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Spend Christmas With Us

December 25th, 2017 at 11:10am CST by Arthur Hill

One of the many great things about Christmas is a full slate of NBA games that begins at 11am Central and stretches throughout the day. We at Hoops Rumors welcome our readers to use this post to comment on all of today’s action.

The games tip off with a showcase of some of the league’s brightest young stars as the Knicks host the Sixers. Philadelphia center Joel Embiid has been medically cleared to play, joining teammate Ben Simmons and New York’s Kristaps Porzingis and Frank Ntilikina in a look at the NBA’s future.

The spotlight game of the day comes next as the Warriors host the Cavaliers in a rematch of the past three NBA Finals. Both teams come into the contest near the top of their conferences and a fourth straight Finals clash seems likely, if not inevitable. Even though Stephen Curry will be sidelined and Isaiah Thomas isn’t quite ready to return, Cleveland-Golden State games are always special.

The Wizards and Celtics are next in a rematch of their thrilling series in last year’s Eastern Conference semifinals. It’s a battle of two of the league’s best point guards as John Wall faces Kyrie Irving in Boston’s first home Christmas Day game in 69 years.

Following that, last year’s top two vote-getters in the MVP race will be on display as Russell Westbrook and the Thunder host James Harden and the Rockets. The addition of Chris Paul has helped Houston post the league’s best record at 25-6. The additions of Paul George and Carmelo Anthony were supposed to do the same for Oklahoma City, which may be coming together with four straight wins after a slow start.

The night will end at Staples Center as the Lakers host the Northwest Division-leading Timberwolves. Lonzo Ball will miss the game with a sprained left shoulder, but Rookie of the Year candidate Kyle Kuzma is still worth watching as L.A. faces Jimmy Butler and the new-look Wolves.

The staff of Hoops Rumors extends Merry Christmas wishes to all our readers. Thank you for your loyalty throughout the year and please consider spending part of your holiday with us.

Rockets Recall Zhou Qi

December 22nd, 2017 at 9:04pm CST by Austin Kent

The Rockets recalled Zhou Qi from the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets.

Market For Clint Capela Difficult To Read

December 22nd, 2017 at 3:29pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Rockets and Clint Capela did not come to an agreement on a rookie contract extension, but the two sides had “very introductory” talks before the season, The Ringer’s Kevin O’Connor reports. As a result, the big man will become a restricted free agent and O’Connor is hearing a wide range of predictions from league executives with regard to his next contract.

Some executives believe Capela will land an annual salary as low as $10MM, in the Kelly Olynyk range, while others are more bullish, believing that Capela could command as much as $20MM per season on his next deal.

External factors may play a role in his price tag. There won’t be many teams with an abundance of cap space and the lottery is expected to be flushed with talented bigs. Both factors could drive his market value down. Regardless, O’Connor believes that it’s unlikely we see a scenario similar to Nerlen Noel’s. Capela is having a strong season, making 69.4% of his attempts and sporting a 27.3 player efficiency rating, and opposing teams are fully aware of his breakout campaign.

Rockets Notes: LeBron, Paul, Morey

December 22nd, 2017 at 1:27pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Earlier this month, it was reported that the Rockets believe they have a chance to land LeBron James in free agency this summer and Zach Lowe of ESPN.com echoes those reports in his latest piece.

Lowe writes that the team will go after James while planning a long-term deal for Chris Paul, who will turn 33 in May. Giving a point guard a max deal at that age may make most franchises think twice. However, the team believes the potential reward of a championship during James Harden‘s prime outweighs the risk of having an expensive declining veteran on the books.

“We think we have a five-year window with Chris and James,” Coach Mike D’Antoni tells Lowe.

GM Daryl Morey knows it will be up to Paul to return to Houston, but added that the franchise feels good about having him around long-term.

Here’s more from Houston:

Winning a championship will require the Rockets to beat several teams in the postseason, though they are “obsessed” with taking down one team in particular. “It’s the only thing we think about,” Morey recently said on ESPN Radio’s The Ryen Russillo Show. “I think I’m not supposed to say that, but we’re basically obsessed with ‘How do we beat the Warriors?’
Morey added (in the same segment) that in approximately 90% of the team’s simulations, Houston will have to go through Golden State to win the title and he admitted that much of the team’s offseason decisions were made with that in mind. “…we’ve gotta obviously beat the Warriors at some point. So we’re extremely focused on that. A lot of our signings and what we do during the year is based on that,” Morey said.

Rockets Will Be Cautious With Latest Chris Paul Injury

December 21st, 2017 at 4:29pm CST by Austin Kent

The Rockets are going to take their time with Chris Paul‘s left adductor strain, head coach Mike D’Antoni told Mark Berman of Fox 26 and the media. Paul will miss Friday night’s contest and be considered day-to-day. This isn’t the first time the squad has been very conservative with their fancy new superstar point guard.

Knicks Rumors: Carmelo, P. Jackson, Porzingis

December 21st, 2017 at 8:56am CST by Luke Adams

After a year of non-stop drama, there’s an air of optimism and hopefulness surrounding the Knicks that was noticeably absent during last season’s Phil Jackson vs. Carmelo Anthony standoff, writes Ian Begley of ESPN. While the Knicks have had played well, with a 16-14 record so far, their on-court success isn’t the only thing contributing to the positive mood within the organization, as one team source tells Begley.

“Everyone just seems a little lighter,” the source said. “The drama Phil created with Carmelo really affected the team and the joy factor.”

In an in-depth piece for ESPN, Begley revisits that Jackson-and-Anthony saga, highlighting some of the incidents and confrontations that ultimately led to both men leaving the franchise. Begley’s feature is worth checking out in full, especially for Knicks fans, but here are a few highlights:

Some members of the organization knew back in summer 2015 that they wanted to trade Anthony, and by the following year, that sentiment was shared by virtually all of the Knicks‘ top decision-makers, says Begley. “The feeling in meetings was almost unanimous: They felt he just wasn’t a winning player,” one source said. “They thought they could turn everything around if they just moved him.” Anthony was aware of this stance, despite some of those execs insisting they were still on his side, which was a big reason why he soured on the organization.
Jackson regularly interrupted Knicks practices and overrode Jeff Hornacek‘s instructions to ensure that the triangle offense was being implemented properly, despite two veteran players telling him directly that the system wasn’t working, per Begley.
Jackson presided over mindfulness meditation training with the Knicks during his last year in New York, as he had done with his previous teams. However, some Knicks players didn’t take it seriously — during the final sessions, Anthony would sometimes pretend to be asleep when Jackson told the players to open their eyes, witnesses told Begley.
During a March 12 loss to the Nets last season, Anthony and assistant Kurt Rambis blew up at each other during halftime. Anthony told Rambis that “this place is a f—ing joke,” and Rambis questioned Carmelo’s effort (in equally colorful language), according to Begley.
After Kristaps Porzingis skipped his exit meeting in the spring, Jackson discussed possible trades involving the young big man. While those discussions were framed by some as Jackson teaching Porzingis a lesson, there were members of the front office in favor of moving the Latvian at the time, sources tell Begley.
For a portion of the summer, Anthony strongly believed that he’d end up in Houston, expressing a belief that LeBron James would eventually join him and Chris Paul on the Rockets. Although the Rockets tried to make a deal, discussing one three-team iteration that would’ve involved Jabari Parker and the Bucks, it ultimately didn’t work out, resulting in the trade that sent Carmelo to the Thunder.

Rockets Recall Zhou Qi From G League

December 20th, 2017 at 3:15pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have recalled rookie big man Zhou Qi from the G League, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Zhou struggled on Tuesday for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, posting just six points on 2-of-11 shooting in 24 minutes.

Anthony Reportedly Advised Free Agent Not To Sign With Knicks

December 16th, 2017 at 6:06pm CST by Arthur Hill

Carmelo Anthony, who returns to Madison Square Garden for the first time tonight since a September trade to the Thunder, was open about his plans to leave New York throughout the summer, according to Ian Begley of ESPN.

While the Knicks and his agents were working out Anthony’s future, he isolated himself from the process, spending the offseason in intense workouts and star-studded pickup games that featured some of the NBA’s top players.

Privately, Anthony was telling friends that he didn’t plan to return to New York, even though he was under contract for this season. He also delivered that message to at least one unidentified free agent who was part of the pickup games, Begley relays, recommending that he not sign with the Knicks on the assumption that Anthony would be there.

Anthony was still stinging from the year-long feud with former team president Phil Jackson, who launched a public crusade to get his star player to waive his no-trade clause. Jackson called Anthony a poor fit for the triangle offense and insinuated that the franchise would be in better shape without his hefty salary taking up cap room.

The Knicks made several attempts to unload Anthony before the deal with the Thunder came together, according to Begley. Anthony’s representatives negotiated a buyout agreement that owner James Dolan rejected, trade scenarios with the Rockets dragged through most of the summer and the Knicks discussed Anthony with the Trail Blazers and several other teams.

With Jackson now gone, much of the animosity between Anthony and the Knicks seems to have subsided. Former teammates remain supportive, especially Kristaps Porzingis, who has inherited Anthony’s role as the franchise player.

“He was trying to do the right things to win, but it was just not clicking,” Porzingis said. “It was not the right pieces around him to make that happen. I’m grateful that I had a player like that on my team that I could learn from. Not only on-the-court stuff, but also off the court, a lot. So I can’t say a bad thing about Melo.”

Hornets Assistant Was In The Running For Rockets Gig

December 15th, 2017 at 10:00pm CST by Austin Kent

The Rockets have thrived under head coach Mike D’Antoni but for a while there, Hornets assistant Stephen Silas was in the running for the position. As Hunter Atkins of the Houston Chronicle writes, the Charlotte coach still gets ribbed by friends and family when Houston, the best team in the NBA two months into the season, does something particularly impressive.
Offseason acquisition Chris Paul seems to be enjoying his new role with the Rockets, as Tim MacMahon of ESPN breaks down in a recent feature. That, coupled with the fact that Houston is 12-0 with Paul on the floor this season, bodes well for the franchise ahead of the veteran’s free agency this summer.

Latest On LeBron James

December 14th, 2017 at 10:42pm CST by Luke Adams

For much of 2017, there have been rumblings about the possibility of LeBron James leaving the Cavaliers in the summer of 2018 to head west to Los Angeles. With the Cavs hosting the Lakers on Thursday night, it was as good a time as any for Ramona Shelburne and Brian Windhorst of ESPN to check in on James’ upcoming free agency, passing along a few notes and tidbits they’ve picked up from various sources. Here are some highlights from their piece:

Despite the constant speculation and L.A.’s efforts to create massive cap room for 2018, the Lakers look a “long shot” to sign James for now, league sources tell Shelburne and Windhorst.
According to ESPN’s report, when James reached free agency in 2014, his reps told contending teams to be prepared to offer a maximum salary contract, and not a penny less. It’s too early to lock anything in for 2018, but don’t expect James to take a Kevin Durant-esque discount on his next contract, per Shelburne and Windhorst. Sources tell the duo that James’ stance on max contracts hasn’t changed, meaning potential suitors will need to be able to offer a projected starting salary of approximately $35MM.
A recent report cited the Rockets as a threat for James, and LeBron’s longtime friendship with Chris Paul is a reason to take Houston seriously, according to Shelburne and Windhorst. Still, league sources tell ESPN that the idea that James and Paul badly want to end up on the same team is an “overstated assumption.”
While we’ll certainly hear plenty more about James’ free agency in the coming months, it’s unlikely that we’ll hear much from the man himself — or agent Rich Paul. “LeBron is focused on this season and winning a championship,” Paul told ESPN. “At the appropriate time, we will explore all the options. Now is not the time.”