Houston Rockets Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Brooks, Doncic, Bane, Mamukelashvili

August 4th, 2023 at 7:16pm CST by Rory Maher

Rockets wing Dillon Brooks recently discussed his offseason and playing for Team Canada in a conversation with Michael Grange of Sportsnet.ca. Houston gave Brooks a four-year, $86MM+ deal as part of a complex five-team sign-and-trade.

“I’ve been chilling. I’ve working out, making sure I get my body right, keep my body right the whole time so I don’t have no drop off,” Brooks told Grange. “And then just focusing mostly on myself, staying off social media, working on my game, doing what I have to do.”

As Grange writes, Brooks has been a longtime member of the Canadian national team. The 27-year-old is looking forward to competing with his compatriots this month.

“Everyone that’s in the building, you came across when you were younger, grew up with or played against or with when you played up (an age group),” said Brooks. “It’s a family environment and everybody is here to win, get better and do something special for the country.”

Here’s more from the Southwest:

Mavericks guard Luka Doncic banged knees with an opponent in an exhibition game with Team Slovenia, but the Mavs have “no concerns” about the injury, a source tells Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link). As with Brooks, Doncic is suiting up for his home country for the upcoming World Cup, which will take place in the Philippines, Japan and Indonesia. He exited the loss against Greece as a precaution.
Grizzlies guard/forward Desmond Bane, who underwent toe surgery in May, says he hasn’t been cleared for 5-on-5 work yet, but he expects to be a full go for training camp next month, tweets Drew Hill of The Daily Memphian. “I’m not quite cleared to play contact yet, but as far as working out on the court, I feel like my body is in a pretty good spot,” Bane said, per Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal. Bane signed a massive rookie scale extension this summer that will go into effect in 2024/25.
Sandro Mamukelashvili re-signed with the Spurs on a guaranteed one-year deal for the veteran’s minimum, but he confirmed he received interest from EuroLeague teams in free agency, according to Pijus Sapetka of BasketNews.com. “Definitely, I had multiple EuroLeague teams [interested in me], but I want to stay in the NBA,” the Georgian big man told BasketNews. “I want to show everybody that right now, I am an NBA player. European doors are never closed, and I love watching EuroLeague. I know how good the competition is. … Right now, my head is straight to the NBA to show everybody that I can be an NBA player and that I belong to this league.”

Rockets Sign Nate Hinton, Matthew Mayer To Camp Deals

August 2nd, 2023 at 3:06pm CST by Luke Adams

3:06pm: Hinton and Mayer have officially signed with the Rockets, according to a press release from the team.

10:12am: A flurry of roster moves for the Rockets will continue with training camp deals for Summer League standouts Nate Hinton and Matthew Mayer, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required).

In the process of filling out its 21-man offseason roster, Houston also recently signed Joshua Obiesie to a camp contract and agreed to a camp deal with Jeenathan Williams and a two-way pact with Jermaine Samuels.

Hinton, a 6’5″ wing who played his college ball at Houston, has spent most of his three professional seasons on two-way contracts or G League deals, appearing in 23 NBA games for the Mavericks and Pacers since 2020. The 24-year-old played for the Cleveland Charge – the Cavaliers’ NBAGL affiliate – during the 2022/23 season, averaging 12.0 PPG and 6.3 RPG on .466/.383/.789 shooting in 27 regular season games (33.9 MPG).

A 6’9″ forward, Mayer went undrafted in June out of Illinois and caught on with the Rockets’ Summer League team, putting up 12.5 PPG and 7.3 RPG with a .516/.435/.889 shooting line in four contests (25.2 MPG). Hinton also played well for the Rockets in Vegas, averaging 11.8 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 2.7 SPG on 50.0% shooting in six appearances (26.4 MPG).

As Feigen explains, Hinton, Mayer, and Williams are all expected to participate in training camp with the Rockets this fall, so they’re receiving contracts with Exhibit 9 language, which protects a team financially in the event of an injury.

A team can only sign a player to an Exhibit 9 contract once it has 14 players already on standard contracts, so Houston added Obiesie as its 14th man in order to begin finalizing the rest of its camp deals. Obiesie, whose deal doesn’t include Exhibit 9 protection, “will not be involved in the camp,” per Feigen, but the Rockets will control his G League rights after he’s waived.

I would expect that all of Houston’s camp invitees will also have Exhibit 10 language in their deals, which will entitle them to bonuses worth up to $75K if they eventually join the Rio Grande Valley Vipers and remain with the Rockets’ G League affiliate for at least 60 days.

Rockets Add Jeenathan Williams To Camp Roster

August 2nd, 2023 at 3:05pm CST by Dana Gauruder

AUGUST 2: The Rockets have officially signed Williams, they announced today in a press release.

AUGUST 1: The Rockets have agreed to a contract with Jeenathan Williams, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. It’s a training camp deal, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link).

The Trail Blazers waived Williams last week before his $1,719,864 salary for the 2023/24 season became guaranteed.

Houston had plenty of room on its camp roster to add Williams. His addition will increase the total to 17 players.

Williams, a 6’5” swingman, could have a better shot than most players on training camp contracts to gain a spot on the 15-man roster. The Rockets also have a two-way opening.

Williams, who went undrafted out of Buffalo in 2022, spent most of his first professional season with the Salt Lake City Stars, the Jazz’s G League affiliate. In 32 regular season appearances for Salt Lake City, he averaged 14.4 points, 4.5 rebounds, and 2.2 assists in 29.8 minutes per game.

That G League performance earned Williams a late-season call-up with the Blazers, who signed him to a multiyear deal on April 1. He got extended playing time for the lottery-bound club down the stretch, averaging 10.6 PPG, 3.0 RPG, and 2.0 APG in five contests (25.4 MPG), including four starts.

Rockets Sign Jermaine Samuels To Two-Way Contract

August 2nd, 2023 at 1:30pm CST by Luke Adams

1:30pm: Samuels’ two-way contract is official, according to NBA.com’s transaction log.

8:30am: The Rockets have reached a contract agreement with free agent forward Jermaine Samuels, according to Shams Charania and Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link), who report that Samuels is signing a two-way deal with the club.

Samuels, 24, went undrafted out of Villanova in 2022 and spent his first professional season with the Pacers’ G League affiliate, the Fort Wayne Mad Ants. In 32 regular season NBAGL games, he averaged an impressive 18.3 points and 9.2 rebounds per game, making 66.6% of his shots from the floor.

Samuels’ strong G League play didn’t earn him an NBA call-up as a rookie, but he was invited to play for the Rockets’ Summer League team in Las Vegas last month and performed well, averaging 11.3 PPG, 5.0 RPG, and 3.3 APG in six appearances (27.3 MPG).

Reporting at the start of the Vegas Summer League indicated that Samuels had impressed team officials in practices and had emerged as a candidate for a two-way deal for the Rockets.

Trevor Hudgins and Darius Days are currently on two-way contracts for Houston, so Samuels will fill the team’s third and final two-way slot. Since two-way deals only feature small partial guarantees and don’t count against the cap at all, the Rockets could still make changes before opening night, but for now the team will have no available two-way spots after officially signing Samuels.

Sengun To Play In Pre-Olympic Qualifier

August 1st, 2023 at 7:20pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Rockets center Alperen Sengun will play for the Turkish national team in the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament in Istanbul from Aug. 12-20, Sportando relays, via a Fanatik report.

The Rockets added Joshua Obiesie to their camp roster. Get the details here.

And-Ones: D. Rivers, M. Jackson, Bahamas, Shooting Tech, Contracts

July 31st, 2023 at 3:55pm CST by Rory Maher

After letting go of Jeff Van Gundy last month, ESPN/ABC has also laid off fellow analyst Mark Jackson, sources tell Andrew Marchand of The New York Post. Jackson confirmed the news in an interview with Peter Vecsey, Marchand adds (via Twitter).

As Marchand writes, the new top NBA broadcast team at ESPN/ABC will be comprised of longtime play-by-play announcer Mike Breen, former Sixers head coach Doc Rivers, and Doris Burke, who is being promoted. The hiring of Rivers and promotion of Burke aren’t yet official, but they are “quickly moving in that direction,” according to Marchand.

Barry Jackson of The Miami Herald confirms Marchand’s reporting (via Twitter).

Here’s more from around the basketball world:

The Suns‘ Deandre Ayton and Eric Gordon, Pacers wing Buddy Hield, and Hornets big man Kai Jones are on the 2024 Olympic qualifying roster for the Bahamas, per Marc J. Spears of Andscape. The Bahamian national team will play its qualifying games in Argentina from August 14-20. “I’m excited to be back playing for Team Bahamas and to see how much the program has grown,” Ayton told Spears. “Can’t wait to play with my guys. It’s truly a special experience to compete with teammates – who are from where you’re from – with Bahamas on your chest.”
Tim MacMahon of ESPN details how Breakaway Data — a startup focused on the biomechanics of shooting — has partnered with Overtime Elite and Las Vegas Summer League to provide detailed breakdowns of each player’s shot. “I thought it was very informative,” Overtime Elite product Amen Thompson, drafted fourth overall by the Rockets, told ESPN. “Not everything works for everybody, but that [data] can’t really be a bad thing. It can only help to get as much information as possible. I felt like that’s what it gave us.”
Which players have inked the most lucrative contracts in NBA history? Yossi Gozlan of HoopsHype provides the list. Jaylen Brown‘s new super-max extension with the Celtics is the current largest deal ever, Gozlan notes.

Southwest Notes: Eason, Doncic, Hardaway, K. Johnson

July 31st, 2023 at 11:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Rockets‘ free agent addition Dillon Brooks recently said he’s looking forward to teaming up with Tari Eason, and Eason tells Kelly Iko of The Athletic that the feeling is mutual. Eason gained a reputation as a tough, aggressive defender during his rookie season, and he wants to build on that with help from Brooks.

“He’s one of the best defenders around and I can learn so many things from him,” Eason said. “There are so many other things to defense besides just guarding your man. There are so many things I can get better at in defense. Just being able to be paired with him and his skill, his approach and how he sees things from a defensive standpoint. I’ll be able to pick his brain, learn and become a better defender.”

Eason quickly earned a rotation spot last season as a rookie on one of the worst teams in the league. Houston is expecting to be much better after signing Brooks and three other veteran free agents, and new coach Ime Udoka has emphasized to Eason that defense will be important for him to keep getting regular minutes.

“Just be vocal. Be in the right spots, things like that,” Eason said of Udoka’s message. “As far as my defensive approach, they want me to be locked in. We have an older team now so for me to be on the floor, I have to be one of the best defenders on the floor at all times. So just really being homed in on defense, that’s the biggest thing. Being able to knock down a consistent shot and play defense.”

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

The Mavericks likely have two more seasons to show Luka Doncic that they can build a contender around him before they have to worry about him leaving, Tim Cato of The Athletic writes in a mailbag column. Doncic can opt out of his current deal in 2026, and although Cato is skeptical that the Slovenian star would ask for a trade before then, he acknowledges that the organization is operating under a “Doomsday Clock.” Cato also points out that Dallas has amassed a wealth of young talent, draft assets and tradable contracts to bid for the next big star that becomes available.
Cato believes it’s probably a coin flip on whether the Mavericks will trade Tim Hardaway Jr. before training camp, but he says it should become more likely as the season wears on. He points out that the acquisition of Seth Curry makes Hardaway more expendable, and the team needs to find minutes for second-year guard Jaden Hardy.
Keldon Johnson has established himself as a starter with the Spurs, but the addition of No. 1 pick Victor Wembanyama may push him into a sixth-man role, per Tom Orsborn of The San Antonio Express-News. “I just want to win,” Johnson said. “Whatever I got to do to win, I am looking forward to that, so we’ll see how it goes.”

Players Who Signed July 1 Are Now Eligible To Be Traded

July 31st, 2023 at 9:22am CST by Arthur Hill

The peak of the NBA’s transactions season has calmed down after an active start to July, but a few more players have become eligible to be traded on the final day of the month, notes Bobby Marks of ESPN (Twitter link).

The 30-day trade restriction window has expired for draft picks who signed their contracts on July 1, along with six players who inked two-way contracts on that date.

The designation won’t matter for those at the very top of the draft, as the Spurs and Trail Blazers obviously won’t consider trading Victor Wembanyama and Scoot Henderson, respectively. However, it could come into play for a few others, especially if more big-name players are on the move as the summer winds down.

In addition to those top-three picks, first-rounders who signed on July 1 are the Magic’s Anthony Black and Jett Howard, the Pacers‘ Jarace Walker and Ben Sheppard, the Trail Blazers‘ Kris Murray and the Heat’s Jaime Jaquez. The No. 18 pick out of UCLA, Jaquez has been mentioned as a potential asset in a trade to bring Damian Lillard to Miami.

Two-way players who signed on July 1, according to NBA.com’s transactions log, are the Sixers‘ Terquavion Smith and Ricky Council, the Heat‘s Dru Smith and Jamaree Bouyea, the Trail Blazers‘ Ibou Badji and the Rockets‘ Trevor Hudgins.

Most veteran free agents who signed this summer won’t become eligible to be traded by their teams until December 15 or January 15, depending on their circumstances. Those signings didn’t become official until July 6 or later because of the NBA’s summer moratorium.

Warriors Hiring Chuck Hayes Away From Rockets

July 29th, 2023 at 4:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

The Warriors will hire longtime Rockets player and front office member Chuck Hayes as their new director of basketball operations, according to Danielle Lerner of The Houston Chronicle.

Hayes, 40, joined Houston’s management team six years ago as a pro player personnel scout and worked his way up to assistant director of player personnel. He told Lerner that his position with Golden State will involve some college and professional scouting but will also “enhance my responsibilities with free agency and some trade strategy.”

Hayes is originally from San Leandro, California, so the new job will bring him close to home.

The 6’6″ forward signed with the Rockets after going undrafted out of Kentucky in 2005 and spent his first six NBA seasons with the team. He also played for the Kings and Raptors before rejoining Houston for two games in his final season. Hayes averaged 3.7 points and 5.0 rebounds in 644 career games.

How New CBA Has Impacted Summer Roster Moves

July 29th, 2023 at 9:23am CST by Luke Adams

The restrictions placed on teams above the second tax apron in the NBA’s new Collective Bargaining Agreement didn’t dissuade the Suns from further increasing their payroll in both the short and long term by acquiring Bradley Beal and his four-year, maximum-salary contract. However, the effects of the new CBA were felt by several of the league’s other top spenders, as ESPN’s Bobby Marks, Kevin Pelton, and Tim Bontemps outline in an Insider-only story.

Bontemps points out that the Clippers‘ decision to waive Eric Gordon before his 2023/24 cap hit became guaranteed saved the club $100MM+ in salary and tax penalties. Gordon ended up signing with the rival Suns, which wasn’t an ideal outcome for L.A.

The Celtics, meanwhile, were in position to keep Grant Williams at a fairly reasonable rate, but opted to sign-and-trade him to Dallas rather than bring him back on a four-year deal worth around $14MM per year.

The Warriors reduced their future financial commitments by trading Jordan Poole and his lucrative new four-year extension in a deal for Chris Paul, who is on a pseudo-expiring contract (his 2024/25 salary is non-guaranteed).

As Bontemps writes, forcing high-payroll teams to make difficult decisions on role players was exactly what the NBA intended when it introduced a more punitive second tax apron in the new CBA. Even the Suns, Bontemps notes, were impacted a little by those new rules, given that they opted to fill out their roster with minimum-salary players rather than using their Early Bird rights to re-sign some of their own free agents, like Torrey Craig and Jock Landale.

Here are a few more ways the new Collective Bargaining Agreement has influenced roster moves around the league this summer, per ESPN’s trio:

The new CBA requires teams to spend at least to the minimum salary floor (90% of the cap) before the regular season begins — if they don’t, they’ll forfeit a portion of their share of the end-of-season luxury tax payments (50% in 2023/24; the entire amount in future seasons). As a result, all eight teams that operated under the cap in July have already reached the minimum floor, as Bontemps and Marks observe. Free agents across the board didn’t necessarily reap the benefits of that change, since several teams used their cap room in other ways (trades, renegotiations, etc.), but Bruce Brown was one beneficiary, Pelton writes. The Pacers were able to get Brown on a short-term contract (two years with a second-year team option) by making him their highest-paid player ($22MM) for 2023/24.
The new second-round pick exception looks like a win for both teams and players. According to Marks, this year’s second-round picks have received a total of $47.1MM in guaranteed money so far, up from $36.4MM in 2022. And because the second-round exception requires a team option in either the third or fourth year, there’s no longer a risk for teams of losing a second-rounder to unrestricted free agency (the way the Mavericks lost Jalen Brunson).
The Kings and Thunder took advantage of the fact that the room exception for under-the-cap teams was upgraded to allow for a third year (instead of just two) and a much higher starting salary (it got a 30% bump, separate from its year-to-year increase). In past seasons, Sacramento and Oklahoma City wouldn’t have been able to sign Sasha Vezenkov and Vasilije Micic to three-year contracts worth between $6-8MM per year without using cap room (or the mid-level exception for over-the-cap teams) to do so. This year, they were able to use that cap space in other ways.
The Cavaliers and Rockets took advantage of more lenient salary-matching rules for non-taxpaying teams to give Max Strus and Dillon Brooks bigger starting salaries than they previously would have been eligible for based on the outgoing salaries involved in those sign-and-trade deals.
Hawks guard Dejounte Murray and Kings center Domantas Sabonis were the first two players who took advantage of the fact that veterans signing extensions can now receive a first-year raise up to 40% instead of 20%. It’s possible neither player would have agreed to an extension this offseason without that rule tweak. Knicks forward Josh Hart could be the next player to benefit from that change, according to Marks.