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Rockets Exercise Contract Options On Four Players

October 31st, 2024 at 8:05am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Rockets have picked up their 2025/26 four-year options on Jabari Smith Jr. and Tari Eason’s contracts, as well as their third-year options on Amen Thompson’s and Cam Whitmore’s contracts, according to the Houston’s Chronicle’s Jonathan Feigen.

None of the moves are surprising, considering Smith is a starter and the three others are second-unit players. Smith, the third pick of the 2022 draft, will make $12,350,392 next season. Eason, the 17th pick of the same draft, will bring in $5,675,766. Both will be eligible for rookie scale extensions next offseason.

Thompson, the fourth pick of last year’s draft, will make $9,690,212 next season. Whitmore, the No. 20 pick in that draft, will earn $3,539,976.

Houston has been busy making commitments to its young players. Alperen Sengun signed a five-year extension on Oct. 21, while Jalen Green inked a three-year deal on the same day.

Smith is currently averaging 11.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game with Eason, Thompson and Whitmore are contributing a combined 21.6 PPG off the bench.

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Southwest Notes: J. Smith, H. Jones, Grizzlies, Edey

September 24th, 2024 at 12:20pm CST by Luke Adams

Paolo Banchero, the No. 1 pick in the 2022 draft, won the NBA’s Rookie of the Year award in 2023, while the No. 2 pick in the ’22 class, Chet Holmgren, would have claimed the award in 2024 if not for Victor Wembanyama‘s historic season.

However, Rockets forward Jabari Smith – the third overall pick in 2022 – struggled in his first professional season, and while he improved his shooting percentages in year two, he hasn’t yet shown the kind of All-NBA potential that Banchero and Holmgren have displayed.

As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes in a subscriber-only story, Smith just turned 21 in May and has intriguing tools to go along with a strong work ethic, seemingly making him a strong candidate for a breakout season in 2024/25.

Still, as Feigen acknowledges, the Rockets will want to make sure players like Alperen Sengun, Jalen Green, Fred VanVleet, and Amen Thompson have the ball in their hands frequently, which may not leave a ton of opportunities for Smith to create his own scoring chances. He’ll still be relied upon largely as an off-ball floor spacer on offense, Feigen adds, so while a third-year leap is a possibility, it might be more realistic to expect continued steady growth from the former No. 3 overall pick.

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Herbert Jones admitted it was a great feeling to make the NBA’s All-Defensive First Team last season, but the Pelicans forward doesn’t want to get complacent after earning that honor for the first time in 2023/24, writes Christian Clark of NOLA.com (subscription required). “It felt amazing,” Jones said. “At the same time, you are always trying to reach for more. After I saw the news, my initial thought was, ‘You have to do it again.'”
  • Will any of the Grizzlies players currently on Exhibit 10 contracts – Miye Oni, Yuki Kawamura, Maozinha Pereira, and Armando Bacot – stick with the team into the regular season? Damichael Cole of The Memphis Commercial Appeal explores that question, suggesting that the team’s relative lack of depth in the frontcourt could make Bacot the best bet to make the 18-man roster. If the Grizzlies were to promote a two-way player like Scotty Pippen Jr. to the standard roster, it could open up a two-way slot for a camp invitee such as Bacot, Cole notes.
  • In a separate story for The Commercial Appeal, Cole spoke to Purdue assistant coach Brandon Brantley about what to expect from former Boilermakers star Zach Edey, whom the Grizzlies selected with the ninth overall pick in this year’s draft. While there are questions about how some aspects of Edey’s game will translate to the NBA, the big man’s rebounding definitely won’t be an issue at the next level, according to Brantley. “Memphis is going to have a dude in that paint that’s going to hold that paint down,” Brantley said. “Usually guys that size will try to rebound their area. He rebounds outside of his area. It means something to him.”
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Western Notes: DeRozan, Rockets, Suns, D. Jones

August 12th, 2024 at 9:30pm CST by Dana Gauruder

New Kings wing DeMar DeRozan is staying sharp in California. DeRozan erupted for 54 points for the Mecca Cheaters in the Drew League championship game on Sunday, Jason Anderson of the Sacramento Bee relays. The Drew League is a pro-am event held every year in Los Angeles. DeRozan was named the game’s MVP after his team erased a 16-point deficit in the final five minutes and pulled out a one-point victory.

A free agent last month, DeRozan was acquired from the Bulls in a blockbuster, three-team deal.  His new contract with the Kings is worth approximately $74MM over three years.

We have more from the Western Conference:

  • The Rockets are doing some early bonding, according to Kelly Iko of The Athletic (Twitter link). Jalen Green is hosting a players-only minicamp in Los Angeles this week with Alperen Sengun, Reed Sheppard, Jabari Smith Jr. and Amen Thompson among the teammates expected to show up.
  • The Suns are hiring Oronde Taliaferro as their director of scouting, Michael Scotto of HoopsHype tweets. Taliaferro, who is expected to focus on college scouting, was previously a scout for the Nets.
  • The Thunder‘s Dillon Jones, the No. 26 overall pick, is one of the most interesting rookies in this class, Rylan Stiles of Sports Illustrated opines. Oklahoma City was interested in selecting Jones, a Weber State product, in the second round last year before he opted to return to college to improve his stock. The Thunder gave up five second-round picks in a deadline-deal with the Knicks to acquire the 26th pick. Jones could play a variety of positions for a coaching staff that enjoys tinkering with rotations and lineups.
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USA Basketball Announces 15-Man Select Team

June 28th, 2024 at 11:46am CST by Luke Adams

USA Basketball has announced in a press release that a 15-man Select Team will train with the U.S. Olympic squad as it prepares for the upcoming Olympics. The Select Team, which is made up mostly of younger players and some who have previous Team USA experience, will work out with the men’s national team in Las Vegas from July 6-8.

The members of the Select Team are as follows:

Perhaps the most notable name on the list is Flagg, who has committed to Duke and will begin his first college basketball season in the fall. He’s viewed as a strong candidate to be the No. 1 pick in the 2025 NBA draft.

Duren, Galloway, Murphy, Murray, and Pritchard were part of the U.S. Select Team that trained with the national team ahead of the 2023 World Cup.

It’s possible some of these players will use their Select Team experience as a springboard to represent Team USA in international competitions down the road. Kawhi Leonard, Devin Booker, Anthony Edwards, and Tyrese Haliburton are among the players on this year’s Olympic team that were members of a Select Team earlier in their respective careers.

The select team will be coached by Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley, who will be joined by assistants Jim Boylen and Matt Painter. Boylen, a former Bulls head coach and current Pacers assistant, was Team USA’s head coach during the qualifying contests. Painter has been the longtime head coach at Purdue.

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Southwest Notes: Rockets, Clingan, Castle, Grizzlies

June 10th, 2024 at 9:23am CST by Arthur Hill

A wing player with size would be the perfect addition to the Rockets‘ current roster, Kelly Iko of The Athletic states in a mailbag column. He adds that the ideal player would be someone who can drive to the basket and create offense for himself and his teammates, pointing to San Antonio’s Keldon Johnson and Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan as examples, although they may not be obtainable.

Among realistic free agent targets, Iko names Nuggets shooting guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Raptors swingman Bruce Brown. Both are veterans who can space the floor and fit into coach Ime Udoka’s defensive system, Iko writes. Brown dropped to 32.3% from three-point range this season after shooting 40.4% and 35.8% the previous two years, but Iko notes that Houston assistant coaches Royal Ivey and Tiago Splitter both worked with Brown in Brooklyn and may be able to help him regain his form. Iko contends Caldwell-Pope was worthy of an All-Defense nod this year.

Toronto holds a $23MM team option on Brown that has to be picked up by June 28, so there’s no guarantee he’ll be available in free agency. Caldwell-Pope has a $15.4MM player option with a June 29 deadline, and even if he tests the market, Denver figures to make a strong effort to retain one of the key members of its 2022/23 title team.

There’s more from the Southwest Division, all from Iko:

  • UConn center Donovan Clingan has been listed as the Rockets‘ pick at No. 3 in several mock drafts, but Iko isn’t convinced that he’s the best choice. Even though Clingan is a potential defensive anchor with a soft touch around the basket, Iko questions his fit alongside Alperen Sengun because neither is a proven three-point shooter. Iko notes that Houston had a top-10 defense this season without a reliable shot blocker, and Udoka likes having defensive versatility so he can adapt to the opponent. Even with the addition of Steven Adams, Iko expects the Rockets to employ smaller lineups next season with Jabari Smith seeing time at center.
  • According to Iko, the Spurs‘ perfect draft would include UConn guard Stephon Castle as No. 4 and a larger wing at No. 8, providing two more young talents to develop alongside Victor Wembanyama. Iko is concerned about Nikola Topic‘s latest ACL injury and says G League forward Matas Buzelis would be a much safer choice if he’s still on the board. Iko also likes Kentucky guard Reed Sheppard for San Antonio, but adds that an ideal situation would involve using the eighth and 35th picks to acquire a veteran guard like Dejounte Murray.
  • Iko advises the Grizzlies to trade down rather than trying to solve their need for a center by taking a project like Indiana’s Kel’el Ware at No. 9. Iko compares Ware to Christian Wood and suggests that Duke’s Kyle Filipowski could be a better fit later in the draft. Iko also considers a pair of potential trade scenarios with the Trail Blazers to land Robert Williams or Malcolm Brogdon.
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Southwest Notes: Harrison, Kyrie, J. Smith, Spurs

June 6th, 2024 at 8:34pm CST by Luke Adams

When Mark Cuban, the majority owner of the Mavericks at the time, first reached out to longtime Nike executive Nico Harrison about the team’s general manager vacancy in 2021, Harrison declined an invitation to talk about the job, writes Sam Amick of The Athletic. However, Harrison eventually decided to listen to what Cuban had to say and came around to the idea of accepting the top front office role in Dallas.

“We talked for an hour,” Harrison said of his initial conversation with Cuban. “He told me his process, which was going to go for a few weeks. And then the next day, he skipped the process and wanted to hire me. I think he was just thinking outside the box. And the one thing he always says is that I had a real job. He respected the background that I had at Nike and all the people that were in my organization, managing the budget and all that stuff. He always says, ‘You had a real job. You had a real job.’ So I think that was one of the things.”

During his time at Nike, Harrison established a relationship with Kyrie Irving, which came in handy at the 2023 trade deadline when the star guard became available with his stock near an all-time low following a handful of off-court controversies. As Amick details, that relationship emboldened Harrison to “ignore the outside noise,” as he puts it, and take a shot on Irving.

“I don’t want to call it a life raft or lifeline, but it was like family reaching out,” Irving told Vincent Goodwill of Yahoo Sports. “… This has been the greatest … portion of my career. To be able to now give wisdom and also speak from a place of experience. When you’re a young person, again, you’re trying to speed through life, you’re trying to get through everything.”

Here’s more from around the Southwest:

  • Acting as an “NBA correspondent” at Wednesday’s NBA Finals media day, Rockets forward Jabari Smith asked Celtics star Jayson Tatum what advice he’d give to a young player entering his third season who feels like he hadn’t lived up to his pre-draft expectations. That characterization describes Smith, who made major strides in his second season but apparently believes he should have accomplished more after being drafted third overall in 2022. According to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required), Tatum advised Smith to avoid rushing the process. “It takes however long it takes,” Tatum said. “But as long as you work hard, you believe, you got the right support system — obviously, you do down in Houston; I know all those guys, coaches — everything will take care of itself how it’s supposed to.”
  • Kelly Iko and Sam Vecenie of The Athletic analyze the Spurs‘ options in the draft as they weigh how to best build around franchise player Victor Wembanyama. Vecenie loves the potential fit of UConn’s Stephon Castle next to Wembanyama, but says San Antonio should entirely rule out UConn’s other lottery talent, Donovan Clingan, since the two big men wouldn’t fit alongside one another. Vecenie also suggests that the Spurs should be open to trading down for extra value if Clingan is still on the board at No. 4 or even at No. 8.
  • Jeff McDonald of The San Antonio Express-News (subscription required) takes a closer look at Matas Buzelis‘ skill set and considers how he might fit with the Spurs, outlining the case for San Antonio to use one of its two lottery picks on the former G League Ignite forward.
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Texas Notes: Smith, Whitmore, Sochan, Doncic

March 28th, 2024 at 5:48pm CST by Alex Kirschenbaum

Rockets power forward/center Jabari Smith Jr. was suspended one game by the NBA following a physical fracas with Jazz point guard Kris Dunn. According to Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle, the Auburn alum admitted he was surprised by the decision at first.

“I wasn’t expecting it until they told me the rules,” Smith said. “I deserved it. That’s in the rule book… It’s not worth it… You hurt your team being ejected and then with a suspension.”

The Rockets did win the game Smith missed, a 110-92 victory over the Trail Blazers on Monday, and have since extended their league-best winning streak to 10 games. At 37-35, Houston is just one game behind the tenth-seeded Warriors for a spot in the West’s play-in tournament bracket.

There’s more out of the Lone Star State:

  • Rockets head coach Ime Udoka told reporters this week that rookie swingman Cam Whitmore‘s recovery from his current knee injury is progressing faster than his initially projected timeline, Feigen reports in another piece. “He’s going to get the contact portion eventually and progressing from spot shooting to moving to contact moving will be next, but we’ll see when that is,” Udoka said. “He heals fast and so he’ll probably beat the three-week diagnosis.” The small forward has enjoyed a productive inaugural pro season off the bench with Houston. He’s averaging 12.1 PPG on .464/.361/.670 shooting splits, plus 3.9 RPG.
  • Second-year Spurs power forward Jeremy Sochan seems to be settling into a groove as one of the peskier defenders in the NBA, writes Nick Moyle of The San Antonio Express-News. Moyle notes that Sochan has been limiting opposing players to shooting percentages that are 5.7% worse than their averages since the All-Star break. “I think it’s just remembering what they like, what they don’t like, how they like being guarded,” Sochan said of his defensive approach. “Watching even other players guard them, especially in the playoffs, because playoffs are a different level, especially with how aggressive people are. You see how some players don’t like it when you are up against them and making it difficult for them to dribble the ball. Sometimes it’s the other way around. But it’s just reading and reacting to who I am guarding and learning from them.”
  • The Mavericks are riding high of late, having gone 17-6 across their last 23 games. The team has ranked in the top 10 on both ends of the floor during that run and now controls the West’s No. 6 seed, just 1.5 games behind the No. 4 Clippers. According to The Athletic’s Tim Cato, All-Star guard Luka Doncic has embraced a more deferential game. Cato writes that Doncic’s pick-and-roll chemistry with new starting center Daniel Gafford and rookie reserve Dereck Lively II have really helped expand the team’s offensive arsenal.
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Dunn Suspended Two Games, Smith Jr. Gets One-Game Ban For Fight

March 24th, 2024 at 6:21pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Jazz guard Kris Dunn has been suspended two games without pay for initiating an altercation and throwing a punch at Rockets forward Jabari Smith Jr., the NBA announced today in a press release (via Twitter). Smith has been suspended one game for the fight.

The incident, for which both Dunn and Smith Jr. were assessed technical fouls and ejected, occurred with 11:55 remaining in the second quarter of the Rockets’ 147-119 win over the Jazz on Saturday.

Dunn will begin to serve his suspension on Monday, when the Jazz host the Mavericks. Smith will also serve his suspension Monday when the Rockets host the Trail Blazers.

“I think Dunn hit him with a shot, and then, they got wrapped up and threw a few punches,” Houston coach Ime Udoka said of Saturday’s skirmish. “Basically, nothing landed, but as soon as you throw a punch, you’re going to be ejected.”

The suspension will cost Dunn a total of $35,678, while Smith loses $53,601, tweets ESPN’s Bobby Marks. Despite only being suspended for a single game and losing a smaller percentage of his salary per game, Smith is earning over $9.3MM this season, dwarfing Dunn’s $2.6MM salary, which is why the penalty costs him more.

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Rockets Notes: Green, Tate, Smith, Whitmore

March 24th, 2024 at 8:59am CST by Arthur Hill

Rockets coach Ime Udoka considered lineup changes during the All-Star break that might have taken away Jalen Green‘s starting spot, but his show of faith in the third-year guard is paying huge dividends.

As Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle writes, Green continued his scoring binge Saturday night, pouring in 41 points as Houston won its eighth straight game. The reigning Western Conference Player of the Week is averaging 27.8 PPG in March while shooting 51.4% from the field and 41.7% from three-point range, and the Rockets have moved back into the play-in race with a 10-1 record during the month.

“He’s on a hot streak, obviously,” Udoka said. “Just like people have slumps at times, people can go on runs like this. But the main thing is he’s stayed resilient and continued to be confident when things weren’t going great. And all it takes for a really good scorer is to see a few go through. Run off a game or two of hot shooting and it can kind of snowball like this. I’m proud of the way he fought through some adversity. It’s not easy with a newer team and some different demands from a coaching staff and doing different things to always stay the course and fight through it. And he’s done that. Great to see him come out on the other side.”

A little more than a month ago, there were doubts about Green’s long-term future in Houston. Feigen points out that he was scoring just 17.1 PPG midway through the season while connecting at 39.8% from the field and 32.3% beyond the arc. Udoka was frequently keeping Green on the bench for long stretches in the fourth quarter due to concerns about his shot selection and defensive effort. The No. 2 pick in the 2021 draft will be extension-eligible this offseason, so he’s picked a great time to play the best basketball of his career.

“He’s been the key to everything,” Fred VanVleet said. “Our confidence, our pace, our spacing, he’s guarding. When he’s on like that, that’s just another nuclear weapon you have out there that can go give you 30, 40 any time. It changes the way the defense is guarding, changes the defense, the matchups. He’s been huge for us. It’s a testament to him staying with it, working through what’s been an up-and-down year for him. He’s finding it.”

There’s more from Houston:

  • Saturday’s win was the 35th of the season for the Rockets, which triggered an automatic $500K bonus for Jae’Sean Tate, tweets Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Tate, who has been with the team longer than anyone on the roster, has a $7MM team option for next season and will be eligible for an extension this summer.
  • Jabari Smith could face further discipline from the league after being ejected for fighting with Utah guard Kris Dunn five seconds into the second quarter, according to an Associated Press story. Udoka notes that Smith and Dunn had an altercation in a January game that resulted in technical fouls for both players. “I think Dunn hit him with a shot, and then, they got wrapped up and threw a few punches,” Udoka said of Saturday’s skirmish. “Basically, nothing landed, but as soon as you throw a punch, you’re going to be ejected.”
  • Udoka said Cam Whitmore has resumed shooting as he works his way back from a sprained right knee, per Ben DuBose of Rockets Wire (Twitter link).
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Rockets Notes: J. Smith, Offense, Sengun, Whitmore

March 17th, 2024 at 12:40pm CST by Luke Adams

With Alperen Sengun unavailable for the past three games, the Rockets have opted to use power forward Jabari Smith as their starting center rather than moving Jock Landale or another bench player into that role.

According to Kelly Iko of The Athletic, Houston’s coaching staff has been interested since training camp in taking a longer look at Smith as a small-ball center. Head coach Ime Udoka said that getting the opportunity to use Smith in that role is a silver lining of Sengun’s absence.

“I love his versatility. He can go both ways, as far as upsizing, downsizing, and he’s comfortable in that,” Udoka said of Smith. “There’s advantages in both. Really can take advantage of some of the five men in the league. He’s agile enough, strong enough to defend multiple positions. I like what he does there, the versatility he gives us.”

The early returns on the move have been positive, albeit in a small sample size. The Rockets had a -1.8 net rating with Smith on the floor though their first 64 games — that number has jumped to +14.1 in 92 minutes across the past three games, all wins.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

  • Winners of five consecutive games, the Rockets are refusing to fall out of the hunt for a play-in spot and sit 3.5 games behind the Warriors and Lakers. Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle (subscription required) takes a look at how the team has thrived as of late by making offensive adjustments necessitated by not having Sengun available.
  • Asked to evaluate Sengun’s third NBA season, Udoka said the Rockets’ center is “not even close to reaching his ceiling,” per ClutchFans (Twitter video link). “His future is bright, basically,” Udoka continued. “All the things that we really challenged him with, he kind of stepped up to the plate there and improved in certain areas. Next steps are the shooting and some consistency things.”
  • Count Paul George among the NBA veterans who are high on Cam Whitmore‘s potential. As ClutchFans relays (via Twitter video), the Rockets rookie was the first player George mentioned in the latest episode of his podcast (YouTube link) when he was asked about players who have had strong under-the-radar seasons. “He’s a player that is going to shake up some things in Houston and can be a star player,” George said. “I saw stardom on both ends. He played hard on both ends. He can shoot it. He can handle. He’s explosive. He was strong. He had a nastiness to him that you don’t really see in a lot of super young guys. He was trying to challenge me (when the Clippers faced the Rockets). He was challenging Kawhi (Leonard).”
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