Tilman Fertitta Rumors | Hoops Rumors

New Rockets Owner Discusses Front Office, Team

October 10th, 2017 at 7:32pm CST by ChrisCrouse

Tilman Fertitta, who recently bought the Rockets from Leslie Alexander for $2.2 billion, does not plan on making any immediate changes to the team, Tim MacMahon of ESPN.com relays. The Texas businessman will have the final say on future personnel matters that involve the luxury tax, though he will lean heavily on GM Daryl Morey and his staff with decisions that concern basketball operations.

“I know what I know, and I know what I don’t know,” Fertitta said. “On the business side, I’ll be a huge support to [Rockets CEO Tad Brown], not that he needs it. I’m into details. I’m not into micromanaging. But I can tell you this, I thought I knew a lot about basketball. I’ve learned more about basketball in the last 30 days than I learned in the last 30 years, hanging around Daryl and the basketball people. It’s a different technology and a different science than what the fan sees. Like I said, I know what I know and what I don’t know. I just don’t want surprises.

“Are there tough decisions to make? Absolutely. And does the buck stop with me when things are good and they’re bad? Yes, but I rely heavily, heavily, heavily on the people that get up and do this every day.”

Fertitta added that he feels Morey is the “best general manager in the NBA.” Morey pulled off one of his most impressive accomplishments this summer, bringing in Chris Paul in a trade that was made possible in part by a series of smaller deals. The new owner is thrilled to have a pair of superstars on his side.

“To walk into this situation with James Harden and Chris Paul is unbelievable,” Fertitta said. “You’ve got to remember the name of the game is to get to the playoffs, and this is a superstar league. You are not going to get to the playoffs every year and likely make it to the second round if you don’t have a James Harden playing for you. You add a guy like Chris Paul, and you should get to the Western Conference finals.

“That’s the way the league’s going is two or three stars per team. And you know what? If we don’t get where we need to be this year with two superstars … we’re going to make good decisions, and we’re going to do whatever it takes to win. I can promise you that.”

Tilman Fertitta Approved To Buy Rockets

October 6th, 2017 at 4:01pm CST by Luke Adams

OCTOBER 6: NBA owners have approved the sale of the Rockets to Fertitta, Mark Berman of Fox 26 tweets. The Houston billionaire was approved 30-0.

SEPTEMBER 5, 9:13am: The Rockets have issued a press release confirming that a “definitive agreement has been signed” for the purchase of the franchise by Fertitta. The deal will require the approval of the NBA’s Board of Governors. According to the Rockets, Fertitta has “no other partners in connection with the transaction.”

8:37am: The sale price for the Rockets will be $2.2 billion, per Scott Soshnick of Bloomberg (Twitter link).

8:34am: Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta has reached an agreement to buy the Rockets from current team owner Leslie Alexander, sources tell Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston. According to Berman, the franchise could announce the deal as soon as today.

Rockets CEO Tad Brown announced back in mid-July that Alexander was putting the club up for sale, and we heard just a couple days later that that Fertitta, a Texas native who founded Landry’s restaurants and owns multiple hotels and casinos, was interested in making a bid for the franchise.

“[I] just hope it doesn’t go for crazy numbers,” Fertitta said at the time. “I’ve never really wanted to own a professional team outside of Houston. Houston is my hometown and the place I would prefer to own a professional team.”

Despite Fertitta’s hope that the Rockets wouldn’t sell for “crazy numbers,” it appears he was willing to make a substantial offer to finalize the deal. Confirming that an agreement is in place, Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter) that the sale is expected to break the NBA record $2 billion price tag on Steve Ballmer‘s purchase of the Clippers.

Even back in February, before the Rockets won a playoff series, traded for Chris Paul, and extended James Harden, Forbes placed a $1.65 billion valuation on the franchise, and Forbes’ estimates for professional sports teams are often low. Berman notes that Forbes has estimated Fertitta’s net worth to be $3.1 billion.

For Fertitta, while this will be his first time as a controlling owner, it won’t be his first foray into sports franchise ownership. He has previously been a limited partner with the Rockets and the NFL’s Houston Texans.

Although Berman’s report suggests that Fertitta is poised to become the controlling owner of the Rockets, it’s not clear whether he’ll be joined by a series of minority investors or if any big names will be part of his group. Since that July announcement that the Rockets were up for sale, multiple former players – including Hakeem Olajuwon, Dikembe Mutombo, and Elvin Hayes – have expressed interest in becoming part of an ownership group. Pop star Beyoncé also reportedly had interest in becoming a minority stakeholder in the franchise.

Alexander bought the Rockets for $85MM back in 1993, and has overseen the team since then, including during its two championship seasons in the mid-1990s.

Rockets Notes: Capela, Tax, Anderson, Gupta

September 22nd, 2017 at 12:59pm CST by Luke Adams

While Rockets president of basketball operations Daryl Morey doesn’t want to be making roster decisions with one specific rival in mind, he acknowledges in a Q&A with Jonathan Feigen of The Houston Chronicle that it’s impossible not to consider the Warriors at this point when making signings and trades.

“We know we’re going to face them,” Morey said of the Dubs. “We obviously have to get through some extremely tough teams, the Spurs, Oklahoma City, Memphis, you name it. To get there. But if you know you are going to be facing a team if you’re having the season you want, and we want to be all the way to the championship, I think it does make sense to focus on that team.”

Morey pointed to the signings of Luc Mbah a Moute and P.J. Tucker as moves that were made with the Warriors in mind. Both veteran forwards are strong defenders who would probably match up with the likes of Kevin Durant and Klay Thompson in a playoff series against Golden State.

Here’s more on the Rockets:

Asked by Feigen about the possibility of an extension for Clint Capela, Morey pointed out that contract extensions are getting trickier to pull off around the NBA, since the salary cap isn’t increasingly quite as quickly as initially anticipated, and long-term commitments are starting to add up for many teams across the league.
In Houston’s case, new deals for Capela, Chris Paul, and Trevor Ariza next summer would create luxury-tax issues for the club. While Morey didn’t comment specifically about new owner Tilman Fertitta‘s willingness to pay the tax, he told Feigen that Fertitta is “all about winning” and will do what it takes to win. Morey also noted that he has met with the Rockets’ incoming owner a couple times already.
Morey tells Feigen that he spoke to Ryan Anderson this week about the Knicks-related trade rumors that have been swirling around Anderson all offseason. “Players get frustrated,” Morey said. “It’s rare for a GM to get frustrated because we have to deal with it all the time, but this one has been frustrating because it’s lingering and not much is accurate out there.”
The Rockets announced today that Sachin Gupta has rejoined the team as a special advisor (link via Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston). Gupta was Morey’s first hire back in 2006, but left Houston to become a consultant for the Sixers during Sam Hinkie’s stint in Philadelphia.

Southwest Notes: Rockets, Moore, Long, Cunningham

September 19th, 2017 at 10:15pm CST by marksuleymanov

The Rockets enter the 2017/18 campaign with last season’s Most Valuable Player runner-up in James Harden and offseason acquisition Chris Paul, widely viewed as one of the greatest point guards ever. A deal for Carmelo Anthony has not materialized but Houston is still an improved team, David Aldridge of NBA.com writes.

Aside from the acquisition of Paul, the Rockets have been in headlines all offseason. Tilman Fertitta purchased the Rockets for $2.2 billion, Hurricane Harvey hit the city of Houston hard, and even to this point, Anthony to Houston rumors persist. Nonetheless, head coach Mike D’Antoni believes his team is in prime position for success.

“The biggest advantage is for 48 minutes we have a Hall of Fame point guard (either Harden or Paul) on the floor. That’s huge,” D’Antoni said. “And both of them can play off the ball real well, they’re both great shooters, and both can exploit the defense when the ball is kicked … whoever initiates it would normally finish it, but if they have to kick the ball over to the other guy, they’ll finish it.”

Aldridge also breaks down the team chemistry heading into the season and expectations for a team that won 55 games last season.

Below you can read additional notes around the Southwest Division:

While Paul grabbed all the headlines, fellow Rockets acquisition Shawn Long is looking to build on a solid rookie season, Alex Kennedy of HoopsHype writes. Long, who averaged 8.2 PPG and 4.5 RPG in 18 games for the Sixers, could utilize his size and versatility to the Rockets’ benefit.
E’Twaun Moore, who has experience playing a plethora of positions, could be a crucial part of the Pelicans‘ roster this season, NBA.com’s Jim Eichenhofer writes.
Dante Cunningham, who re-signed with the Pelicans on Tuesday, had offers from four teams but chose New Orleans due to comfort with his teammates, per Scott Kushner of The Advocate (Twitter link).
NBA.com has published offseason recaps for both the Rockets and Spurs.

Southwest Notes: Rockets Sale, Grizzlies, Smith Jr.

September 9th, 2017 at 6:57pm CST by Austin Kent

The sale of the Rockets to a Texas billionaire will impact the entire NBA landscape, Kevin Pelton of ESPN (Insider) writes. The $2.2B price point, $550MM more than Forbes’ 2017 projection, may encourage other team owners to start exploring the idea of cashing out.

Until outgoing Rockets owner Les Alexander announced he’d be selling, team owners had, for the most part, been standing pat on their investments, letting their franchises slowly appreciate over time. When the Clippers sold under duress for a record-breaking $2B, the public got its first glimpse of just how valuable the teams have begun.

As Pelton writes, the fact that the Rockets, a team projected to be the eighth most valuable in the league, sold for over $2B could mean that the average price of an NBA franchise is now close to $1.5B.

There’s more from the Southwest Division:

Ownership of the Rockets will be transferred to Tilman Fertitta but what does that entail? Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle broke down the next steps in the process, including the $1MM application fee Fertitta will have to pay to cover all the administrative costs associated with the sale of an NBA franchise.
The Grizzlies will be a team in transition, Shaun Powell of NBA.com writes. With Zach Randolph and Vince Carter now members of the Kings, the Grind House era could be coming to a close. Powell wonders if Memphis would look to shop Marc Gasol at the deadline if the team gets off to a rough start.
Fear not, world, Tilman Fertitta has said that he’d be happy to have Beyoncé join his team in Houston, Alysha Tsuji of USA Today writes. The singer had previously been said to have had an interest in purchasing the Rockets.
Just how well Dennis Smith Jr., widely regarded as a darkhorse candidate to win the Rookie of the Year award, fares in his first NBA season could determine how the Mavs transition into the post- Dirk Nowtizki era, Eddie Sefko of the Dallas Morning News writes.

Mutombo’s Group Came Close To Buying Rockets

September 6th, 2017 at 8:59pm CST by Arthur Hill

Hall of Fame center Dikembe Mutombo says the group he assembled came close to matching the record sale price for the Rockets, relays Mark Berman of FOX 26 Houston.

Current owner Leslie Alexander agreed on Tuesday to sell the team to Houston billionaire Tilman Fertitta for $2.2 billion, but Mutombo claims he was able to assemble nearly as much cash.

“We did raise a lot of money. I raised close to $2 billion, but we just didn’t get a call, and it happens,” Mutombo said. “I was very happy with myself. I’m not crying for the fact that we didn’t win. I’m more happy that I was able to pull people together who did believe in my vision to put up that much money. I might be disappointed, but I’m not crying. Things happen, and sometimes they happen for a good reason.”

Mutombo, who ended his NBA career with five seasons in Houston, added that he is “happy for Mr. Tilman [Fertitta] and his family.” He said he has known Fertitta for a long time and called him “a great businessman.”

“I think he’s going to follow the spirit of Uncle Les and his vision,” Mutombo said. “I look forward to going to the games and cheering for my Rockets.”