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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 $41M 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 $123M 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 ($5.72M) 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 po...

Watch Now: Highlights: Orlando Magic vs. Brooklyn Nets ( 1:35 ) Social Justice has been one of the most important elements of the NBA's return, as players were committed to using their platform to enact positive change. The NBA has accommodated them, allowing players to wear social justice messages on their jerseys while also painting Black Lives Matter on the court. Throughout the first two days of games, every team that played knelt for the national anthem while wearing a Black Lives Matter shirt as a form of silent protest.  There was only one holdout. Orlando Magic forward Jonathan Isaac neither knelt nor wore a Black Lives Matter shirt, instead standing for the anthem while wearing his jersey. He cited gospel as his explanation during his post-game media availability (via Taylor Rooks): "I believe that Black Lives Matter. A lot went into my decision, and part of it is, I thought that kneeling or wearing the Black Lives Matter t-shirt doesn't go hand-in-hand wi...

6:06 PM ET There are many versions of Carmelo Anthony, but as pictures and videos popped up during the first week of the Portland Trail Blazers' practices in Orlando, Florida, a new version emerged: Skinny Melo. "Every summer, it's a different name for me," Anthony said Friday. "This summer is Skinny Melo. There's Hoodie Melo, USA Melo, there's so many different Melos out there. But at the end of the day, I'm me." It's actually "Olympic Melo," but we'll forgive Anthony for getting his own nickname wrong. 1 Related Anthony is noticeably slimmed down from what he looked like during the season, and it was sparked by an anticipated position change upon the returns of big men Jusuf Nurkic and Zach Collins. Anthony has been starting at power forward for Portland, continuing at the position he adjusted to playing with the Oklahoma City Thunder. But with the Blazers returning two other starters for the NBA restart, Anthony is s...

© Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images Adrian Wojnarowski sent a vulgar email to Missouri Senator Josh Hawley on Friday, and the ESPN reporter has now issued an apology. Hawley, a Republican, wrote a letter to NBA commissioner Adam Silver suggesting the league allow players to display messages like “Support Our Troops” and “Free Hong Kong!” on the backs of their jerseys when play resumes in Orlando, Fla. Hawley’s office sent a copy of the letter to Wojnarowski, and Woj replied with “f— you.” Not long after Hawley tweeted a screenshot of Wojnarowski’s email, the NBA insider issued a statement apologizing for his “unacceptable” actions. pic.twitter.com/wsBNk9Jv2y — Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 10, 2020 Hawley’s letter criticized the NBA for its handling of the Hong Kong situation, but it’s unclear which part of the letter Wojnarowski found so offensive. Hong Kong has been trying to free itself from communist China, and Houston Rockets GM Daryl Morey received serious b...

Leave it to Daryl Morey to use the transaction window — set up to help round out rosters for the restart in Orlando — to add a piece for next season. Tuesday, the Rockets signed David Nwaba to a two-year deal. The story was broken by Shams Charania of The Athletic and later confirmed by the Rockets themselves. Roster Update: Rockets GM Daryl Morey today announced that the team has signed free agent guard/forward David Nwaba. The Rockets have waived center Isaiah Hartenstein. 📝 https://t.co/hJWlRWD7No pic.twitter.com/LNpP7ap35R — Houston Rockets (@HoustonRockets) June 24, 2020 The Rockets had a full roster heading to Orlando, so to make room for Nwaba they cut center Isaiah Hartenstein. While Hartenstein showed some promise, the center does not fit with the Rockets’ small-ball game. The Nwaba signing is not about the restart, he will not lace them up in Orlando (but still make $903,000). He was carving out a growing spot in the Brooklyn rotation back in December when he tore hi...

For nearly two decades Julius Jones has been sitting on Oklahoma’s death row after being convicted of killing a prominent businessman in the suburbs of Oklahoma City in 1999. Jones has always proclaimed his innocence—but a recent push led by community activists, celebrities and NBA stars to re-examine the case has thrust Jones’s conviction into the spotlight. Those in support of the Oklahoma man point to what they believe was racial bias, a flawed investigation and a defense that was severely lacking as they advocate for justice for Jones, who has already exhausted his appeals. “The only remedy available at this moment is the clemency process and in October we filed a commutation application with the Oklahoma Pardon and Parole Board asking it to recommend that Julius’ sentence be commuted to time served,” Jones’ attorney Dale Baich told Oxygen.com. NBA stars such as Blake Griffin, Russell Westbrook, Trae Young and Buddy Hield have all penned letters to Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt...

A handful of athletes with Oklahoma ties are calling for the release of Julius Jones, a man on death row for a shooting he adamantly denies. Jones was convicted of first-degree murder in 2002 for the 1999 shooting of businessman Paul Howell. The only witness, Howell’s sister Megan Tobey, described to police a young Black man with a white shirt, a skull or stocking cap with a piece of hair sticking out up to an inch long, and a red bandana over his face, according to ESPN. Jones was 19 years old when he was arrested. He has been in prison since the conviction. “As God is my witness, I was not involved in any way in the crimes that led to Howell being shot and killed,” Jones said in his clemency report, according to ESPN. “I have spent the past 20 years on death row for a crime I did not commit, did not witness, and was not at.” Former Oklahoma City Thunder player (and current Houston Rockets star) Russell Westbrook, Oklahoma native Blake Griffin, and former University of Oklaho...

FOR JULIUS JONES , H Unit has been home for 18 years. He's on death row, serving time for a crime he maintains he didn't commit, in a cell alongside 53 others stacked in two rows inside the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester. In 2002, Jones was convicted of first-degree murder for the death of Paul Howell. The 45-year-old businessman was shot in the head on July 28, 1999, while sitting in a tan GMC Suburban in his parents' driveway in Edmond, Oklahoma. Two shell casings were found at the scene. Howell's sister, Megan Tobey, was the only eyewitness. After a three-day search for a suspect described as a young black male wearing a white shirt, a skull or stocking cap, and a red banana over his face, Jones, then 19, was arrested. "As God is my witness, I was not involved in any way in the crimes that led to Howell being shot and killed," Jones said in his clemency report. "I have spent the past 20 years on death row for a crime I did not commit, did...

Derrick Rose currently has a real chance of becoming the first NBA MVP to not make the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.  And that would be a damn shame. If Hall of Fames were what, frankly, they should be — museums dedicated to displaying all that mattered in the history of a sport — Rose’s case would be all but cemented, even on the strength of his first four professional seasons, alone.  When an awkward jump stop ripped the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in Game 1 of the 2012 Eastern Conference first round, Rose already had three All-Star nods, a first-team All-NBA selection, Rookie of the Year award and most valuable player trophy (he remains the youngest in the sport to receive the honor) to his name — and at just the tender age of 23.  Rose also stands as one of 11 players to amass 5,800 points and 1,900 assists in his first four seasons, one of two (along with Oscar Robertston) to log a season of 2,000 points and 600 assists before age 23...

Happy Monday, people. Let’s make this the start of another productive week. I don’t know about y’all, but I’m excited that the NBA season will resume on July 31. I can’t wait to see what the 76ers will look like following the lengthy shutdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Related stories You’re signed up to get this newsletter in your inbox every Monday. If you like what you’re reading, tell your friends it’s free to sign up here. I want to know what you think, what we should add, and what you want to read, so send me feedback by email or on Twitter @PompeyOnSixers. Thank you for reading. Another Sixers assistant coach heading out? Is Ime Udoka is line to become the latest 76ers assistant coach to move on as a head coach? Inquirer Morning Newsletter Get the news you need to start your day The Chicago Suns Times recently reported that Udoka is the front-runner to become the Bulls’ head coach if the team fires embattled coach Jim Boylen. The pape...

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE: Having hosted Stephen Curry during an Instagram Live session, former Heat guard Dwyane Wade said a regret remains never having had a chance to test his Big Three championship Heat against Curry's Splash Brothers championship Warriors, with Golden State's run of three titles beginning the year after the Heat's run of four consecutive NBA Finals ended in 2014. "I think we all have those moments," Wade said, "where you see great teams and you see great individual players and you're like, 'Damn, I would loved to have had a moment to have played against them in my prime.' So I just say that to say that, when you guys, shortly after the Big Three era, when we had the NBA, you guys took it over, and I was like, 'Damn, I would have loved to play them right now. That would be it.' " As it was, after those four Finals trips with the Heat, LeBron James did go on to play the next four Finals against the Warriors.

The scarcity denotes the evident difficulty of achieving it. Quadruple-double , an almost mythological concept for almost all basketball fans and practitioners, an impossible that ceased to be because of the ability of four men to defy logic and elevate their career to a higher status. We talk about triple-doubles as memorable performances, although over the years and the improvement of physical power in the NBA they have become more and more habitual. However, signing double figures in four aspects of the game continues to be something far away for the vast majority. Alone four players have managed to do a quadruple-double . We review his feat. The first to get it was Nate Thurmond . This legendary Golden State Warriors player, where he played 11 of the 14 seasons he was in the NBA, achieved the feat with the Chicago Bulls jersey. He was in a duel against Atlanta Hawks on October 18, 1974 and he did it with 22 points, 14 rebounds, 13 assists and 12 blocks. Simply amazing. Recall th...

It is the most populated continent in the world, the one in which the NBA It has penetrated more strongly at the media level and where evident initiatives are being carried out to promote it, but Asian basketball still does not take off. China, Iran and to a lesser extent Japan , they are erected in the three countries that dominate the most if we exclude the powerful Israel, which geographically and at the level of FIBA ​​competitions is part of Europe. Philippines It is the country where this sport has acquired greater historical relevance. Its more than 106 million inhabitants breathe basketball on all four sides and are an inexhaustible source of players, although their strength has always been based on the collective. We review who have been the pioneers who have best represented basketball on this continent and can be considered the best players in the history of Asian basketball . Above all there is no doubt that he is Yao Ming . The 2.29m giant gained his relevance in the ...

Don’t you love it when Clutch rockets a T-shirt into the upper deck during that third quarter timeout with his T-shirt cannon? Well, we’re doing something similar at The Dream Shake this week. Well, we aren’t tossing T-shirts throughout the city of Houston, but we are giving one lucky fan a chance at their very own TDS T-Shirt from our friends at BreakingT. How do you win a shirt? Simply subscribe to the all-new Harden My Take podcast on Apple podcasts! Take a listen as Jeremy Brener and Michael Brown list off their Top 50 Rockets in a ten-part series and catch their latest episode with guest Craig Ackerman. To find the podcast, search The Dream Shake podcast on wherever you listen to podcasts. Send us a screenshot that you subscribe to the podcast at thedreamshake@sbnation.com. And one lucky new subscriber will win themselves a brand new T-shirt! The contest ends Monday, May 4 at 11:59 PM CT.