Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Sign George De Paula

September 27th, 2017 at 11:33am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have officially signed Brazilian guard George de Paula to their roster, the team announced today (via Twitter). The move brings Houston’s roster count back up to 20 players after the club parted ways with Shawn Long on Tuesday.

De Paula, 21, went undrafted in June and caught on with the Rockets’ Summer League team in July. ESPN’s Chris Haynes (Twitter link) first reported his agreement with the club.

While details of the agreement aren’t known, the newly-signed guard figures to receive little to no guaranteed money to join the Rockets for camp. De Paula is a good bet to ultimately land with the Rio Grande Valley Vipers, Houston’s G League team, as an affiliate player.

Rockets Waive Shawn Long

September 26th, 2017 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have formally waived big man Shawn Long, the team announced today (via Twitter). Long will clear waivers and become an unrestricted free agent on Thursday, assuming no other NBA team places a claim on him.

An undrafted free agent out of Louisiana-Lafayette, Long appeared in 18 games for the Sixers in his rookie season, and was productive in limited minutes. The 6’9″ center averaged 8.2 PPG and 4.7 RPG in just 13.0 minutes per contest. He was even better in the G League, averaging a double-double (20.2 PPG, 11.1 RPG) in 39 games for the Delaware 87ers.

Despite his solid rookie year, Long wasn’t viewed as part of Philadelphia’s long-term plans, and was sent to Houston in a June trade when the Rockets were collecting non-guaranteed salaries with an eye toward including them in a bigger deal.

Ultimately, the Rockets never found a use for Long in a trade, and are now waiving him before they’re committed to paying any of his 2017/18 salary — the 24-year-old would have seen his non-guaranteed contract become partially guaranteed for $50K if he had remained under contract beyond today.

Houston now has 19 players on its training camp roster.

Tucker Has Hamstring Issue

September 25th, 2017 at 10:38pm CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets were never close to acquiring Carmelo Anthony before he was traded to the Thunder, according to a Houston Chronicle report. GM Daryl Morey said he wasn’t disappointed that he failed to work out something with the Knicks, the report adds. “We were involved in rumors in a situation he was very interested in coming here,” he said. “We had some interest if we could maybe work it out, but never did.”
Small forward P.J. Tucker will miss some of training camp because of a hamstring injury, according to another Chronicle report. Tucker suffered the injury during a recent workout but it’s not considered a major issue, the report adds. Tucker signed a four-year contract with the Rockets as a free agent this summer.

Morey Bullish On Rockets; Anderson Happy Not To Be Dealt

September 25th, 2017 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

While some NBA observers have concerns about how Chris Paul and James Harden will mesh in Houston, Rockets president of basketball operations Daryl Morey isn’t worried, suggesting today that the club is “100% certain” it will work (Twitter link via Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle).
Ryan Anderson was able to breathe a sigh of relief this weekend when New York sent Carmelo Anthony to a team besides the Rockets. Speaking today to reporters, including Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter links), Anderson said he talked frequently to the Rockets’ brass and believed there was a “low probability” of being dealt, which he appreciated, since he and his family “love” Houston.

Rockets Re-Sign Bobby Brown

September 25th, 2017 at 12:07pm CST by Luke Adams

SEPTEMBER 25: More than two months after agreeing to terms with Brown, the Rockets have officially confirmed his new deal in a press release that announces the club’s 20-man training camp roster.

JULY 20: The Rockets have reached an agreement with free agent guard Bobby Brown, according to international basketball journalist David Pick (Twitter link). Brown confirmed to Alykhan Bijani of ESPN 97.5 Houston (Twitter link) that he’s re-signing with the club.

Brown, 32, returned to the NBA last year for the first time since the 2009/10 season, joining the Rockets after spending several years playing in Europe and Asia. Although he was a standout scorer during most of his international stops, Brown didn’t play much for Houston in 2016/17, appearing in 25 regular season games and seeing just 123 total minutes of action. He also played limited minutes in five postseason contests.

While Brown didn’t make much of an impact on the court, it sounds like he has played a key role off it for the Rockets. The California native was said to be one of the key players involved in the recruitment of Chris Paul to Houston, along with James Harden and Trevor Ariza.

Brown’s contract with the Rockets expired in June, and he didn’t receive a qualifying offer from the club to make him a restricted free agent, so his efforts to get Paul to Houston looked a little unusual. It makes sense that the club would be willing to bring him back on a minimum salary contract — it remains to be seen whether he’ll get a full or partial guarantee on his deal, however.

Cavaliers Notes: James, Anthony, Cousins, Wade

September 24th, 2017 at 4:02pm CST by Arthur Hill

Don’t expect a firm answer from LeBron James tomorrow when Media Day questions turn to his future, writes Joe Vardon of Cleveland.com. Monday will mark the first time the Cavaliers star has spoken to reporters since Game 5 of the NBA Finals and the first time since rumors emerged that he has plans to join the Lakers as a free agent next July. LeBron will probably tell the media that he hasn’t made up his mind, which Vardon believes is true.

The talk about LeBron’s next decision will overshadow other issues surrounding the team heading into training camp, such as the condition of Isaiah Thomas‘ hip, the new personnel on hand, the chances of Dwyane Wade coming aboard after a buyout from the Bulls and whether the organization plans to keep or trade the unprotected first-rounder it got from Brooklyn. But Cavaliers fans had better get used to it because LeBron’s future is going to eclipse everything all season.

There’s more news out of Cleveland:

The Knicks were demanding a first-round pick from the Cavaliers in exchange for Carmelo Anthony, Vardon writes in a separate story. Anthony included Cleveland among the three teams he was willing to waive his no-trade clause to join, but the Cavs felt the price was too high.
The Cavaliers are listening to offers for the Brooklyn pick, but it’s unlikely a deal will involve either of the Pelicans’ big men, according to Sam Amico of Amicohoops. Rumors have been circulating about DeMarcus Cousins, who will be a free agent next summer, but Amico says the teams haven’t discussed a Cousins trade and the Cavs may not even be interested. Also, Amico hears that New Orleans won’t trade Anthony Davis under any circumstances.
Amico believes Wade is headed to Cleveland, possibly before the season begins. He and the Bulls are ready to part ways, and Amico sees no reason why the buyout should be a lengthy process. He passes along a few other roster details in the same piece, stating that it’s unlikely that Kay Felder or Edy Tavares earns a spot, although both could wind up with the team’s G League affiliate in Canton; most scouts like Ante Zizic, who was acquired in the Kyrie Irving trade, more than Cedi Osman; and the Cavs and Rockets “were at the one-yard line, ready to punch it in” on an Iman Shumpert trade this summer.

Rockets Sign Chris Johnson

September 22nd, 2017 at 8:55pm CST by Austin Kent

SEPTEMBER 22: Johnson’s deal is now official, per the NBA’s transactions log.

SEPTEMBER 21: The Rockets will sign swingman Chris Johnson tomorrow, Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets. The journeyman’s deal will be partially guaranteed.

Johnson is one of two recent NBA players who share the same name, this one – the younger one at 27 years of age – having played more recently than the other via a 70-game stint with the Jazz in 2015/16.

With Utah, his latest of five brief tenures with NBA franchises, Johnson averaged 2.9 points in 12.2 minutes per game. He’ll enter camp with the Rockets as their 20th player, a number that includes the reported agreement with Bobby Brown.

Houston already boasts a decent amount of depth at the three, so Johnson will have an uphill battle clawing his way into the mix with Trevor Ariza, P.J. Tucker and Troy Williams before opening day.

Rockets Notes: Capela, Tax, Anderson, Gupta

September 22nd, 2017 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

While Rockets president of basketball operations Daryl Morey doesn’t want to be making roster decisions with one specific rival in mind, he acknowledges in a Q&A with Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle that it’s impossible not to consider the Warriors at this point when making signings and trades.

“We know we’re going to face them,” Morey said of the Dubs. “We obviously have to get through some extremely tough teams, the Spurs, Oklahoma City, Memphis, you name it. To get there. But if you know you are going to be facing a team if you’re having the season you want, and we want to be all the way to the championship, I think it does make sense to focus on that team.”

Morey pointed to the signings of Luc Mbah a Moute and P.J. Tucker as moves that were made with the Warriors in mind. Both veteran forwards are strong defenders who would probably match up with the likes of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson in a playoff series against Golden State.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

Asked by Feigen about the possibility of an extension for Clint Capela, Morey pointed out that contract extensions are getting trickier to pull off around the NBA, since the salary cap isn’t increasingly quite as quickly as initially anticipated, and long-term commitments are starting to add up for many teams across the league.
In Houston’s case, new deals for Capela, Chris Paul, and Trevor Ariza next summer would create luxury-tax issues for the club. While Morey didn’t comment specifically about new owner Tilman Fertitta‘s willingness to pay the tax, he told Feigen that Fertitta is “all about winning” and will do what it takes to win. Morey also noted that he has met with the Rockets’ incoming owner a couple times already.
Morey tells Feigen that he spoke to Ryan Anderson this week about the Knicks-related trade rumors that have been swirling around Anderson all offseason. “Players get frustrated,” Morey said. “It’s rare for a GM to get frustrated because we have to deal with it all the time, but this one has been frustrating because it’s lingering and not much is accurate out there.”
The Rockets announced today that Sachin Gupta has rejoined the team as a special advisor (link via Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston). Gupta was Morey’s first hire back in 2006, but left Houston to become a consultant for the Sixers during Sam Hinkie’s stint in Philadelphia.

NBA Modifies Closeout, Continuation Rules

September 21st, 2017 at 7:44pm CST by Austin Kent

The NBA has decided to re-evaluate how it handles two particular fouling situations, Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press writes, and two players will see their names live on in notoriety as a result.

In what can colloquially be referred to as the Zaza Pachulia rule, officials will be granted authority to look at replays and make a judgment call as to whether or not a defender recklessly positioned his foot in an unnatural way after defending a shot. If necessary, the official can assign a flagrant or technical foul accordingly.

Pachulia’s name is the first to come to mind considering the impact that one particular moment this past spring had on the Western Conference semifinal. That series saw Kawhi Leonard fall to a sprained ankle after landing on a conspicuously positioned Pachulia foot after a closeout.

The second fouling situation that will be viewed differently in 2017/18 pertains to continuation. Officials, Mahoney writes, will now ensure that shooters are in their upward shooting motion when determining if a foul out on the perimeter is worthy of free throws.

Cited in the report as a common perpetrator of milking continuation calls is Rockets guard James Harden. By limiting the number of perimeter foul calls that lead to free throws, the league will disincentivize players from forcing unnatural shots after absorbing content.

NBA Teams That Can’t Offer More Than The Minimum

September 20th, 2017 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

At this point in the NBA offseason, most free agents who remain on the open market will have to settle for minimum salary contracts, if they receive an NBA offer at all.

There are some exceptions, particularly on the restricted free agent market, where Mason Plumlee just signed a three-year, $41MM deal with the Nuggets. Within the last week or two though, we’ve seen top remaining unrestricted free agents like Shabazz Muhammad, Tony Allen, and Andrew Bogut settle for minimum salary contracts.

That’s good news for several teams who have used all their available cap room and/or exceptions and can only offer minimum salary contracts for the rest of the 2017/18 league year. They won’t necessarily be at a disadvantage when it comes to signing free agents if those players aren’t being offered more than the minimum by teams with the means to do so.

In some cases though, an inability to offer more than the minimum can handicap a team. Dante Cunningham‘s free agent decision this week reflects this — according to multiple reports, the deal Cunningham agreed to with the Pelicans is actually worth $2.3MM, which is more than his minimum salary of $2.1MM. While we haven’t seen the official terms of Cunningham’s new contract yet, it’s possible that the $200K difference was one reason Cunningham chose New Orleans over a suitor like the Timberwolves, who could only offer the minimum.

Teams with the flexibility to offer more than the minimum could also benefit later in the NBA season. For instance, if Dwyane Wade negotiates a buyout with the Bulls and considers which team to join as a free agent, the fact that the Heat have retained their $4.328MM room exception could be a factor — it would allow Miami to make a stronger offer than the Cavs could.

With that in mind, here’s a breakdown of the teams that currently don’t have the ability to offer more than the minimum salary, which is $815,615 for a first-year player:

Boston Celtics
Detroit Pistons
Golden State Warriors
Houston Rockets: $350 of mid-level exception available
Los Angeles Clippers: $774,770 of mid-level exception available
Memphis Grizzlies: $1,440,385 of mid-level exception available, but will use at least $815,615 to sign Ivan Rabb.
Minnesota Timberwolves
New York Knicks
Oklahoma City Thunder

Meanwhile, the following teams have less than $3.29MM (the value of the bi-annual exception) to offer to free agents:

Cleveland Cavaliers: $2,549,143 of taxpayer mid-level exception available
Utah Jazz: $1,128,000 of room exception available
Washington Wizards: $1,902,000 of taxpayer mid-level exception available

Of course, just because a team has an exception available, that doesn’t mean the club will be eager to use it. Teams like the Bucks or Pelicans, for instance, still have various MLE and BAE exception money available, but their proximity to the luxury tax threshold will make them reluctant to offer more than the minimum salary to anyone the rest of the way.

For a full breakdown of how teams have used their mid-level, room, and bi-annual exceptions for the 2017/18 league year, be sure to check out our MLE tracker and BAE tracker.