Jordan Henriquez Rumors

Odds & Ends: Bledsoe, Turner, Bradley

November 1st, 2013 at 11:11pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Suns might not get a discount on Eric Bledsoe this summer after passing on an extension for him last night, but team president of basketball operations Lon Babby would be OK with seeing Bledsoe’s price tag escalate if he has a breakout year. Matt Petersen of Suns.com shares that and more from Babby in the wake of last night’s extension deadline.

“I can’t say that we received an unqualified declaration of [Bledsoe wanting to stay in Phoenix long-term], but I wouldn’t expect that,” Babby said. “That’s part of the issue. He’s only been with us for a short time. But if you’re asking me is there any indication he’s not happy here, absolutely not. I think he’s very, very happy and we’ll do everything we can to make sure he’s happy. He’s an important part of this franchise for a long, long time to come.”

There’s more on a pair of players who’ll also hit restricted free agency this summer as we round up the latest from the Association:

Evan Turner said earlier that he and Sixers GM Sam Hinkie didn’t have any talks about an extension, and that silence extends to any mention of Turner’s future in Philadelphia, as Turner told reporters, including Bob Cooney of the Philadelphia Daily News. Turner isn’t sure if that future includes the Sixers after seeing the team trade Jrue Holiday, a player he called a “walking legend.” (Twitter links).
Avery Bradley isn’t concerned that the Celtics passed on what reportedly would have been a four-year extension, telling Steve Bulpett of the Boston Herald and other assembled media today that he’d love to stay in Boston.
We already knew that the Rockets had protected B.J. Young from tonight’s D-League draft, and Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle notes the team did the same for fellow camp casualties Jordan Henriquez and Troy Daniels (Twitter link).
In an interview with the YES Network, Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov shared his enthusiastic response when informed of the prospect of the Kevin Garnett/Paul Pierce trade and explained that his desire for a non-traditional coach led him to Jason Kidd. Newsday’s Roderick Boone has the details.
Commissioner-in-waiting Adam Silver spoke with Jared Weiss of CLNS Radio about the this season’s leaguewide rollout of SportVU cameras, expressing the league’s desire to create a level playing field in terms of the data and technology available to teams.

Rockets Waive Jordan Henriquez

October 4th, 2013 at 5:05pm CST by Chuck Myron

The Rockets have cut center Jordan Henriquez, tweets Jason Friedman of Rockets.com. The 6'11" former Kansas State Wildcat signed a three-year deal with the team in July, but it was entirely non-guaranteed, so Houston isn't on the hook for any of his salary. The move drops the team to 17 players, down from the 19 who began October with the team. The Rockets waived B.J. Young on Wednesday.

Henriquez went undrafted this past June, but he worked out with the Knicks prior to the draft, and saw some run with the Rockets summer league team. He showed enough to earn a brief training camp stint, but presuming another NBA team doesn't claim him off waivers or show interest soon, Henriquez appears destined for the D-League or international ball this year. The Rockets have the option of protecting the D-League rights of up to three of their camp cuts, so perhaps they'll do so with Henriquez in an effort to get him to stay stateside, where they can more easily scout him.

Since Henriquez's deal was for three years, rather than one or two, the Rockets couldn't use the minimum-salary exception on him and instead spent some of their cap room. Still, it was a small investment, since he was only set to make the $490K rookie minimum, and because the deal was non-guaranteed, the money goes back toward Houston's cap space.

Patrick Beverley, Ronnie Brewer, Greg Smith and Reggie Williams, all NBA veterans, are the only remaining Rockets without fully guaranteed deals. Houston has 13 players with full guarantees on their contracts, so two of the four vets are in danger of finding themselves without an NBA job on opening night.

Rockets Sign Jordan Henriquez

July 31st, 2013 at 12:33pm CST by Luke Adams

The Rockets officially signed undrafted rookie Jordan Henriquez to a contract earlier this month, according to RealGM.com. Although the Rockets never officially announced the move, Henriquez now shows up on both ShamSports' and HoopsWorld's Rockets salary pages. He also tweeted earlier in July that he's looking forward to playing with James Harden in training camp.

Henriquez, 23, averaged 5.0 PPG and 5.0 RPG during his senior year at Kansas State before earning a spot on Houston's Summer League roster. The 6'11" big man is on a three-year deal, but it's fully non-guaranteed. As such, it's unlikely that he'll earn a spot on the roster, particularly since the Rockets have already signed or reached agreements with 17 players, exceeding the regular-season roster limit. Teams can carry up to 20 players in the offseason.

NBA teams are also allowed to hold D-League rights to up to three players who are on the roster in training camp. So the Rockets could ultimately end up cutting Henriquez from the NBA team in the fall, but adding him to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers' roster.

Draft Notes: Wyatt, Jazz, Foster

June 15th, 2013 at 9:50pm CST by Spencer Lund

It's tough when you dominate at your college, but fail to see any interest from the professional ranks. That's what Santa Clara's all-time leading scorer, Kevin Foster, is facing as he prepares to possibly be snubbed later this month in the draft.

Foster told the San Jose Mercury News' Curtis Pashelka "it would be a dream come true" to play for the Warriors, who are so close to his adopted hometown. Foster participated in a predraft workout with six other hopefuls including five guards this morning.

Even after workouts with the Rockets and Bucks, Foster said the Warriors are his "preference" because of their locale, but followed that up by saying, "I just want to get drafted somewhere." Here are some more notes surrounding the upcoming draft.

Former Temple guard, Khalif Wyatt, worked out for the Sixers today, writes Keith Pompey at the Philadelphia Inquirer. But what wasn't reported was that Wyatt was joined by Shane Larkin, DeShaun Thomas and Glen Rice Jr. in the unannounced workout.
Tom Moore of Phillyburbs.com notes that Wyatt spent six weeks at Impact Basketball in Las Vegas, eating better and getting stronger while dropping from 223 lbs. to 210 on his 6'4" frame.
Keith Schlosser of SB Nation's Ridiculous Upside breaks down the intriguing prospects at the NBA's only 2012 National D-League Tryout next Saturday.
The Jazz had a big day of workouts highlighted by Gonzaga University center Kelly Olynyk, writes the Salt Lake Tribune's Bill Oram, but it's his connection to Hall of Famer John Stockton, who is also a Gonzaga alum, that made the workout so enjoyable.
The Salt Lake Tribune's Steve Luhm said the Jazz also worked out three other likely first round selections today: Gorgui Dieng, Rudy Gobert, and Jamaal Franklin (Twitter).
About Franklin, SB Nation's Mountain West Connection profiled the San Diego State shooting guard.
Oram said the Jazz will work out Will Clyburn, Robert Covington, Troy Daniels, Rodney McGruder, E.J. Singler and Adonis Thomas tomorrow (Twitter).
Paul Coro of the Arizona Republic said the Suns worked out Steven Adams, Lorenzo Brown, Myck Kabongo, Mike Muscala, Alex Oriakhi and Brandon Paul today (Twitter)
Nerlens Noel was featured in a courtside report video by Monumental Network.
The Knicks will work out Archie Goodwin, Jordan Henriquez, Trent Lockett, Dejan Musli, Stan Okoye and Josiah Turner on Monday, reports ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley (Twitter).
Sportando.net reports Janis Timma will work out with five NBA teams before the draft and then head to the Las Vegas. After the draft, he may play in the NBA's summer league.
Charles F. Gardner of the Journal-Sentinel profiled 6'6" Providence prospect, Ricky Ledo, who is receiving interest from NBA teams after workouts despite being deemed ineligible to play as a freshman for the Friars.