Demarcus Cousins Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Rockets Rumors: Harden, Tucker, TPE, Oladipo

January 18th, 2021 at 11:12am CST by Luke Adams

When the Rockets finally moved James Harden last week, multiple reports indicated that it came down to the Nets and Sixers. However, those weren’t the only two teams with legitimate interest in the former MVP during the final days of the Harden sweepstakes.

According to Kelly Iko and Sam Amick of The Athletic, the Celtics remained in the hunt for Harden in the later stages of negotiations. While Danny Ainge publicly said that Boston and Houston hadn’t had any recent discussions, sources tell The Athletic that the Rockets saw the C’s as “part of their process” until the end. Iko and Amick report that Houston also received multiple “big” offers from teams that weren’t on Harden’s wish list.

Still, according to The Athletic, by the time Harden gave his infamous final press conference as a Rocket – during which he criticized the team as “not good enough” – he knew a move to Brooklyn was close. He had been receiving regular updates on the situation, per Iko and Amick, who say that the Sixers’ interest was “very real,” but that the Nets kept upping the ante with their offers.

Here’s more on the Rockets and the Harden saga:

According to Iko and Amick, Rockets held a team meeting following their second consecutive blowout loss to the Lakers last week, and John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins both spoke, seeking answers about Harden’s level of commitment, buy-in, and accountability. Harden made it clear during that meeting that the newcomers hadn’t been in Houston long enough to understand what was going on, per The Athletic. Jae’Sean Tate would later describe that meeting as the point where the Rockets “drew the line” on the situation.
A contract extension offer is on the table for P.J. Tucker, but he hasn’t accepted it and appears to have tabled those negotiations for now, sources tell Iko and Amick. While Tucker is prepared to spend the rest of the season with the team, he also wouldn’t necessary be opposed to a trade, according to The Athletic. A separate report indicated that the Rockets are demanding three second-round picks in return for the 35-year-old forward.
Rockets GM Rafael Stone said over the weekend that the team plans to be aggressive in attempting to use the $10.65MM traded player exception it created in the Harden deal. Iko and Amick suggest that’s not just posturing — the team has also privately indicated it will attempt to use that TPE to land a quality player.
Stephen Silas‘ high opinion of Victor Oladipo was a factor in Houston’s decision to acquire him, Iko and Amick report. The Rockets want to take a serious look at Oladipo in the coming months and decide whether he fits into their long-term plans. For his part, Oladipo intends to evaluate the fit as well, as Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes. “If things work out, if I’m happy,” Oladipo said, adding that he’s “blessed and fortunate” to be in Houston. “Essentially, it’s like a business plan. You have to go through every aspect of the business plan, kind of figure out if you want to invest in it.”

Rockets’ Players, Silas Discuss Harden Situation

January 13th, 2021 at 2:26pm CST by Luke Adams

On Tuesday night, James Harden said that he didn’t feel as if the Rockets were “good enough” to compete with the NBA’s best teams, suggesting that there wasn’t enough talent on the roster and that he didn’t think the situation could be fixed.

Those comments may essentially represent his farewell to Houston, as they appear to have accelerated the Rockets’ efforts to trade him. They also didn’t sit well with some of the teammates he was throwing under the bus.

Addressing the situation today, DeMarcus Cousins pointedly stated that he came to Houston to play with John Wall, and expressed his displeasure with Harden’s public critique of the Rockets and the way he has handled himself over the last month or two.

“He can feel however he wants to about the organization or whatever his current situation is, but the other 14 guys in the locker room have done nothing to him,” Cousins said, per James Herbert of CBS Sports (Twitter link). “So for us to be on the receiving end of some of the disrespectful comments and antics, it’s completely unfair to us.”

While Cousins was referring in part to Harden’s press conference on Tuesday, he made it clear that it’s not as if everyone was on the same page up until then.

“The disrespect started way before any interview,” Cousins said (Twitter link via Herbert). “Just the approach to training camp, showing up the way he did, the antics off the court. I mean the disrespect started way before.”

While other Rockets players who have addressed the Harden situation since Tuesday night weren’t quite as blunt as Cousins, Christian Wood acknowledged that the situation has “been going on since training camp” and said Harden’s comments hurt team chemistry (Twitter links via Herbert).

Wall, who spoke to reporters shortly after Harden did on Tuesday, expressed his frustration with his backcourt mate’s unwillingness to buy in.

“When the one through 15 guys are all on the same page… you all will be fine,” Wall said (video link via Bleacher Report). “But when you have certain guys in the mix that don’t want to buy in all as one, it’s going to be hard do anything special or do anything good as a basketball team.

“… It’s only been nine games. Like, come on, man, you’re gonna jump off the cliff off of nine games? There’s a lot of basketball still to be played.”

Head coach Stephen Silas was diplomatic about the situation, telling the media today that Harden “was nothing but professional” to him personally and calling the saga a “crazy NBA situation” (Twitter links via Herbert). With Harden away from the team, Silas said he’s focused on the other players on Houston’s roster.

“The reaction (to Tuesday’s comments) was less about what James said and more about the group, and how the group would feel about what he said,” Silas said, noting that he believes the Rockets are better than their 3-6 record suggests. “That was my main concern because that’s hard to hear. Especially when you don’t believe it and you know it not to be true.”

While it seemed for a time that the Rockets might drag out their Harden trade talks until the March deadline, it now appears likely that a deal will be completed this week.

Markieff Morris, DeMarcus Cousins Fined For On-Court Altercation

January 12th, 2021 at 12:23pm CST by Luke Adams

Lakers forward Markieff Morris and Rockets center DeMarcus Cousins have been fined by the NBA for their roles in an on-court altercation in Sunday’s game, the league announced today in a press release. Morris will lose $35K, while Cousins was penalized $10K.

Morris committed a flagrant foul on Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate during the first quarter of Sunday’s Lakers win, with Cousins responding by pushing Morris to the floor.

The league said that Morris “further escalated the situation” by going after Cousins, shoving him and “continuing to aggressively pursue him,” which presumably explains why his fine is more substantial. Both players received technical fouls and Morris was ejected. Cousins was ejected later in the game after committing a flagrant foul.

Rockets coach Stephen Silas praised Cousins after the game for sticking up for Tate, who is in his first year in the NBA.

“He wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to his rookie, and I think that’s admirable,” Silas said. “Him sticking up for his teammate shows a lot of who DeMarcus Cousins is.”

Southwest Notes: Hammon, Cousins, Burke, Anderson

January 11th, 2021 at 6:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Spurs assistant coach Becky Hammon continues to perform most of her coaching duties despite being away from the team due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, Tom Orsborn of the San Antonio Express News reports.

Hammon is under a league-mandated quarantine in Los Angeles along with Spurs big man Drew Eubanks and an unnamed staffer. She has missed three games.

“It’s a big loss,” guard DeMar DeRozan said. “The chemistry we have with Becky makes it a lot lighter compared to Pop (Spurs coach Gregg Popovich).”

We have from the Southwest Division:

Rockets center DeMarcus Cousins was ejected on Monday against his former team, the Lakers, for an altercation with Markieff Morris. Cousins intervened for teammate Jae’Sean Tate, who was shoved to the court by Morris, and first-year coach Stephen Silas was fine with Cousins’ actions, ESPN’s Tim MacMahon tweets. “He wasn’t going to allow anything to happen to his rookie, and I think that’s admirable,” Silas said. “Him sticking up for his teammate shows a lot of who DeMarcus Cousins is.”
The Mavericks are dealing with major COVID issues and guard Trey Burke knows what his teammates are going through, as Brad Townsend of the Dallas Morning News details. Burke underwent a 25-day quarantine last summer after signing with Dallas. “I kept getting inconclusive [test] results,” he said. “It would come back negative and then it would be positive. It is a real experience. … I know it is a tough time and it is unfortunate but try to use this isolation time to do some meditation, some visualization, and try to work on yourself.”
Forward Kyle Anderson is averaging career highs in points, rebounding and assists for the injury-riddled Grizzlies and he feels a measure of vindication, Mark Giannotto of the Memphis Commercial Appeal writes. “I feel like I could have been doing this in this league, but I put a lot of work in and finally proving to myself that I can do it,” said Anderson, who is signed through the 2021/22 season.

Rockets Notes: Wall, Cousins, Harden, Hard Cap

December 30th, 2020 at 7:36pm CST by Arthur Hill

John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Eric Gordon all practiced today for the first time since being forced to quarantine after an ill-fated haircut last week, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The Rockets‘ Dec. 23 season opener was canceled because they didn’t have enough active players, and they were short-handed for the two games that followed.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Wall said. “All I did was get a haircut in my apartment. And one of the teammates tested positive and the next four or five tests I had all came back negative. So, I was like ‘Oh, it was me and three people can’t get a haircut.’ I’d rather get a haircut in my apartment than be in a barbershop somewhere where random people are coming in constantly. Even the barber tested negative. That was a frustrating thing.”

Assuming no more setbacks, Wall will play his first game in more than two years on Thursday. He and Cousins, who responded to the quarantine with an online post of an angry emoji, will both make their debuts with the Rockets.

“It’s tough in general to be sitting around for seven days, no type of activity,” Cousins said. “It’s tough for any person, but especially for a professional athlete, sitting at home for seven days straight then jumping back in a full-speed practice or game. There’s not a lot of positive on that side.”

There’s more from Houston:

Head coach Stephen Silas said league protocol requires Ben McLemore and KJ Martin, who are believed to have tested positive for COVID-19, to remain in quarantine through the weekend, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic.
The Sixers are farther away from trying to acquire Rockets star James Harden than they were two weeks ago, ESPN’s Brian Windhorst said on today’s episode of “The Jump” (video link). With a 3-1 record and Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid playing well together, Philadelphia doesn’t feel any urgency to make a move. Windhorst believes Simmons gives the Sixers the best asset of any of the teams rumored to be involved in talks for Harden, but he doesn’t think either side is in a hurry to complete a deal.
The Rockets are currently $1.077M below the hard cap, which means they will be able to add a pro-rated 15th player to their roster starting February 9, tweets salary cap expert Albert Nahmad. Teams can begin signing players to 10-day contracts on February 23 (Twitter link).

Rockets’ Wall, Gordon, Cousins, Jones Quarantining Until Wednesday

December 26th, 2020 at 10:24am CST by Luke Adams

Four Rockets players – John Wall, Eric Gordon, DeMarcus Cousins, and Mason Jones – will be required by the NBA to quarantine for seven days for COVID-19 contact tracing purposes, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link). Their quarantine periods began on Wednesday.

Wall, Gordon, Cousins, and Jones will miss Houston’s games on Saturday (at Portland) and Monday (at Denver). As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle tweets, all four players expected to receive clearance to practice with the team on Wednesday, barring any setbacks, and should be available to suit up on Thursday for the Rockets’ home opener vs. Sacramento.

The Rockets will also be without Ben McLemore and KJ Martin for the immediate future, since both players are self-isolating after returning positive coronavirus tests, as Feigen writes.

However, the expectation is that James Harden will be cleared to play today following a four-day quarantine for violating COVID-19 health and safety protocols, and the Rockets will have enough players available for their game vs. the Blazers.

In addition to the six players who are missing for COVID-19 reasons, the Rockets will also be without Chris Clemons, who is out for the season with a torn Achilles. That leaves nine players – Harden, P.J. Tucker, Danuel House, Christian Wood, Sterling Brown, David Nwaba, Bruno Caboclo, Jae’Sean Tate, and Brodric Thomas – presumed to be available for now. The NBA requires teams to have at least eight players active for games.

Reports earlier this week indicated that Tate was among the players who were sent home for contact tracing, but he’s not on Houston’s latest injury report and isn’t among the list of players said to be in the midst of their seven-day quarantines.

Rockets Staffer Tests Positive; New Contact Tracing For Gordon, Others

December 25th, 2020 at 2:02pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

DECEMBER 25: The Rockets, who are scheduled to travel to Portland on Friday night for Saturday’s game, are currently on course to have the mandated minimum of eight players available for that contest, reports Marc Stein of The New York Times (Twitter link). Houston could have as many as nine players available, Stein adds (via Twitter).

DECEMBER 24: A Rockets staff member has tested positive for the novel coronavirus COVID-19. As a result, contact tracing is being conducted for guard Eric Gordon and other Houston personnel, according to Shams Charania of the Athletic (via Twitter).

Meanwhile, Charania adds (Twitter link) that “several” of Gordon’s Rockets teammates – including DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall and possibly others – are facing a week-long quarantine period for a separate possible exposure. As we relayed earlier this week, Jae’Sean Tate and Mason Jones were also sent home along with Cousins and Wall to quarantine under the league’s contact tracing protocol.

Three Rockets players have recently returned positive or inconclusive COVID-19 tests, among them KJ Martin and Ben McLemore. The identity of the third player has not been disclosed, but apparently All-Star guard James Harden remains negative for the coronavirus and will most likely be available for the Rockets’ next game after being fined $50,000 for violating league protocols regarding COVID-19.

What this means for the Rockets’ upcoming game against the Trail Blazers, scheduled for Saturday, has yet to be divulged. The Rockets’ first scheduled game of the season yesterday was postponed when it was determined that, between injuries and coronavirus protocols, the club would not have enough healthy players available.

It appeared that Houston would be able to activate at least eight players on Saturday, even if the rest of the players besides Harden who were unavailable on Wednesday had yet to be cleared. But if Gordon and others are now required to self-isolate, that may no longer be the case.

Latest On Rockets’ Roster Situation For Opener

December 23rd, 2020 at 3:42pm CST by Luke Adams

Half the Rockets‘ roster appears to be in jeopardy for the team’s opener against the Thunder, according to reports. As we relayed earlier today, James Harden may not be able to play tonight due to an apparent violation of the NBA’s coronavirus protocols, while several other players are caught up in contact tracing after KJ Martin returned a positive COVID-19 test.

As Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN explains (via Twitter), Martin tested positive and then returned a negative test in the last 24 hours. Martin and the Rockets are now awaiting the results of another test.

Several players that were in close contact with Martin have reportedly been sent home for contact tracing purposes as the team awaits the latest test results. Earlier today, we learned that group of players includes John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Jae’Sean Tate. Wojnarowski (Twitter link) adds two-way player Mason Jones to that list. However, there’s no indication that any of those players have tested positive.

In addition to the six players noted above, the Rockets are also missing Chris Clemons (torn Achilles) and Ben McLemore (self-isolating due to COVID-19). That would leave just eight players of the team’s 16-man squad available for tonight’s game — as Wojnarowski points out (via Twitter), that’s the minimum number of active players mandated by league rules.

Since this is the first instance of a potential positive test affecting an NBA regular season game since March 11, we’re in wait-and-see mode to see how the team and the league will handle it. If Martin returns another negative test and it’s determined that his positive test was a false positive, it would seemingly open the door for him – and those players in close contact with him – to be activated.

Meanwhile, Harden – who had COVID-19 over the summer prior to the restart, according to ESPN’s Tim MacMahon – tested negative on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, tweets Ramona Shelburne of ESPN.

According to Shelburne, the league is still reviewing Harden’s situation and potential eligibility for tonight’s game. Harden, who was captured in a video that appears to show him partying at a Houston club this week – told investigators that he believed he was in compliance with the NBA’s healthy and safety protocols, Shelburne adds (via Twitter).

As Shelburne details, Harden told the league he attended a seated dinner for a friend who had been promoted at work and took a photo with her when he gave her a gift. He claimed he came in through a separate entrance and sat in a separate section of the venue with his security detail, then left after about 30 minutes (all Twitter links).

Several Rockets Could Miss Opener Due To Contact Tracing

December 23rd, 2020 at 12:51pm CST by Arthur Hill

12:51pm: KJ Martin is now listed on the Rockets’ injury report as self-isolating and not with the team, tweets MacMahon. The contact tracing is related to Martin’s test results, Wojnarowski confirms (via Twitter).

As Woj explains (via Twitter), a group of Rockets players, including Martin, Wall, and Cousins, were away from the team facility at an apartment getting haircuts. Since Martin tested positive, contact tracing is required for others who were there – including Wall and Cousins – as the team waits for confirmation on Martin’s test result.

Wall and Cousins have both tested negative, Woj adds (Twitter link). Meanwhile, Jae’Sean Tate has also been sent home for contact tracing, tweets MacMahon.

12:25pm: Wall tested negative for the coronavirus but is among a group of Rockets sent home because a teammate tested positive, sources tell Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN (Twitter links). Woj adds that Ben McLemore tested positive for COVID-19 a few days ago but has been in isolation and isn’t the player whose positive test initiated today’s contact tracing.

Meanwhile, Sam Amick of The Athletic clarifies (via Twitter) that the contact tracing isn’t tied to Harden, while Tim Bontemps of ESPN tweets that the Thunder haven’t received any communication from the NBA about the status of tonight’s game.

11:47am: Several Rockets players are expected to miss the season opener tonight because of COVID-19 contact tracing, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. Charania mentions John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and says other players could also be affected.

Although Charania doesn’t specify, the action could be related to an investigation into James Harden‘s apparent visit to a strip club. NBA officials are examining a video on social media to determine if it was recent, making it a violation of the league’s health and safety protocols.

Harden published – and later deleted – an Instagram story claiming that the video in question wasn’t from a strip club, but it would still be a violation of the NBA’s protocols, which prohibit players from visiting bars, lounges, and clubs, notes Tim MacMahon of ESPN (Twitter links).

Information on who else will miss tonight’s game against the Thunder should become available later today, but the news delays a return for two players who have been sidelined with major injuries. Wall hasn’t played in two years because of a ruptured Achilles tendon, while Cousins sat out all of last season with a torn ACL in his left knee.

Rockets Notes: Clemons, Wall, Cousins, Wood, Harden, JVG

December 17th, 2020 at 12:01pm CST by Luke Adams

A few of Chris Clemons‘ Rockets teammates know exactly what the second-year guard is going through, writes Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. Like Clemons, who tore his Achilles tendon on Tuesday, DeMarcus Cousins, John Wall, and David Nwaba have all had to attempt to make their way back to full health after suffering a torn Achilles.

“I spoke with him last night after the game,” Cousins said. “My only message was just take your time. One thing I noticed with professional athletes and injuries, we love our craft, we love the game itself. Once you have tough off, you’re always itching to get back and play that game.

“… We’re so used to playing through pain. Sometimes, we feel like we’re in a good place when it’s not necessarily the case. My only message is take his time, get everything right, he has a lot of basketball left to play in his career.”

The only silver lining of the injury for Clemons is that he’ll now be assured of his $1.52MM salary for 2020/21 — it was previously non-guaranteed. The Rockets, who are up against a hard cap, figure to keep Clemons on their roster since they don’t currently have the flexibility to replace him with a free agent if they cut him.

As Bobby Marks of ESPN details (via Twitter), Houston could attempt to make room for another player by trading Clemons (along with a second-round pick) to another club. If the Rockets are uninterested in such a move, they’ll likely have to waive either Gerald Green or Bruno Caboclo before the regular season begins in order to stay below the hard cap.

Here’s more from out of Houston:

John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins will sit out the Rockets’ preseason finale on Thursday vs. San Antonio, according to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle. The club is handling both players carefully, since they’re coming off major injuries. Meanwhile, Christian Wood – who missed Houston’s first three preseason contests with a sore left elbow – is considered questionable to play.
It’s a bit of a worrisome sign that James Harden said during his media session on Wednesday that he hasn’t had a conversation at all with new Rockets GM Rafael Stone, writes Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Even if Harden remains dead-set on being traded, a deal of that magnitude will require some communication between the superstar guard and the Rockets’ head of basketball operations, Iko says.
Sources tell Marc Berman of The New York Post that Jeff Van Gundy probably could have had the Rockets’ head coaching job this offseason, but “was indifferent toward it.” Van Gundy was said to be owner Tilman Fertitta‘s top choice, though it seemed as if the team’s front office and players preferred other candidates. Either way, Van Gundy sounds happy with his current job, telling Berman that he’s “real fortunate to be able to work at ESPN/ABC.”