Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Western Rumors: Anderson, Rockets, Bazemore

July 1st, 2016 at 6:38pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets are scheduled to meet with Ryan Anderson on Saturday morning, a source tells Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). The Kings are also still in the mix for Anderson, writes James Ham of CSN California — Sam Amick of USA Today adds (via Twitter) that Sacramento reached out to the veteran forward right when free agency opened last night. According to Amick (via Twitter), Anderson still has at least four serious suitors, including Houston and Sacramento.

Here are several more free agent rumors and updates from across the Western Conference:

The Timberwolves have expressed “strong interest” in Kent Bazemore, according to Michael Scotto of The Associated Press (Twitter link). Minnesota is in the market for a veteran wing, having reached out to Luol Deng as well. Of course, the Wolves also made an effort to trade for Jimmy Butler during last week’s draft.
The Jazz are scheduled to have a second meeting today with free agent sharpshooter Jared Dudley, reports Tony Jones of The Salt Lake Tribune (Twitter links). Jones cautions that both sides still have multiple options in play, with Dudley generating “real interest” from the Suns too.
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee tweets that he keeps hearing the Kings don’t intend to sign Rajon Rondo.
With his free agency underway, Trail Blazers RFA Allen Crabbe has changed his representation, hiring Aaron Mintz and Ty Sullivan of CAA Sports, per Adrian Wojnarowski of The Vertical (Twitter link).
The Spurs have expressed some interest in free agent big man Willie Reed, sources inform Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).
Dewayne Dedmon, a Magic restricted free agent, has drawn interest from the Warriors, a source tells Cody Taylor of Basketball Insiders (Twitter link).

Latest On Al Horford, Celtics

July 1st, 2016 at 5:45pm CST by ChrisCrouse

The Celtics will meet with Al Horford later tonight in Atlanta and the team intends to put a max offer on the table, according to Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald. Isaiah Thomas and Jae Crowder will be among the attendees present at the meeting, according to Alex Kennedy of Basketball Insiders and Adam Himmelsbach of the Boston Globe (Twitter links).

Danny Ainge seems confident about his chances of signing Horford, as Evan Turner told Himmelsbach (full-length piece). Ainge told Turner that he was interested in having Turner re-sign with the team, but Boston was going to go after Horford and Kevin Durant before making an offer to the versatile wing. Turner worked out with Kyle Korver on Thursday and Korver told him that Horford would be re-signing with Atlanta. However, earlier today, Turner received a text message from Korver, asking him to call, and Turner had a sense that something had changed, Himmelsback writes. The Hawks signed Dwight Howard to a three-year, $70MM deal today, so perhaps the franchise was under the same impression.

Horford reportedly met with the Rockets earlier today and it’s unclear if any other teams have sat down with the former Florida Gator. Horford reportedly would like to stay in Atlanta and the team would like to bring the big man back. However, the team’s reluctance to offer a fifth year may drive Horford to sign elsewhere, as Zach Lowe of ESPN.com previously reported.

The Celtics have a meeting lined up with Durant on Saturday and if they can sign Horford, that would make Boston a more desirable destination for the 2013/14 MVP either this summer or next, Bulpett adds. Boston has relatively easy path to opening up enough cap space to sign both Horford and Durant to max contracts. The team would simply need to decline Jonas Jerebko‘s and Amir Johnson‘s respective team options and renounce the rights to both Jared Sullinger and Tyler Zeller.

Horford would be a perfect fit in Boston, as one anonymous coach told Bulpett. “Look at what they were trying to do with [Jared] Sullinger, and now put a guy in that spot who can make the shots. That would change their offense big-time,” the coach told Bulpett.

In addition to the Celtics, Hawks, and Rockets, Horford is receiving interest from the Thunder, Lakers, Magic, Pistons, Wizards, and Nets. The Heat were reportedly interested, but they are likely out of the running after agreeing to re-sign Hassan Whiteside.

Rockets Meet With Kent Bazemore

July 1st, 2016 at 2:02am CST by Luke Adams

FRIDAY, 2:02am: Bazemore’s meeting with the Rockets ended without an agreement in place, league sources tell Chris Haynes of Cleveland.com (Twitter link). Mark Medina of The Los Angeles Daily News adds (via Twitter) that the Lakers expressed interest tonight in Bazemore, who will continue the free agent process.

THURSDAY, 11:08pm: Although Kent Bazemore initially didn’t plan on meeting with teams until next week, he’ll have a “surprise” meeting with one suitor tonight, according to Shams Charania of The Vertical, who reports (via Twitter) that the Rockets are sitting down with Bazemore. James Harden is in attendance at the meeting, per Charania.

According to Charania, Bazemore still intends to take more meetings with potential suitors, but the Rockets will push hard for him at tonight’s sit-down. As Charania points out, it was new Rockets head coach Mike D’Antoni who gave Bazemore his first extended run as an NBA starter back in 2013/14, when the young wing was with the Lakers.

The Bucks, Grizzlies, Magic, Nets, and Pelicans are also expected to be in the mix for Bazemore, with the Hawks making an effort to re-sign him.

Latest Free Agency News

June 30th, 2016 at 6:10pm CST by Eddie Scarito

The Nets have a glaring hole at power forward after trading Thaddeus Young and may make a run at unrestricted free agent Ryan Anderson, Michael Scotto of Sheridan Hoops relays (via Twitter). The Rockets are trying to schedule a meeting with Anderson for this weekend, adds Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (Twitter link).

Trade Notes: Rubio, McRoberts, Butler, Pistons

June 30th, 2016 at 3:00pm CST by Luke Adams

The Timberwolves didn’t find the sort of return they hoped for when they shopped Ricky Rubio before and during the draft, but Tom Thibodeau is optimistic that Rubio’s value will increase this offseason, writes Sean Deveney of The Sporting News. As Deveney explains, Minnesota expects certain teams to become much more interested in Rubio once top free agent point guards like Mike Conley and Rajon Rondo come off the board, if those clubs are left without a viable starter at the position.

The Wolves haven’t ruled out the possibility of hanging onto Rubio and letting him and No. 5 overall pick Kris Dunn work together in 2016/17, but league sources tell Deveney that a handful of teams, including the Sixers, Rockets, and Bucks may have interest in the Spanish point guard. The Mavericks could also be a potential trade partner for Minnesota if Dallas doesn’t land Mike Conley, says Deveney.

Let’s check in on a few more trade rumors and notes from around the NBA…

The Heat continue to explore moving Josh McRoberts, but they may need to attach a future draft pick in such a deal, tweets Ethan J. Skolnick of The Miami Herald. McRoberts’ $5.782MM salary isn’t exorbitant for a player with his skill-set, but he’s coming off two poor seasons, both of which were shortened by injury issues.
During an appearance on ESPN’s The Jump on Wednesday, Jimmy Butler acknowledged that he knew heading into the offseason that the Bulls would likely trade either him or Derrick Rose, as Nick Friedell of ESPN.com details. Butler also isn’t 100% sure he’s safe, even after he made it through the draft without being dealt. “I don’t think anything is for certain,” Butler said. “I really don’t. I love the city of Chicago, Chicago basketball, I think everybody knows that. They drafted me; I’ve been here my entire career. Nothing is for certain.”
RealGM’s list of future traded draft picks has the details on the future second-rounder sent to the Pistons by the Magic in the Jodie Meeks trade. The criteria are some of the most convoluted I’ve seen on a traded pick, but the upshot is that Detroit will receive a 2019 second-round selection from either Cleveland, Houston, Portland, or Orlando.

Latest On Mike Conley

June 30th, 2016 at 2:24pm CST by Luke Adams

Mike Conley will have up to five outside suitors willing to offer him a maximum-salary contract when free agency opens late tonight, according to Ronald Tillery of The Commercial Appeal, who identifies the Mavericks, Rockets, Pelicans, Nets, and Lakers as the key challengers for the Grizzlies.

However, according to Sam Amick of USA Today (via Twitter), even though the veteran point guard is scheduled to meet with the Mavs on Friday, the Grizzlies remain in “very good position” in the Conley sweepstakes. Amick reports (via Twitter) that Dallas appears to pose the most significant threat to Memphis for Conley, but even that threat may prove to be “a nominal one.” The Rockets, meanwhile, aren’t expected to get a meeting with Conley at all, a source tells Calvin Watkins of ESPN.com.

If the Grizzlies do indeed remain comfortably in the driver’s seat, despite the fact that the Mavericks and other teams are willing to put max offers on the table for Conley, it may be an indication that Memphis is willing to add a fifth year to its offer. Since the Grizzlies hold Conley’s Bird Rights, they’re the only club with the ability to offer a five-year deal, and that fifth year would be worth well over $30MM in the point guard’s age-33 season.

There have also been reports suggesting that Conley wanted assurances from the Grizzlies that they would be aggressive in fortifying the roster around him, in order to remain a contender for the foreseeable future. If he ends up agreeing to re-sign with the team, he likely will have received such assurances.

Assuming Conley and the Grizzlies can work out a deal, the two sides likely won’t finalize anything right away. The team can make better use of its cap room by keeping Conley’s $14MM cap hold on the books, using all its cap space, then going over the cap to lock up Conley.

Rockets Have Interest In Timofey Mozgov

June 30th, 2016 at 1:27pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets, Heat, Warriors, and Spurs are among the teams with interest in Timofey Mozgov, joining the Cavaliers and Knicks, tweets Dave McMenamin of ESPN.com. Jeff Zillgitt of USA Today Sports adds (via Twitter) that the Lakers also could be in play for Mozgov, depending on how free agency plays out.

Al Horford To Meet With Rockets On July 1

June 30th, 2016 at 11:55am CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have set up a meeting with free agent big man Al Horford for Friday, the first day of free agency, reports Michael Scotto of The Associated Press (via Twitter). It’s not clear whether Houston will be the first team to sit down with Horford, or whether he has other July 1st meetings on his schedule.

General manager Daryl Morey has talked about wanting to add a top-tier free agent to the Rockets’ roster to complement James Harden, and the team is reportedly considering a group of targets that includes Horford, Ryan Anderson, and Hassan Whiteside. Houston has also been linked to Mike Conley and a handful of other notable free agents.

While the Rockets will get the opportunity to make a pitch to Horford, they’ll have plenty of competition for the longtime Hawk. Atlanta hopes to re-sign Horford, and he’s also expected to receive some level of interest from the the Lakers, Rockets, Magic, Pistons, Wizards, Celtics, Heat, Nets, and even the Thunder, as we detailed this morning.

With so many teams in play for Horford, he’ll almost certainly land a maximum-salary contract, which would start in the neighborhood of $26.6MM.

Latest QO Decisions: Waiters, Motiejunas, Jones

June 30th, 2016 at 11:05am CST by Luke Adams

The Thunder have issued a qualifying offer to Dion Waiters, making him a restricted free agent, according to RealGM.com’s transactions log. While the move doesn’t come as a real surprise, the odds of Waiters returning to Oklahoma City appeared to take a hit when the club acquired Victor Oladipo last week, so it wasn’t a lock that Waiters would get a QO.

There’s little to no chance that Waiters will sign the one-year qualifying offer, worth about $6.778MM, since he should have no problem finding more lucrative multiyear offers on the open market. So from the Thunder’s perspective, there’s probably no harm in extending that QO. Even if OKC ultimately rescinds the offer or declines to match an offer sheet Waiters signs with another suitor, making him a restricted free agent gives the club some extra flexibility for now.

Meanwhile, the Rockets have extended a qualifying offer for one power forward, but not another, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, who reports (via Twitter) that Donatas Motiejunas got a QO, but Terrence Jones didn’t.

Houston’s decision means that Motiejunas will remain on the team’s books for now, with a qualifying offer worth $4.434MM, and the Rockets will have the right of first refusal, giving the team the ability to match any offer sheet for Motiejunas. Jones, on the other hand, will become an unrestricted free agent, free to sign anywhere he likes. Although he has struggled with consistency and has battled injuries over the past couple seasons, Jones will likely intrigue teams in the market for a power forward with some shooting range.

For a breakdown of which players eligible for restricted free agency have received qualifying offers, check out our full list of 2016 free agents.

Rockets Eyeing Kent Bazemore, Eric Gordon

June 30th, 2016 at 9:19am CST by Luke Adams

In a Wednesday piece, Zach Lowe of ESPN.com identified the Bucks, Grizzlies, and Nets as probable suitors for Kent Bazemore. Michael Scotto of The Associated Press adds a few more teams to that list of suitors, tweeting that the Pelicans, Rockets, and Magic will also be eyeing Bazemore. The Hawks also want to re-sign the free agent wing, and we heard on Wednesday that the Knicks will also have strong interest in him too.
The Rockets, Grizzlies, Knicks, and Pelicans are interested in free agent guard Eric Gordon, sources tell Chris Broussard of ESPN.com (Twitter link). A report earlier in the year suggested that New Orleans likely won’t go to great lengths to bring back Gordon, after he spent five injury-plagued seasons with the team.