Category: Houston Rockets Blog

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Rockets sign center Justin Patton from G League

The Houston Rockets have signed Justin Patton to a two-way contract. The center had been playing in the G League for the Westchester Knicks.

After earning Big East Freshman of the Year honors for Creighton, Patton (6-11, 241) was selected with the 16th overall pick by Chicago in the 2017 NBA Draft before his rights were traded to Minnesota. He was most recently with Milwaukee during training camp prior to this season.

In 83 career G League games, Patton has averaged 11.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.0 blocks. The 23-year-old ranked fourth in the G League with 2.8 bpg last season.

Rockets sign Ray Spalding, waive Brodric Thomas

The Houston Rockets today announced they have called up center Ray Spalding from their NBA G League affiliate, Rio Grande Valley, and signed him to a two-way contract.

In a related move, the Rockets have waived guard Brodric Thomas.

In two games for the Vipers this season, Spalding (6-10, 225) averaged 18.5 points, 13.0 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.50 blocks while shooting 60.0% from the floor. He was with the Rockets during the 2019 preseason prior to joining Rio Grande Valley.

Spalding was an early entry candidate for the 2018 NBA Draft following his junior season at Louisville and was the 56th overall pick by Philadelphia before his right were acquired by Dallas. He appeared in one game for the Mavericks in addition to 13 games for Phoenix in 2018-19.

Cavs trade Kevin Porter Jr. to Rockets, who waive Chris Clemons

The Cleveland Cavaliers have traded guard Kevin Porter Jr. to Houston. In exchange, the Cavaliers will receive a future second round draft pick from the Rockets, General Manager Koby Altman announced from Cleveland Clinic Courts.

In a related move, the Rockets have waived guard Chris Clemons, who appeared in 33 games as a rookie last season.

“After careful and thoughtful evaluation, we made the very difficult and collective decision to make this trade,” said Altman. “Given the culture and environment we have worked to cultivate here in Cleveland, we feel this move is in everyone’s best interest. Kevin has a bright career ahead of him as a professional basketball player and, at his core, is a good person. We wish Kevin and his family well in Houston.”

Porter Jr. (6-4, 203) was the 30th overall pick in the 2019 NBA Draft by Milwaukee and was acquired by the Cavaliers in a trade with Detroit on June 26, 2019. He went on to appear in 50 games (three starts) with Cleveland last season, averaging 10.0 points, 3.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 0.92 steals in 23.2 minutes.

Recent three-team James Harden trade amended into four-team trade to include Pacers

The Houston Rockets today announced that their three-team trade with Brooklyn and Cleveland has been amended into a four-team trade involving Indiana.

Click the link in this sentence to see the original three-team James Harden to Nets trade from a few days ago.

The Rockets traded guard James Harden to the Nets and a 2023 second round pick to the Pacers while acquiring guard Victor Oladipo (oh-lah-DEE-po) from Indiana, guard Danté Exum from the Cavaliers, and forward Rodions Kurucs (RO-dee-ahns KOO-rootz) from the Nets.

Houston also acquired the following draft assets:

– Three unprotected first round picks from Brooklyn in 2022, 2024, and 2026.

– The right to swap first round picks with Brooklyn in 2021, 2023, 2025, and 2027.

– Milwaukee’s first round pick in 2022 from Cleveland.

As part of the deal, the Pacers also received a future second round draft pick from Houston and a future second round draft pick from Cleveland.

“First and foremost, we want to thank Victor for what he gave to the Pacers through his play, his diligence in rehab coming back from a serious injury, and his community efforts,” said Pacers President of Basketball Operations Kevin Pritchard. “These decisions are obviously never easy and this one in particular was hard because of our relationship.

Continued Pritchard, “Caris is a high-quality person who will fit in with what we as an organization are doing, on and off the floor. He’s a versatile young talent who we think will be a great fit with the direction our team is taking. He can play multiple positions and affect the game at both ends of the floor.”

Originally drafted by the Pacers in the 2016 NBA Draft, LeVert was traded to the Brooklyn Nets on July 7, 2016. A 6-6, 205-pound guard, he spent part of five seasons with the Nets. He will wear jersey #22 with the Pacers.

Oladipo (6-4, 210) is in his eighth season and is a two-time All-Star. In 430 career games with 370 starts, he is averaging 17.4 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists, and 1.7 steals. Over the past three seasons, he was the only player to have averaged at least 20.0 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 4.0 rpg, and 1.90 spg. In 2017-18, Oladipo was named Most Improved Player, All-NBA Third Team, and All-Defensive First Team.

Exum (6-5, 214) was the fifth overall pick by Utah in the 2014 NBA Draft. In 245 career games with 72 starts, the 25-year-old is averaging 5.7 points, 2.1 assists, and 1.8 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game. Over the past three seasons, Exum averaged 14.6 ppg, 5.0 apg, and 4.2 rpg per 36 minutes played.

Kurucs (6-9, 230) was the 40th overall pick by Brooklyn in the 2018 NBA Draft. In 115 games with 55 starts, the 22-year-old is averaging 6.5 points, and 3.4 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game. Over his first two seasons, Kurucs averaged 13.6 ppg, 7.0 rpg, and 1.9 apg per 36 minutes played.

Spurs face in-flux Rockets team Saturday

The Spurs aren’t quite sure who will be out on the floor for the Rockets Saturday. Via the Express News:

That scouting report from Thursday night? The Spurs might throw it in the waste basket, although after what happened in their previous meeting with the Rockets, it would be a wonder if anyone not named Keldon Johnson could hit it.

“We will play it by ear and see what they got,” point guard Dejounte Murray said. “We’ve just to be ready to go.”

Their roster in flux because of injury and the relief-inducing trade of All-Star guard James Harden to Brooklyn, the Rockets defeated the Spurs 109-105 on Thursday with just nine players available.

Houston could have more warm bodies for Round 2 today at the AT&T Center. Or the Rockets could be even more short-handed than they were Thursday.

The Spurs are a solid 6-6 so far this season. They’re being led in scoring by DeMar DeRozan at 20.4 points per game, followed by six players who are all averaging between 11.2 and 15.7 ppg.

Three-team NBA trade sends James Harden to Nets, Caris LeVert to Rockets, Jarrett Allen to Cavs

UPDATE: This three-team trade was amended on January 16 to become a four-team trade that included Victor Oladipo and the Pacers.

The Brooklyn Nets have acquired six-time All-NBA First Team guard James Harden from the Houston Rockets as part of a three-team trade that includes the Cleveland Cavaliers.

As part of the trade, Brooklyn sends center Jarrett Allen and forward Taurean Prince to Cleveland, and guard Caris LeVert and forward Rodions Kurucs, as well as three first round draft picks (2022, 2024 and 2026) and four first round pick swaps (2021, 2023, 2025 and 2027) to Houston.

The Rockets also receive guard Dante Exum and a 2022 first round draft pick from Cleveland (via Milwaukee), and Brooklyn acquires a 2024 second round draft pick from the Cavaliers to complete the deal.

“Adding an All-NBA player such as James to our roster better positions our team to compete against the league’s best,” said Nets General Manager Sean Marks. “James is one of the most prolific scorers and playmakers in our game, and we are thrilled to bring his special talents to Brooklyn. While we are excited to welcome James and his family to the Nets, we also want to thank the players who are departing. Caris, Jarrett, Rodions and Taurean were instrumental to the team’s success and have made an enormous impact on our organization. It has been a pleasure watching them grow both as players and as people and they will always be part of our Nets family. We wish each of them and their families all the best in the future.”

“On behalf of the entire Rockets organization and the City of Houston, I’d like to thank James Harden for an amazing eight-plus seasons in a Rockets uniform,” said Rockets owner Tilman J. Fertitta. “James has provided us with so many great memories as we’ve watched him grow from Sixth Man of the Year to a perennial All-Star and MVP. My family and I also want to thank James for his many off the court contributions, including generous charitable donations and multiple annual community events. We wish James the best of luck and will always be grateful for the memories.”

The league’s Most Valuable Player in 2018, Harden (6’5”, 220) has been named an All-Star in each of the last eight seasons (2013-20), which marks the second-longest active streak of All-Star appearances behind only LeBron James (16 consecutive appearances). He’s a three-time scoring champion (2018-20) and became the first player to win three straight scoring titles since Kevin Durant did so from 2010-12. Harden was also the league leader in assists in 2017, and he’s one of just six players in NBA history who have won both scoring and assist titles in their careers, joining James, Nate Archibald, Oscar Robertson, Jerry West and Russell Westbrook. Harden’s six All-NBA First Team selections tie with Durant for the second-most among active players, trailing only James’ NBA-record 13 first team honors. He ranks 36th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 21,160 career points (fourth among active players) and 54th on the league’s all-time assists list with 5,338 career assists (sixth among active players).

Harden has appeared in 841 games (628 starts) across 12 NBA seasons with Houston (2012-21) and Oklahoma City (2009-12), registering career averages of 25.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 6.3 assists and 1.6 steals in 34.3 minutes per game while shooting 44.3 percent from the field, 36.3 percent from 3-point range and 85.8 percent from the free-throw line. In the 2019-20 season, Harden recorded averages of 34.3 points on 44.4 percent shooting from the field, 35.5 percent shooting from distance and 86.5 percent shooting from the free-throw line with 6.6 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 1.8 steals in 36.5 minutes per game through 68 regular season games, earning All-NBA First Team honors for the fourth straight season and finishing third in MVP voting. Since the start of his NBA career, Harden has played in 841 of a possible 885 regular season games, and no player has appeared in more games since the start of the 2009-10 season than Harden.

The Compton, Calif., native has also never missed the playoffs in his NBA career, seeing action in 128 games (85 starts) in 11 postseason appearances and posting averages of 23.5 points, 5.4 rebounds, 5.8 assists and 1.7 steals in 35.3 minutes per contest. He’s made four trips to the Western Conference Finals in his career, twice with the Rockets (2015 and 2018) and twice with the Thunder (2011 and 2012). Harden has also represented the United States in international competition, earning a gold medal with the U.S. men’s basketball team at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Harden was originally selected with the third overall pick in the 2009 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Prior to beginning his NBA career, Harden spent two years (2007-09) at Arizona State, earning All-Pac-10 First Team honors twice and garnering consensus first-team All-America honors, as well as the Pac-10 Player of the Year award, in his second and final collegiate season.

Allen saw action in 234 games (180 starts) in his four seasons (2017-21) with the Nets, posting averages of 10.1 points, 7.9 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.4 blocks in 24.4 minutes per game. In the 2020-21 season, Allen has appeared in 12 games (five starts), registering averages of 11.2 points, 10.4 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.6 blocks in 26.6 minutes per game. The Austin, Texas, native was named to the Mtn Dew Ice Rising Stars as part of 2019 NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte during his sophomore season. He is also the Nets’ all-time leader in field goal percentage (61.2 percent) and set the franchise’s single-season record for field goal percentage last season (64.9 percent). The 22-year-old was originally selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft by Brooklyn.

LeVert appeared in 225 games (96 starts) in five seasons (2016-21) in Brooklyn, averaging 13.1 points, 3.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.1 steals in 25.9 minutes per game. In 12 games (four starts) this season, the Columbus, Ohio, native has registered averages of 18.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 6.0 assists and 1.1 steals in 27.8 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old was originally selected with the 20th overall pick in the first round of the 2016 NBA Draft by the Indiana Pacers and was traded to Brooklyn after the draft.

Kurucs saw action in 115 games (55 starts) in three seasons with the Nets, recording averages of 6.5 points and 3.4 rebounds in 17.3 minutes per game. The Latvian native was originally selected with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2018 NBA Draft by Brooklyn.

Prince appeared in 272 games (204 starts) across five NBA seasons with Brooklyn (2019-21) and Atlanta (2016-19), registering averages of 11.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 26.0 minutes per game. In 76 games (65 starts) in Brooklyn, Prince averaged 11.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.6 assists in 27.3 minutes per contest. In the 2020-21 season, the San Antonio, Texas, native has seen action in 12 games (four starts), averaging 8.1 points and 2.8 rebounds in 18.1 minutes per contest. The 26-year-old was originally acquired by Brooklyn via trade with the Atlanta Hawks on July 6, 2019.

NBA fines Markieff Morris and DeMarcus Cousins

Los Angeles Lakers forward Markieff Morris has been fined $35,000 and Houston Rockets center DeMarcus Cousins has been fined $10,000 for their roles in an on-court altercation, it was announced today by Kiki VanDeWeghe, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, which occurred with 2:15 remaining in the first quarter of the Lakers’ 120-102 victory over the Rockets on Jan. 10 at Toyota Center, began when Morris committed a Flagrant Foul 1 by knocking Rockets forward Jae’Sean Tate to the ground.

Cousins continued the incident by shoving Morris to the floor, for which Cousins was assessed a technical foul. Morris further escalated the situation by charging after Cousins, shoving him and continuing to aggressively pursue him. Morris was assessed a technical foul and ejected.

Rockets waive Gerald Green

The Houston Rockets waived guard/forward Gerald Green.

“Gerald is a truly exceptional human being that is beloved by our organization, the City of Houston and Rockets fans all over the world,” said Rockets General Manager Rafael Stone. “He has given us so much on the court during his time with the Rockets, but we’re even more proud of the impact he’s had in the community. When Houston was hit its hardest by Hurricane Harvey, Gerald did whatever he could to help those in need. Gerald is all heart and he will forever be a part of the Rockets family.”

Green was originally the 18th overall pick by Boston in the 2005 NBA Draft and has appeared in 658 career games with 118 starts. From the time he originally signed with the Rockets on Dec. 28, 2017 through the end of the 2018-19 season, Green had the most 3-pointers made (255) of any reserve in the NBA.