- Injured Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. doesn’t have a return date yet, but he’s continuing to make progress with his bruised left thigh, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Porter, who hasn’t played since December 3, has been ramping up his workouts over the past week. “We’re getting there,” he said. “It has been a work in progress, but we’ve just been making progress each and every day. I’m feeling good. We’re taking steps forward. It’s always hard waiting. Honestly, when it first happens, I feel like it’s the worst because (the rehab) is a long-ball game, but almost being back is a boost of confidence and (to) your self-esteem about everything every day, everything you do daily.”
Rockets rookie Jalen Green is on track to play on Thursday in Indiana, reports Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Houston has a back-to-back road set on Wednesday and Thursday vs. the Bucks and Pacers, respectively, so the team is eyeing the second game in that back-to-back for Green’s return.
The No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft, Green has been sidelined for nearly a month due to a strained left hamstring, which he suffered on November 24. He averaged 14.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, and 2.3 APG on .382/.378/.807 shooting in his first 18 NBA games (30.8 MPG) and will be looking to improve upon those numbers when he returns to the court.
Here are a few more updates from around the league related to injuries and COVID-19:
- Bulls wing Troy Brown has exited the health and safety protocols and is rejoining the team, a source tells Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter link). Chicago still has five players in the protocols.
- The Cavaliers have placed veteran big man Ed Davis in the health and safety protocols, according to Wojnarowski (Twitter link). Cleveland is facing a significant COVID-19 outbreak, with eight players in the protocols, but should have enough players available to continue its schedule, says Wojnarowski.
- An MRI on P.J. Tucker‘s left knee injury revealed no structural damage, says Anthony Chiang of The Miami Herald. The Heat have diagnosed Tucker’s injury as lower left leg nerve inflammation and ruled him out for Tuesday’s game vs. Indiana. It’s unclear how much more time he might miss.
- Rockets head coach Stephen Silas is hopeful that Jalen Green (hamstring), who has been out since November 24, will be back in the lineup before Christmas, but said Kevin Porter Jr. (thigh), who last played on December 3, will remain sidelined through the Christmas break, tweets Mark Berman of Fox 26 Houston. The Rockets are in action on Wednesday in Milwaukee and Thursday in Indiana, then will resume play next Monday in Charlotte.
- Garrison Mathews‘ new four-year contract with the Rockets is worth $8.2MM, with a $2MM guaranteed salary in 2021/22, sources tell Alykhan Bijani and Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). According to Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter link), Mathews will have non-guaranteed salaries with trigger dates in years two and three, plus a fourth-year team option.
DECEMBER 18: The Rockets announced via a press release they have converted Mathews’ two-way contract into a standard contract, signed Queen to a two-way contract, and waived House.
DECEMBER 17: The Rockets are waiving Danuel House, signing two-way player Garrison Mathews to a standard four-year contract worth more than $8MM, and signing wing Trevelin Queen to a two-way deal, according to Adrian Wojnarowski and Tim MacMahon of ESPN (All Twitter links).
The Rockets had been looking for a way to create an opening on their 15-man roster in order to convert Mathews, and they’ve done so by waiving House. Bobby Marks of ESPN tweets that the Rockets will use a portion of their mid-level exception to convert Mathews to a standard contract.
The Rockets will be responsible for the full $3.9MM of House’s guaranteed contract this season, although he’s already earned approximately $1.4MM, so it’s really an additional $2.5MM, as Marks tweets.
House has been out of Houston’s rotation this season as the team prioritizes younger players. In 16 games this season (14.6 MPG), he averaged 4.8 PPG and 2.7 RPG on .338/.294/.895 shooting. If he clears waivers, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent.
The Rockets claimed Mathews off waivers the day before the season started and converted his Exhibit 10 deal into a two-way contract. He’s certainly earned his promotion to a standard deal; in 11 games since entering the starting lineup, Mathews has averaged 14.5 PPG and 3.8 RPG on .435/.378/.795 shooting in 33 MPG. He’s attempting 8.2 three-pointers (3.1 makes) and 3.5 free throws during that stretch, a very nice shot profile for an analytically-driven Houston team. The Rockets are 7-4 over those 11 games.
The 24-year-old Queen has been playing with Houston’s G League affiliate, the Rio Grand Valley Vipers. In 10 games with the Vipers, he’s averaging 22.0 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 4.3 APG and 2.9 SPG.
Based on the whispers he has heard around the league, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst views Caris LeVert and Myles Turner as more likely trade candidates for the Pacers than Domantas Sabonis, he said on the latest episode of his Hoop Collective podcast. Although Sabonis has frequently been mentioned alongside LeVert and Turner in reports on Indiana’s potential trade chips, Windhorst hasn’t heard much chatter about the All-Star center.
During Friday’s episode of the Hoop Collective podcast, Windhorst spoke at length to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon about the report on the Mavericks that MacMahon published earlier this week, which included details on how the relationship between Luka Doncic and Rick Carlisle became frayed. Interestingly, Windhorst suggested that LeVert could perhaps relate to Doncic, stating that the Pacers swingman and Carlisle have not had the “greatest partnership” so far this season.
Here are a few more interesting tidbits shared by Windhorst during his podcast:
- Windhorst heard from one executive who said that the Trail Blazers, since their front office shakeup, have created the impression they’re willing to listen to inquiries on anyone except Damian Lillard.
- According to Windhorst, there are multiple execs around the NBA who believe that when the Sixers eventually trade Ben Simmons, at least one of the Kings, Timberwolves, and/or Rockets will be involved, either as Simmons’ destination or as a third team in the deal. As Windhorst explains, those three teams’ front offices are run by executives who previously worked with Daryl Morey.
- Although reports earlier this year suggested that De’Aaron Fox was expected to be off-limits in any Kings trade talks, MacMahon has gotten the sense that the point guard is no longer considered untouchable. According to Windhorst, Fox came to camp this fall 15 pounds heavier than he was when the season ended last spring.
Rockets shooting guard Eric Gordon is among the players the Knicks have discussed internally as potential trade targets, a source tells Marc Berman of The New York Post.
Berman cautions that the Knicks’ list is a long one, so there’s certainly no guarantee that the club will actually pursue Gordon, who turns 33 on Christmas Day.
However, Berman contends that the Knicks could use more three-point shooting and notes that point guard Derrick Rose has tried to recruit Gordon to New York in the past — the two veterans have a long history, having played AAU ball together.
Gordon has played well for Houston this season, averaging 14.7 PPG and 3.1 APG on .477/.434/.712 shooting through 24 games (29.9 MPG). He probably doesn’t have a long-term future with the Rockets though, since he’s a holdover from the pre-rebuild version of the squad and his timeline doesn’t fit with the organization’s new young core.
Still, it’s hard to envision the Knicks making a serious play for Gordon, who has a guaranteed $19.6MM cap hit in 2022/23 and a non-guaranteed $20.9MM salary in ’23/24. Pairing Gordon with Evan Fournier, another shooting guard in the same salary range, doesn’t seem like the best use of the club’s resources, and the Rockets almost certainly wouldn’t have any interest in Fournier, whose contract doesn’t expire until 2025 (guaranteed through ’24).
The Lakers have had internal conversations about the possibility of trading Russell Westbrook, league sources tell Jake Fischer of Bleacher Report. Westbrook hasn’t fit in as well with LeBron James and Anthony Davis this season as the team had hoped.
However, Fischer suggests that any deal involving Westbrook is unlikely. He’s earning $44.2MM, with a $47.1MM player option for 2022/23, and there simply aren’t many players around the NBA who are available and could be used for salary-matching that sort of figure.
Fischer notes that a Cavaliers package centered around Kevin Love and Ricky Rubio would work, but such a deal probably wouldn’t appeal to Cleveland and hasn’t been discussed by the two teams. The Lakers, meanwhile, likely wouldn’t have much interest in acquiring Rockets guard John Wall, whose salary is nearly identical to Westbrook’s.
As Fischer writes, Sixers star Ben Simmons is one player whose salary could make him a candidate to be moved in a trade for Westbrook, and a Monday report indicated the Lakers have interest in Simmons. But Westbrook isn’t on Philadelphia’s wish list and conversations between the 76ers and Lakers haven’t gotten very far, says Fischer.
Here are a few more trade rumors from around the Western Conference, via Fischer:
- Despite their slow start, the Pelicans haven’t given up on the idea of vying for a spot in the play-in tournament and could be buyers at the trade deadline, according to Fischer, who says former lottery pick Jaxson Hayes is considered to be available via trade.
- The Nuggets are seeking wing upgrades and may put JaMychal Green on the trade block, sources tell Bleacher Report.
- Jusuf Nurkic and Robert Covington, who are both on expiring contracts, are viewed as perhaps the most obvious trade candidates for the Trail Blazers, but Larry Nance Jr. may also be a prime target for rival front offices, says Fischer.
- The Rockets would like to create an opening on their 15-man roster to promote two-way player Garrison Mathews, Fischer writes. Houston has a number of veteran trade candidates on its squad, including Eric Gordon, Danuel House, D.J. Augustin, and Daniel Theis.
- The Spurs have been “frequently linked” to Suns center Jalen Smith, who is on the trade block, according to Fischer. Phoenix has previously been reported to have interest in San Antonio forward Thaddeus Young.
Rockets big man Christian Wood thinks the team’s impressive turnaround is for real, writes Tim MacMahon of ESPN. The Rockets started the season 1-16, but had won seven in a row prior to Friday’s 123-114 loss to the Bucks. Wood admits he wasn’t necessarily expecting the winning streak, but believes in the team.
“A little surprising, but we’ve always believed,” Wood told ESPN on Friday. “We’ve always stayed together and always had that team chemistry. We know that we’re better than a 1-16 record and better than what we were showing. We never put our heads down. We just stayed together.
“I believe it’s real. Especially with Jalen Green being out, which is a key piece, points that [would be] on the board that are not. We’re still managing to win games. And with Kevin Porter Jr. out. I think we’re even better than we’re showing. We’re just clicking.”
The two young guards are sidelined with hamstring and thigh injuries, respectively.
Here’s more from Houston:
- The Rockets have benefited from excellent shooting from players like Eric Gordon, Garrison Mathews, and Armoni Brooks of late, Rahat Huq of The Houston Chronicle writes. Gordon has even been taking some mid-range shots, a relic of the past in Houston with its analytically driven approach. The shooting and ball movement has led to better spacing for the entire team, Huq notes.
- Ethan Fuller of BasketballNews.com writes that the Rockets have been successful with an unlikely group of heroes. He mentions Mathews, Brooks, and Jae’Sean Tate as being particularly noteworthy.
- Josh Christopher, the 24th overall pick of the 2021 draft, had a breakout performance on his 20th birthday on Wednesday, notes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Iko takes an in-depth look at Christopher’s development, stating that stints in the G League have been beneficial for the young rookie.
- Green says he’s “making good progress” in his recovery, but there’s still no timeline for his return, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle.
The Nets are resting Kevin Durant and LaMarcus Aldridge for tonight’s game in Houston, tweets Mark Medina of NBA.com. Durant played more than 40 minutes in Tuesday’s win at Dallas, and Brooklyn is being careful not to overextend Aldridge, who briefly retired at the end of last season due to a heart condition.
There have been concerns about the heavy minutes that Durant and James Harden have seen this season with the loss of Kyrie Irving and injuries to other rotation players. Harden said Tuesday that neither of them minds the increased workload, per Tim MacMahon of ESPN.
“One thing about me and KD, we love to play basketball,” Harden said. “So it don’t matter. We could play the whole 48. Even if we’re exhausted. Coach says something — nope. We wanna stay in the game. We wanna play.”
There’s more from New York City:
- Harden received a mostly positive reaction when he was introduced tonight in Houston, tweets Brian Lewis of The New York Post. Harden, who played more than eight seasons with the Rockets before forcing his way out in January, returned to Houston for a game last season, but the crowd was limited because of COVID-19 restrictions. “I think it definitely means something to James,” Nets coach Steve Nash said. “I don’t want to overstate it, but I also don’t want to understate it. He had such a historic run here. This city means a ton to him.”
- A report that the Pacers are exploring trades involving Myles Turner could be significant to the Knicks, who checked on Turner’s availability during the offseason, according to Ian Begley of SNY.tv. Those talks didn’t go very far, Begley adds, but New York’s front office remains interested in finding a center who can stretch the floor. The Knicks have multiple ways to match Turner’s $17.5MM salary, Begley notes, and Mitchell Robinson, Nerlens Noel or Taj Gibson would likely be included in any deal.
- Tom Thibodeau’s search for lineup solutions will be much easier if RJ Barrett continues to shoot the way he did in Tuesday’s win over the Spurs, per Mike Vaccaro of The New York Post. Barrett broke out of a 13-game shooting slump with a 32-point night while going 7-of-8 from beyond the arc. “I was down for a couple of weeks, but I’m feeling better now,” Barrett said. “It was good to get back in the gym, it was great and to have a game like today. Hopefully that can carry on for (Wednesday).”