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Rockets Exercise 2022/23 Option On Kevin Porter Jr.

November 1st, 2021 at 4:00pm CST by Luke Adams

As expected, the Rockets have picked up the fourth-year option on Kevin Porter Jr.‘s rookie scale contract, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The option covers the 2022/23 NBA season.

The 30th overall pick in the 2019 draft, Porter spent his rookie year in Cleveland, then was traded to Houston early in the 2020/21 season due to the Cavs’ concerns about his attitude, stemming in part from a locker room incident.

Porter has been a nice fit with the Rockets, averaging 15.8 PPG, 6.1 APG, and 3.9 RPG in 32 games (31.7 MPG) so far with his new team. The franchise envisions Porter and Jalen Green as its backcourt of the future, as well as its present — both players are currently starters in Houston.

Porter’s 2022/23 option will pay him $3,217,631. He’ll now be eligible to sign a rookie scale extension during the 2022 offseason. If he and the Rockets don’t work out a new deal at that time, the next step would be restricted free agency in 2023.

It appears all the decisions on 2022/23 rookie scale options are now in, ahead of today’s deadline. We’ll be publishing a recap later tonight of all those decisions, but you can also view them here.

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Rookie Scale Option Decisions Due For Celtics, Rockets, Suns

November 1st, 2021 at 8:05am CST by Luke Adams

It’s Monday, November 1, which means teams that haven’t yet exercised their 2022/23 rookie scale options on first-round picks from 2019 and 2020 must do so by the end of the day.

If a player’s option for next season isn’t picked up, he’ll become an unrestricted free agent at the end of the 2021/22 campaign, and his team will be ineligible to offer him a starting salary higher than what his option would’ve paid him.

As our tracker shows, most teams around the NBA have already finalized their rookie scale option decisions. There are just eight options that have yet to be picked up, and one of those seven – Jarrett Culver‘s – reportedly won’t be exercised (though the Grizzlies could theoretically still change their minds before the deadline passes).

Here are the other seven outstanding options:

Boston Celtics

Houston Rockets

Phoenix Suns

Some of these decisions may be a little trickier than others, since a couple of these players have yet to emerge as regular contributors for their respective teams. Still, given that the salary cap for 2022/23 is projected to be $119MM and these options are worth less than $6MM, all seven seem more likely than not to be exercised.

Once today’s deadline passes, most teams won’t face any other important roster deadlines for a couple months, per our calendar of key in-season dates. The next big league-wide roster-related deadline will come in early January, when all non-guaranteed 2021/22 salaries become fully guaranteed.

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Danuel House Suffers Sprained Right Foot

October 27th, 2021 at 7:36pm CST by Arthur Hill
  • Rockets forward Danuel House suffered a sprained right foot Tuesday night, tweets Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. House landed awkwardly after saving a loose ball from going out of bounds and was visibly limping after the play. X-rays were negative, but he wore a walking boot when he returned to the bench later in the game.
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Southeast Notes: Harrell, Wall, Artest III, Hornets

October 26th, 2021 at 8:49pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

New Wizards reserve big man Montrezl Harrell has emerged as one of the team’s most important emotional leaders, according to Ava Wallace of the Washington Post. As Wallace writes, Harrell is one of the more vocal members of the team, a consistently talkative teammate who makes a point to discuss on-court issues during every practice.

“I tell people all the time, the guy who leads the charge in our group is Bradley Beal, but Brad’s one of those guys who kind of does it by example,” Harrell said. “He’s not going to really voice it. So I want to be that one on that backstop for him to voice it because I’m not really scared of what nobody really has to say or how nobody really feel.”

There’s more out of the Southeast Division:

  • Ira Winderman of the South Florida Sun Sentinel opines that John Wall could be a solid fit for the Heat in a reserve role behind starter Kyle Lowry if the currently-shelved Rockets point guard ever become available after a buyout. As Winderman observes, Wall does his offseason training in Miami.
  • The Heat‘s G League affiliate, the Sioux Falls Skyforce, have added Ron Artest III, son of the NBA All-Star swingman formerly known as Ron Artest (now Metta Sandiford-Artest), per Ira Winderman. The younger Artest is a 22-year-old alum of California State Northridge. The 6’7″ forward spent his final collegiate season, his junior year in 2020/21, averaging 4.3 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 1.3 APG and 0.7 BPG in just six games with the club.
  • The Hornets are benefiting from having players with significant wingspans relative to their heights and weights, writes Sam Perley of Hornets.com. “Any time you have more length, you should be a better defensive team, a better rebounding team,” said Charlotte head coach James Borrego. “We can play more defensive, protect the paint more, the rim more, rebound better. It allows us to switch and stay in front of the ball a little bit more. Make plays at the rim, deflect the ball more. It’s going to be really important for us this season.” New additions like James Bouknight, Kai Jones, JT Thor, Kelly Oubre and Mason Plumlee all fit this ethos.
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Rookie Scale Option Decisions Due Next Monday

October 26th, 2021 at 3:58pm CST by Luke Adams

Outside of the occasional back-of-the-roster transaction – like Orlando signing Mychal Mulder to a two-way contract earlier today – the first few weeks of the NBA’s regular season are generally a fairly quiet time for roster moves.

However, one noteworthy deadline arrives next Monday — teams have until November 1 to exercise the 2022/23 third- and fourth-year rookie scale options for players who were first-round picks in the 2019 and 2020 drafts. For instance, the Cavaliers will have to pick up the fourth-year option for 2019 first-rounder Darius Garland, while the Hornets will have to exercise the third-year option for 2020 first-rounder LaMelo Ball.

Typically, the deadline for these decisions is October 31, but that’s a Sunday this year. When the deadline falls on a weekend, it’s moved to the next business day, per CBA expert Larry Coon.

As our tracker shows, there are still a number of options that have yet to be picked up, including Garland’s and Ball’s. However, there’s no suspense about whether those ones – or most others – will be exercised.

Rookie scale contracts for productive rotation players are among the biggest bargains in the NBA. Most teams even pick up their options on players who haven’t cracked the rotation, since controlling a young player with upside is usually worth the modest cost of his option.

Here’s the list of option decisions that have yet to be announced or reported:

Boston Celtics

Charlotte Hornets

Cleveland Cavaliers

Golden State Warriors

Houston Rockets

Indiana Pacers

Philadelphia 76ers

Phoenix Suns

Utah Jazz

It wouldn’t be a shock if all 18 of these options are ultimately picked up, but there are a few players who are more at risk than others.

Windler, for instance, has been limited to just 32 games since being drafted in 2019 due to health problems and isn’t a lock to have his $4MM option for 2022/23 exercised.

Azubuike logged garbage-time minutes in just 15 games as a rookie and doesn’t project to have a rotation role in Utah anytime soon. Third-year options are rarely declined and Azubuike’s $2.17MM salary would be very modest, but we saw the Clippers turn down Mfiondu Kabengele‘s option at the same price point a year ago.

Langford, Bitadze, and Smith are among the other players whose option decisions won’t be automatic, though I’d be a little surprised if their teams don’t opt in.

We’ll continue passing along all of these option decisions as they’re reported over the next week, so be sure to keep an eye on our tracker for the latest updates.

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Texas Notes: Wood, Theis, Forbes, Johnson

October 24th, 2021 at 3:32pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rockets big man Christian Wood has used a perceived Team USA Olympic selection slight and a positional switch from center to power forward as fuel for his own development, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic.

“(The move to power forward from center) allows me to show what I can do, and it allows the floor to be open, and I can create for other guys and I can create for myself,” said Wood, who connected on 37.4% of his 5.0 three point looks per night during the 2020/21 season. “I wanted to be one of the best bigs in this league, and I have to go out every night and show that.”

“There’s been big-time growth, there’s been big-time maturity, there’s been a lot,” head coach Stephen Silas raved following a 31-point, 14-rebound, three-block performance from Wood in a 124-91 victory over the Thunder on Friday. “I think another part of it is the fact that this is the first time he’s been on the same team for two consecutive years. And you see the growth from year to year, you see the trust that goes back and forth between he and I, the trust that goes back and forth between him and his teammates who know him and know what he can do.”

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

  • Newly-acquired Rockets center Daniel Theis hopes to stick around Houston to watch the club’s exciting young core develop, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. “I want to help them grow and get better on court, off court,” Theis said. “I have a good relationship with Jalen (Green). He listens a lot on the court, off the court he’s going to learn a lot. The same with Scoot (Kevin Porter Jr.)… Just help them to grow and get better.” The 6’8″ Theis is starting at center after signing a four-year, $36MM contract with Houston in a sign-and-trade with the Bulls over the summer. The addition of Theis has allowed for the 6’10” Wood to move to the power forward position.
  • On Saturday night, Spurs shooting guard Bryn Forbes reunited with his last club, the Bucks, with whom he won the NBA title this summer. Ahead of the game, he expressed his eagerness to collect his championship ring, per Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. “I’m excited to have that in my possession and hold it,” Forbes said. “It’s an accomplishment you dream of your whole life.”
  • Young Spurs small forward Keldon Johnson appears to be developing nicely during this early portion of his third NBA season, writes Jeff McDonald of the San Antonio Express-News. The 22-year-old Johnson, selected with the No. 29 pick out of Kentucky in 2019, set a career high for points in a half with 18 against the Nuggets Friday, finishing with 27 for the game. “I just keep pressure on the rim,” Johnson said. “That’s what I do.” In recent comments, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich offered a frank appraisal of Johnson’s strengths — and weaknesses. “When he catches and makes quick decisions — shoots it or passes it — that works best for him,” Popovich said. “When he’s just dribbling and trying to beat somebody, that doesn’t work out very well.”
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Gerald Green Retires, Joins Rockets Coaching Staff

October 22nd, 2021 at 7:38pm CST by Rory Maher

Veteran guard Gerald Green has retired from the NBA as a player and will be joining the Rockets as a player development coach, the team announced (Twitter link).

Green, who played 12 seasons in the NBA, worked out for the Rockets last month, but wasn’t picked up by the rebuilding team. He joined the Rockets for the 2020/21 preseason, but was waived before the season started due to cap constraints. He suffered a broken foot in October of 2019 and missed the entire 2019/20 season because of the injury. The last time he played in regular season games was in 2018/19, when he was a rotation player for the Rockets.

The 18th pick of the 2005 draft, Green played in 658 NBA games during his 12 seasons, holding career averages of 9.7 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 0.9 assists in 19.8 minutes per game, with a shooting slash line of .417/.361/.818.

Arguably his best individual season came in 2013/14 with Phoenix, when he played all 82 games (48 starts) and averaged 15.8 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 28.4 minutes per game, with a shooting line of .445/.400/.848.

The Houston native played for eight teams over the course of his career: the Celtics, Timberwolves, Mavericks, Nets, Pacers, Suns, Heat, and Rockets. He had two separate stints with both the Celtics and Rockets.

An amazing athlete, Green was one of the best dunkers the NBA has ever seen. He was the champion of the 2007 Slam Dunk Contest and runner-up in 2008. He also developed into a strong, albeit streaky, three-point shooter in the latter portion of his career, playing important minutes in Houston’s run to the Western Conference Finals in 2017/18.

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Rockets React To Opening Night Blowout

October 21st, 2021 at 11:13am CST by Luke Adams
  • Ahead of their regular season opener, the youthful Rockets were enthusiastic about embracing the challenge ahead, per Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Following a blowout loss in Minnesota on Wednesday, they have a better sense of what that challenge entails, Feigen writes. “It’s the NBA. It’s grown men,” rookie Jalen Green said of the physicality he experienced in his regular season debut. “I’m 19 years old. It’s not high school any more. It’s the real league, a man’s league.”
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Southwest Notes: Jackson, Nwaba, Zion, Luka

October 19th, 2021 at 9:05pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

The lucrative four-year, $105MM rookie extension that power forward Jaren Jackson Jr. signed this week with the Grizzlies is very much predicated on his ceiling. Evan Barnes of the Memphis Commercial Appeal details why he considers the agreement mutually beneficial to both sides in a new piece. A big reason: the contract will decrease in value every season once it kicks in, which will give Memphis room to further bolster the roster.

“I’m locked in, I’m blessed, I’m happy I get to be here and be around people I love,” the 6’11” big man said of the deal and his chemistry in Memphis. “It’s a good experience.”

Due to Jackson’s extensive injury history, the agreement contains injury protection related to his left knee, but it only applies to the last year of the deal (for 2025/26), a source informed John Hollinger of The Athletic.

There’s more out of the Southwest Division:

  • Following two injury-plagued years, Rockets swingman David Nwaba is relishing his good health heading into the 2021/22 season, writes Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. Nwaba suffered an Achilles injury in December 2019, and then a right wrist injury in February of this year that ultimately required surgery. “Hopefully, just take care of my body for the length of this season,” Nwaba said of his hopes for the year. “I think we’ve had a lot of improvements on the defensive end.” All told, the 28-year-old has been healthy for just 50 of his past 144 games with Brooklyn and Houston.
  • Thanks to an uncertain recovery timeline for the injured foot of All-Star power forward Zion Williamson, the Pelicans have already proved frustrating to fans ahead of the 2021/22 season, opines Scott Kushner of the NOLA.com. Williamson and team president David Griffin made it seem like the former No. 1 pick could be back in time for the beginning of the year, but it appears that the team was either too hopeful or being deliberately disingenuous, Kushner says.
  • Mavericks All-Star point guard Luka Doncic expressed his excitement about the club’s development ahead of the 2021/22 season, according to Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News. “I think we’re playing great, sharing the ball,” Doncic said of the team’s 4-0 preseason showing. “Especially on the defensive end, we’ve been way better, and I think that’s the key for us.” 
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Rockets Claim Garrison Mathews, Waive Anthony Lamb

October 18th, 2021 at 5:02pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets have made a change to one of their two-way contract slots, waiving forward Anthony Lamb and replacing him with guard Garrison Mathews, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter links). According to Iko, Houston claimed Mathews off waivers and converted his Exhibit 10 contract to a two-way deal.

Mathews, who was on a two-way contract with Washington for each of the past two seasons after going undrafted out of Lipscomb in 2019, emerged as a regular rotation player for Washington in 2020/21, averaging 5.5 PPG in 64 games (16.2 MPG). The 24-year-old shooting guard has displayed a reliable outside shot since entering the NBA, making 38.9% of 244 total three-point attempts.

The Celtics signed Mathews to a training camp contract this offseason and he was a candidate to be converted to a two-way deal in Boston, but he reportedly asked the team not to do so. According to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Mathews thought it was unlikely he’d be promoted to the Celtics’ standard roster during the season if he were on a two-way deal with the team. There’s a better path to a 15-man roster spot in Houston, where the Rockets will likely try to trade some veterans this season.

As for Lamb, he played in the G League bubble with the Canton Charge and Rio Grande Valley Vipers earlier this year after going undrafted out of Vermont in 2020. His solid showing for Houston’s G League affiliate (the Vipers) earned him a two-way deal with the Rockets in March. He averaged 5.5 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 24 games (17.3 MPG) for Houston, then accepted his two-way qualifying offer this offseason. He’s a candidate to return to the Vipers.

The Rockets also completed another minor transaction, quietly signing and waiving big man Mfiondu Kabengele, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The sign-and-waive move ensures that Houston can make Kabengele an affiliate player for Rio Grande Valley, assuming he signs a G League contract.

Kabengele, 24, was the 27th overall pick in the 2019 draft, but barely played for the Clippers in his rookie year and had his rookie scale team option for the 2021/22 season turned down. He was traded to the Kings at the 2021 deadline, then caught on with the Cavaliers after being cut by Sacramento. The 6’9″ Canadian played in 16 games for the Cavs down the stretch, averaging 4.3 PPG and 2.9 RPG in 11.6 minutes per contest.

Because Kabengele signed his Exhibit 10 contract with Houston on Sunday and wasn’t cut until Monday, he’ll still be on waivers when the regular season begins. That means the Rockets will take on a small cap hit for a couple days worth of his minimum salary.

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