense” as the Cavs push for another title, spoke about the team’s next steps, per Vardon: “We have to invest in player development, we have to get better with our youth and then we have to explore opportunities to add and try to improve our talent level as well. That’s my job and we are certainly trying to attack that as we speak for sure.”

Rockets, Gary Clark Agree To Two-Way Contract

June 22nd, 2018 at 7:34am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets will fill one of their two-way contract slots for 2018/19 with undrafted rookie Gary Clark, according to ESPN’s Chris Haynes, who reports (via Twitter) that Clark and the Rockets have reached an agreement on a two-way deal.

The No. 56 prospect on Jonathan Givony’s ESPN.com big board, Clark didn’t hear his name called on Thursday night, but quickly came to terms with the West’s No. 1 seed following the draft.

In his senior year at Cincinnati in 2017/18, the 6’8″ forward did a little of everything for the Bearcats, averaging 12.9 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.4 SPG, and 1.2 BPG. He also posted an impressive .526/.435/.741 shooting line.

R.J. Hunter‘s two-way contract with the Rockets reportedly spans two seasons, so Clark seems likely to take Markel Brown‘s spot on Houston’s roster. He’ll likely spend most of his time next season with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, though two-way rules will allow him to be with the Rockets for up to 45 days during the G League season.

Jazz Trade No. 52 Pick To Rockets

June 21st, 2018 at 11:00pm CST by Austin Kent

11:00pm: Houston bought the No. 52 pick from Utah, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle tweets, so there will be no future draft picks changing hands.

10:49pm: The Jazz will trade the No. 52 pick to the Rockets, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets. Houston will select Purdue swingman Vince Edwards with the pick.

It’s not currently known what they’ll be giving up to buy back into the second round.

Edwards thrived in four seasons with the Boilermakers and could step into Houston’s rotation as a reliable, battled tested wing option. The 22-year-old shot .392 beyond the arc in four collegiate seasons.

Western Notes: Mavericks, Pelicans, Wolves, Okobo

June 21st, 2018 at 10:43pm CST by Arthur Hill

After trading for Luka Doncic, the Mavericks plan to address their need at center through free agency, tweets ESPN’s Tim MacMahon. “July 1 is right around the corner, bro,” coach Rick Carlisle said. “We’ll address it. There will be options.”

Chief among those options is expected to be DeMarcus Cousins of the Pelicans, who is still recovering from a torn Achilles he suffered in January. The Mavericks could also make a play for the Rockets‘ Clint Capela, who will be a restricted free agent, or the Clippers‘ DeAndre Jordan if he decides to opt out of his current deal. Another possibility is Dwight Howard, who is expected to reach a buyout agreement with the Nets once a trade from the Hornets is complete. Dallas has expressed interest in Howard before, and he is likely to be more affordable than ever.

There’s more tonight from the Western Conference:

The Pelicans might be worth watching in the pursuit of Howard, according to Chris Mannix of Yahoo Sports (Twitter link). Like the Mavericks, they have tried to acquire him before and he could be a low-cost replacement if they can’t re-sign Cousins.
The Timberwolves continue to pursue draft-night deals, but first-round pick Josh Okogie isn’t likely to be included, according to Jon Krawczynski of The Athletic (Twitter link).
French point guard Elie Okobo, taken by the Suns with the first pick in the second round, is expected to come to the NBA next season, tweets John Gambadoro of Arizona Sports 98.7.
The Mavericks, Nuggets and Spurs were all among the winners in tonight’s draft, according to Jonathan Givony and Mike Schmitz of ESPN. Dallas was able to trade up to get Doncic, Denver saw Michael Porter Jr. fall to No. 14 and San Antonio picked up Lonnie Walker at 18. Other teams that had a good night, according to the authors, were the Pacers, Sixers and Celtics.
There were voices in the Lakers‘ organization that wanted to trade up to get Mitchell Robinson, according to ESPN’s Ian Begley. Robinson went 36th to the Knicks.

Mavs Optimistic About Signing DeMarcus Cousins

June 21st, 2018 at 11:35am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Mavericks believe they have a strong chance of signing DeMarcus Cousins in free agency, according to Michael Scotto of The Athletic. Cousins, coming off a season-ending Achilles tendon injury, will be an unrestricted free agent next month. While the Mavericks’ interest in Cousins has previously been reported, Scotto’s story suggests the Mavericks are ready to make him a hefty offer to lure him away from the Pelicans. If the Mavs pass on Texas big man Mohamed Bamba with the No. 5 pick, that would reinforce the notion they’ll go all in to secure the services of either Cousins or the Rockets’ restricted free agent center, Clint Capela.

Scotto also has several other notable items to pass along:

The Sixers discussed the possibility of packaging the No. 10 and 26 picks, along with last year’s top pick Markelle Fultz, to move into the top five of the draft with Michael Porter Jr. as their target. However, lingering concerns over Porter’s back have cooled their interest in making that move.
Tobias Harris‘ expiring contract is part of the package the Clippers are dangling to move up in the lottery. They have back-to-back picks at Nos. 12 and 13.
The Hawks are trying to make a deal with the Clippers or Nuggets (No. 14) in order to nab Miami (Fla.) guard Lonnie Walker IV. They are looking to package their picks at Nos. 19 and 30.
The Nets are dangling point guard Spencer Dinwiddie and the No. 29 pick in order to move into the middle of the first round.
The Rockets have received calls on guard Eric Gordon and could move him in order to get a mid-first-rounder.