The Rockets Houston

As part of a recent podcast appearance with The Ringer, Houston Rockets guard Austin Rivers detailed his affinity for the city of Houston. However, the former No. 10 overall pick also noted his interest in hitting the open market. Rivers, now 28 years of age, signed a two-year deal last offseason, and he has a $2.4 million player option for this upcoming season. During his podcast appearance, he explained why he is planning to opt out and become a free agent: “I definitely want to be out there on the market, and just see what else is out there,” Rivers said, via SB Nation’s The Dream Shake. “But I love Houston. Houston’s still one of my main options. That’s a team I loved playing for. But there’s other teams out there that you want to look at. You owe it to yourself to at least see the best situation.” By his own words, it seems as though Rivers would still be open to the idea of playing for the Rockets. However, he is clearly interested in hitting the open market. If he doe...

The Houston Rockets are believed to have “serious interest” in free agent Jae’Sean Tate, per John Hollinger of The Athletic . Now 25 years old, Tate played his college basketball at Ohio State (2014-2018) before joining the Antwerp Giants (2018-19) in Belgium and the Sydney Kings (2019-20) in Australia. While he’s only 6-foot-4, he’s strong and versatile enough to play as both a guard and forward. Here’s how Hollinger recently described Tate, whom he believes would require a contract larger than the NBA’s minimum salary: The Ohio State product had a massive year in Australia after a solid 2019 Summer League and is just 24 years old; as such, he’s quickly become one of the most highly-regarded players based outside the U.S. Notably he hasn’t re-signed in Australia for 2020-21, with signs pointing toward him signing an NBA contract instead. Tate is listed at just 6-4 but has a strong frame and plus athleticism; he is comfortable battling in the paint and actually played power forwa...

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The Houston Rockets have already undergone a significant shift in culture with former head coach Mike D’Antoni and president Daryl Morey stepping down. Rafael Stone will essentially fill the void left by Morey in the basketball operations department, while former Dallas Mavericks head coach Stephen Silas takes over for D’Antoni as head coach. The new regime hardly seems wedded to playing “small ball.” Stone said Thursday the Rockets will not limit themselves strictly to wing players and guards, which is essentially what Houston did last season. Rather, Stone indicated the Rockets could choose to add some size this offseason. Rafael Stone says the Rockets aren't necessarily tethered to micro-ball going into the offseason "We're definitely not going into this process thinking 'We don't want anyone over 6'7." Says the Rockets may add some size to provide Silas with some more "optionality". — Salman Ali (@SalmanAliNBA) November 5, 2020 ...

Although Houston Rockets coach Stephen Silas is known for improving players and building rapport with superstars, will he be able to do the same for Russell Westbrook?  New Houston Rockets head coach Stephen Silas has a great track record in player development, as he scouted for the Washington Wizards in 2005-2006, which is one of the many jobs he’s held in the league. All in all, Silas has worked with LeBron James, Stephen Curry, Kemba Walker, and Luka Doncic. Silas was successful with each of those players he worked with, in addition to the teams he’s coached. Considering his proven success with superstars it’s worth wondering whether can Silas do the same thing with Russell Westbrook. As the Houston Rockets got dismantled in five games by the 2020 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers, Westbrook took a ton of criticism, in part because of his poor shooting. Westbrook shot 24 percent from the perimeter, as the Lakers left him wide-open. During the regular season, Westbrook shot a ...

Houston Rockets shooting guard James Harden and Washington Wizards point guard John Wall recently played in a pick-up game as the two All-Stars try to stay active during the NBA offseason. Harden, who has led the NBA in scoring three years in a row, hit an absurd one-legged 3-pointer against Wall. Take a look at the spectacular play by the Rockets star: James Harden is back with the one-legged threes. Off his right foot. #Rockets (H/t @normantanaka) pic.twitter.com/M8Jebn8MVL — Alykhan Bijani (@Rockets_Insider) October 31, 2020 James Harden actually shot a one-legged 3-pointer during a preseason game in 2019-20. The Rockets superstar didn’t make the shot, but it was still pretty cool to see The Beard attempt it. In 68 games for Houston in 2019-20, Harden averaged 34.3 points, 6.6 rebounds and 7.5 assists while shooting 44.4 percent from the field, 35.5 percent from beyond the arc and 86.5 percent from the free-throw line. The Rockets won 44 games and were the fourth...

Houston Rockets star point guard Russell Westbrook and his family had an adorable Halloween celebration in sunny Los Angeles. Take a look at Westbrook, his wife and three kids as they scour for some candy. .@russwest44 and his family's costume game is on point 💯 pic.twitter.com/SLKCGD061I — NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) October 31, 2020 This is pretty cool. Russell Westbrook just continues to show he’s an awesome dad and husband. In his first season with the Rockets, Westbrook averaged 27.2 points, 7.9 rebounds and 7.0 assists per game in the regular season. The former MVP shot 47.2 percent from the field, 25.8 percent from beyond the arc and 76.3 percent from the free-throw line. In the 2020 playoffs, where the Rockets lost to the Los Angeles Lakers in the Western Conference Semifinals in five games, Westbrook put up 17.9 points, 7.0 boards and 4.6 assists. He struggled with his shot since he was recovering from COVID-19 and played through a quadriceps injury. Mike D...

With the Daryl Morey and James Harden tandem now over, it’s worth wondering whether the Houston Rockets have given Harden enough talent to win a title. Former Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey pulled off the trade of the century when he reeled in James Harden from the Oklahoma City Thunder, in a trade that was centered around Kevin Martin. Prior to Harden’s arrival, the Rockets were engulfed in mediocrity, as they were too good to land the top pick in the NBA Draft, but not good enough to make the postseason. Harden’s presence on the roster instantly changed the fate of the franchise and set them up for a great future, as the Rockets would go on to make the postseason for eight consecutive seasons, despite having three different coaches during that span. During those eight postseason appearances, the Rockets were only eliminated in the first round three times, including twice to the top-seeded teams in the highly-contested Western Conference. Harden won the MVP during the...

Hoops Rumors is previewing the 2020 offseason for all 30 NBA teams. We’re looking at the key questions facing each club, as well as the roster decisions they’ll have to make this fall. Today, we’re focusing on the Houston Rockets . Salary Cap Outlook Nearly identical $41MM salaries for James Harden and Russell Westbrook will prevent the Rockets from opening up any cap space this offseason, barring a major roster shakeup. With over $123MM in guaranteed money already committed to just six players, Houston is in position to surpass the luxury tax threshold in 2020/21 unless the club cuts costs. For now, we’re assuming the Rockets will be operating with the taxpayer mid-level exception ($5.72MM) rather than the full MLE or the bi-annual. Our full salary cap preview for the Rockets can be found right here. Roster Decisions To Watch Options: Non-Guaranteed Contracts: Two-Way Contracts: Free Agents: 2020 Draft Assets First Round: Second Round: While it remains possible that ...

James Harden is obsessed with basketball and he’s become a superstar with the Houston Rockets. His obsession with basketball seemingly began in high school when Harden’s mom said he threw a ball at a girl who took a liking to the shooting guard. “He got in trouble one time in junior high, he threw a basketball at a girl..he wasn’t into dating, just wanted to play basketball. I think she was trying to flirt with him, so he threw the basketball at her. Sorry?” The quote comes from Harden’s mom during an interview in a recent episode of ESPN’s E:60 series. Everyone can view the entire video of Harden’s appearance on E:60 right here. [embedded content] Basketball has always been the main focus in James Harden’s life and that has remained true in the NBA. After beginning his career as a sixth-man with the Oklahoma City Thunder, Harden has evolved into arguably the league’s best scorer with the Rockets. In the past three seasons, Harden has eclipsed 30 points per game and has le...

In a recent installment of the mystery that is Danuel House Jr., the Houston Rockets swingman posted a video a month after his unexpected exit from the NBA’s bubble in Orlando. House, who was sporting a new do and a clean shave, posted a 13-second video on social media and went on to ramble, do a bit of lip biting and ended it all with a few heavy sighs. Didn’t make any sense to you? Well, it shouldn’t have. Watch House’s bizarre video here: Is everything good with Danuel House? 😂 (h/t @LeagueAlerts ) pic.twitter.com/8X4eZHv8VQ — NBA Central (@TheNBACentral) October 22, 2020 This peculiar video leaves us all with a ton of questions on what’s going on inside the head of the second-year Rockets role player. A few hours after, House posted a follow-up story on his Instagram page that he was just simply happy about his hair. Danuel House’s second season with Houston was a bit rocky, but he still managed to put up decent numbers as a valuable reserve option for Mike D’Antoni...

Winslow Townson (USA Today) The Houston Rockets are in a fairly dire situation. They just got decimated by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the playoffs. They'll have a new coach and a new general manager next season. They owe two first-round picks and two pick swaps to the Oklahoma City Thunder. Their two superstars, James Harden and Russell Westbrook, are now in their 30s and have hefty contracts still on the books. That isn't uncommon for Houston. They owe their top five players almost $120 million, and will almost certainly pay the luxury tax next season.  The future is not particularly bright in Houston.  With that in mind, there is an argument to be made in favor of kickstarting a rebuild now. Trading Harden would still net a significant return, but the longer they wait, the less likely that is to be true. Wait too long, and they might be stuck with aging versions of Harden, Westbrook and Eric Gordon that are no longer capable of contending. For now,...

Houston Rockets Russell Westbrook James Harden (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) Newly promoted Houston Rockets general manager Rafael Stone will have to immediately get to work, as the Rockets have several pressing decisions that need to be made. With the 2019-20 NBA season officially in the books, the next chapter for the Houston Rockets is the 2020 offseason, which has been an eventful one thus far. The Rockets were dealt a sizable blow in the front office, as longtime general manager Daryl Morey decided to step down, opting to maximize on quality time with his family, and rightfully so. Morey becomes the third front office member to leave the Rockets within the past year, as Monte McNair departed for the Sacramento Kings’ front office vacancy earlier in the offseason, which comes a year after Gersson Rosas joined the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Rockets promoted Rafael Stone to fill Morey’s position and promoted Eli Witus as Stone’s assistant GM. The Rockets had a fairly s...

Jeff Van Gundy met with Houston Rockets ownership and management Wednesday about the team's coaching job and talks will continue Thursday, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski. Jeff Van Gundy met with Houston Rockets ownership and management today on the franchise's coaching job and conversations with the team will continue on Thursday, sources tell ESPN. — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) October 15, 2020 According to USA Today 's Ben DuBose, besides Van Gundy, the other top candidates are believed to include recent Brooklyn head coach Kenny Atkinson; former Cleveland head coach Ty Lue; and four assistants: Dallas’ Stephen Silas, Denver’s Wes Unseld Jr., Minnesota’s David Vanterpool; and Houston’s John Lucas. Van Gundy, who has been a color commentator for ESPN since 2007, hasn’t coached in the NBA since leading the Rockets from 2003-07. He has, however, worked as a coach for USA Basketball since 2017.  Van Gundy has a career coaching record of 430-318 (.575) ...

The New York Knicks have been linked to just about every veteran star believed to be available on the trade market this offseason. Chris Paul and Victor Oladipo have already made their way through the rumor mill, and now, we can potentially add another name to that list: Russell Westbrook. According to SNY's Ian Begley, NBA agents believe that the Knicks "would poke around" on a possible Westbrook trade should the Houston Rockets make him available.  At this time, there is no indication that the Rockets plan to make Westbrook available. However, it should be noted that the Rockets aggressively denied rumors that they would consider trading Chris Paul in 2019. We all know how that turned out. On paper, there are a number of arguments in favor of a Westbrook trade. The best are financial. The Rockets owe around $118 million to only five players next season: Westbrook, James Harden, Eric Gordon, P.J. Tucker and Robert Covington.  While the extent of it is not fully kn...

Veteran forward P.J. Tucker and the Houston Rockets are “on the same page” regarding his future with the team, per Kelly Iko of The Athletic . While Tucker is already under contract for the upcoming 2020-21 season, he would like to extend his stay for 2021-22 and beyond. In his latest notebook, here’s what Iko wrote about the situation. Veteran forward P.J. Tucker still hopes to come to an agreement on an extension with Houston, league sources told  The Athletic . Tucker initially expressed these desires about his long-term future last summer. Both sides are said to be on the same page in terms of wanting Tucker to stick around past the 2020-21 season — the last year of his current deal — when he’ll be making $7.97 million. For our first offseason notebook, Peeling back the curtain on a detailed and thorough search for the next Rockets head coach. Additional details on Tucker, Nwaba, and Gerald Green https://t.co/XC9rFt7p38 — Kelly Iko (@KellyIkoNBA) October 8, 2020 Th...

Former NBA champion Rasheed Wallace once avoided playing for longtime Houston Rockets assistant coach John Lucas. Houston Rockets assistant coach John Lucas has been with the franchise in several roles, as he spent five seasons playing for the franchise and four seasons as a personnel member. Lucas spent six seasons as a head coach, as he landed his first head coaching job at the age of 39-years-old, which is impressive, to say the least. Lucas spent his first two seasons coaching the San Antonio Spurs, and he achieved immediate success, posting a 94-49 record with the Spurs, which culminated in a fifth-place finish and a fourth-place finish. Lucas resigned as the Spurs coach at the end of the 1993-94 season and was hired as the Philadelphia 76ers coach within a week after leaving the Spurs. Lucas struggled in his first season coaching the Sixers, as they went 24-58, which resulted in the Sixers landing the third overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft. The 76ers ultimately selected Nor...

While the possibility of a new candidate can’t be ruled out just yet, it appears the Houston Rockets are satisfied with their current list of head coaching options to replace Mike D’Antoni. In Saturday’s Houston Chronicle update, Jonathan Feigen writes: They have focused entirely on former head coaches and top assistants. They have a mix of coaches with Finals appearances —Ty Lue and Jeff Van Gundy —up-and-coming assistants — Stephen Silas, Wes Unseld Jr. and David Vanterpool — and familiar faces — John Lucas, Kenny Atkinson and Van Gundy. They could expand the pool of candidates, a person with knowledge of the process said. But he also said that those involved in the hunt have liked what they have heard so far. New #Rockets at #TXSN – Rockets’ coaching candidates: a closer look https://t.co/gz9dPpL1zV — Jonathan Feigen (@Jonathan_Feigen) October 10, 2020 Here’s a rundown of the former head coaches in that group: Lue : Head coach of Cleveland Cavaliers (2016-18) Van Gund...

The Houston Rockets found a hidden gem when they signed Jeff Green last season. Could David Nwaba have a similar trajectory? Jeff Green‘s NBA career seemed all but over before the Houston Rockets took a chance on him this season. The move more than paid off for both sides, as his game perfectly fit with the team’s needs. In another low-risk move, the Rockets’ signing of David Nwaba this season could lead to lightning striking twice. Nwaba has been on a similar path as Green leading to his signing with Houston. Green had bright moments with his last few teams but couldn’t make a lasting impression to ink a longer deal. Through 18 games with Houston this season, Green averaged 12.2 points on 56.4 percent shooting from the field and 35.4 percent accuracy from the outside. In the playoffs, Jeff improved his outside shooting even more, burying 42.6 percent of his shots. His 11.6 points per game were also the most he’s averaged in a single playoffs since his Boston days in 2012-13. At a...

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports The Indiana Pacers are going to be a team to keep a close eye on this offseason. It sounds like both Victor Oladipo and Myles Turner could be on the trade block. In addition to that report, the Houston Rockets may come calling for Turner. According to a report from Ross of Legion Hoops, the Rockets are one of the many teams interested in acquiring Turner from the Pacers. Houston would make a ton of sense as a potential landing spot for Turner. They need rim protection, but they will not want a big who can’t space the floor. Thankfully, Turner checks both of those boxes. During the 2019-20 NBA season with the Pacers, Turner ended up averaging 12.1 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.1 blocks per game. He shot 45.7 percent from the floor overall and knocked down 34.4 percent of his three-point attempts. Those numbers would look good for the Rockets. Rumors have been swirling surrounding the Rockets that they could break up their core. Russell Westbrook ...