Houston Rockets Blog – Page 40 – NBA Blog

Houston Rockets have interest in Marcus Camby, Mike Miller

In an expected strategy shift from last season’s emphasis on young prospects, the Rockets are interested in veterans Marcus Camby and Mike Miller, a person with knowledge of the team’s thinking said Wednesday.

The 6-11 Camby, who finished the 2011-12 season with the Rockets and had hoped to finish his career in his adopted hometown, reached a buyout agreement with the Raptors on Wednesday. Camby, 39, went from the Rockets to the Knicks last summer in a sign-and-trade deal when the Rockets chose to rebuild around young players. He was sent to Toronto in the New York trade for Andrea Bargnani with two seasons and $7.5 million left on his contract.

The 6-8 Miller, who helped the Heat to consecutive NBA titles, was waived by Miami under the amnesty provision.

Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle

Houston Rockets sign Omri Casspi

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed unrestricted free agent forward Omri Casspi from the Cleveland Cavaliers to a multi-year deal.

Casspi (6-9, 225, Israel), who was the NBA’s first Israeli-born first-round pick, has averaged 7.9 points, 3.9 rebounds and 1.0 assists over 256 career games (94 starts) with Sacramento and Cleveland. Originally selected by the Kings in the first round (23rd overall) of the 2009 NBA Draft, Casspi was acquired by the Cavaliers in a trade on June 30, 2011. He had his best season in 2009-10, averaging 10.3 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 25.1 minutes per game over 77 outings (31 starts) with the Kings.

As a starter during his rookie campaign, Casspi posted averages of 12.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 30.6 minutes per contest.

Prior to the NBA, Casspi played with Hapoel Galil Elyon and Maccabi Tel Aviv in the Israeli Premier League. He actually finished fourth in voting for the 2008-09 FIBA European Young Men’s Player of the Year Award (Ricky Rubio, Danilo Gallinari and Kosta Koufos).

Philadelphia 76ers claim James Anderson and Tim Ohlbrecht off waivers

The Philadelphia 76ers announced today that they have claimed swingman James Anderson and center Tim Ohlbrecht off waivers. Both players were waived by Houston on July 15.

Anderson (6-6, 215) was originally the 20th overall pick by San Antonio in the 2010 NBA Draft. In three NBA seasons with the Spurs and Rockets, Anderson has appeared in 116 games with six starts, averaging 3.7 points, 1.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists in 11.1 minutes per game.

This past season, Anderson was a member of Atlanta’s training camp and preseason roster before being waived prior to the start of the regular season. After a brief stint with the Rio Grande Vipers in the D-League, Anderson signed with the Spurs on Nov. 21 and appeared in 10 games before being waived on Dec. 20. The 24-year-old returned to the Vipers before being signed by the Rockets for the remainder of the season on Jan. 2.

As a junior at Oklahoma State in 2009-10, Anderson ranked sixth in the nation in scoring with 22.3 points per game and was named the unanimous Big 12 Player of the Year. He started 99 of a possible 101 games during his collegiate career and never missed a game.

Ohlbrecht (6-11, 255) was not selected in the 2010 NBA Draft. The native of Germany has several years of experience playing professionally in the German Bundesliga and has been of member of the German National Team since 2008.

This past season, Ohlbrecht joined Rio Grande Valley in the D-League and averaged 13.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.63 blocks and 1.13 steals in 26.6 minutes per game while shooting 60.5% from the floor and 81.1% from the line. The 24-year-old was named to the 2013 NBA D-League All-Star Game and posted a double-double with 12 points and a game-high 12 rebounds.

Ohlbrecht was called up by the Rockets on Feb. 25 and appeared in three games. He returned to the Vipers for the D-League playoffs and helped lead the team to the championship.

Dwight Howard says it was tough to play with Kobe Bryant

“Was it tough playing with Kobe?” Howard said in a recent interview with ESPN. “Yeah, it was very tough. But playing along with Kobe didn’t have any parts in my decision going to Houston. I just felt like going to Houston was a better situation for me in my career.”

Howard believes Rockets coach Kevin McHale will feature him in a larger offensive role in the post than Mike D’Antoni would. He believes James Harden will play with more efficiency and better health than Steve Nash would. Howard believes it will be easier leading a team lacking with championship tradition than playing on a team steeped with it but Bryant still controlling the agenda.

“Me and Kobe, we had our disagreements and we had our moments,” Howard said. “Everbody knows Kobe likes to score. There were times we would get at it about getting the ball. That happens as a team. But my focus cannot be on Kobe in what he did. I have to look at myself and say I allowed that situation to happen. I could get those balls and do whatever I want because I’m capable of doing it. I can’t blame anybody else for things I’ve done on the court. I would have to own up to it.”

Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Houston Rockets waive James Anderson and Tim Ohlbrecht, and announce signings

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has signed second-round draft pick guard Isaiah Canaan (pronounced Cannon). In addition, the Rockets have come to terms with rookie free agents forward Robert Covington and guard B.J. Young.

In addition, the Rockets announced that the team has waived guard/forward James Anderson and center Tim Ohlbrecht.

Canaan (6-0, 188, Murray State) was selected by the Rockets with the 34th overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. He played in 132 career games over four seasons at Murray State, averaging 15.5 points, 2.9 assists and 2.8 rebounds. Overall, Canaan scored over 2,000 points in his collegiate career (2,050) while shooting 304-of-725 (.419) from beyond the arc. He was named Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year as a junior and OVC Co-Player of the Year as a senior. The Biloxi, Mississippi native also earned Honorable Mention All-America honors from the Associated Press as a senior after ranking first on team in scoring (21.8 ppg), assists (4.3 apg) and steals (1.5 spg). Canaan, who scored in double figures in all 31 games in 2012-13, netted a season-high 35 points against Morehead. He added 22 points, a career-high 10 assists and nine rebounds against Belmont State. As a junior, Canaan also ranked first on team in scoring (19.0 ppg) and assists (3.6 apg).

Covington (6-9, 215, Tennessee State) was a member of the Rockets 2013 Orlando Pro Summer League, where he averaged 12.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.40 steals in five games (two starts). Undrafted in the 2013 NBA Draft, Covington averaged 14.8 points, 7.4 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 blocks in 118 career games over four seasons at Tennessee State. He finished his career seventh all-time in school history with 1,750 points and seventh in rebounds with 876. Covington was named Second Team All-OVC as a senior and sophomore, while earning First Team All-OVC honors as a junior. He was also named to the Ohio Valley Conference All Newcomer Team as a freshman. As a senior in 2012-13, he ranked first on team in scoring (17.0 ppg), steals (2.2 spg) and blocks (1.7 bpg), while ranking second in rebounds (8.0 rpg). Covington was also first on the team in scoring (17.9 ppg), rebounds (7.9 rpg), steals (1.6 spg) and blocks (1.4 bpg) as a junior in 2011-12.

Young (6-3, 180, Arkansas), who also played with the Rockets at the 2013 Orlando Pro Summer League, averaged 11.8 points on 16-of-31 (.516) shooting from the field over four games with Houston. Young was an early entry candidate for the 2013 NBA Draft, but did not hear his name called on draft night. He played in 63 career games over his two-year career at Arkansas, posting a career average of 15.2 points. Young earned Second-Team All-SEC honors as a sophomore and freshman. He was also named to the SEC All-Freshman Team. He ranked first on the team in scoring (15.2 ppg), assists (3.4 apg) and minutes played (27.9 mpg), while finishing third in rebounding (3.5 rpg) as a sophomore in 2012-13. As a freshman in 2011-12, he ranked second on team in scoring (15.2 ppg) and third in assists (2.3 apg). Young was the leading scorer among freshmen in the SEC and was given the team Offensive Player of the Year award by the Razorback coaches in 2011-12.

Rockets to add Hakeem Olajuwon to team staff

Having awoken to find that their signing of Dwight Howard was not all a dream, the Rockets were close Sunday to bringing The Dream back to the organization.

Hakeem Olajuwon, a key part of the Rockets’ recruiting efforts to land Howard and a large part of the festivities on Saturday after Howard signed, will rejoin the Rockets in an official capacity for the first time since he spent the final season of his career with the Toronto Raptors.

Olajuwon’s duties and title are still being discussed and he will continue to spend much of the year at his home in Jordan. But he will work with the Rockets interior players, as he does with big men around the NBA each off season, as a team employee.

“We are going to bring him in as full time as is possible,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said on Sunday. “It’s not done, but we have mutual interest to get it done and we’ve have some early discussions. We want him to work with Dwight and Omer (Asik) and he wants to do that.”

Reported by Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle

Rockets trade Royce White to 76ers

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has traded forward Royce White, the draft rights to Turkish forward Furkan Aldemir (four-KAHN ahl-DEE-meer) and cash considerations to the Philadelphia 76ers for future draft considerations.

White (6-8, 260, Iowa State) was selected by Houston with the 16th overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. While not seeing action with the Rockets in 2012-13, White averaged 11.4 points, 5.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists in 16 games (eight starts) with the D-League Rio Grande Valley Vipers.

So far, the start of White’s NBA career has revolved more around his anxiety problem and his difficulty with flying in airplanes and other issues than his actual ability to play basketball. Due to his disorder, his future in the league remains unclear at this time.

Aldemir (6-10, 230, Turkey), who was originally selected by the L.A. Clippers in the second round (53rd overall) in the 2012 NBA Draft, had his draft rights acquired by Houston as part of a four-team trade on June 29, 2012.

Rockets trade Thomas Robinson to Trail Blazers

The Portland Trail Blazers have acquired forward Thomas Robinson from the Houston Rockets in exchange for the NBA rights to Kostas Papnikolaou and Marko Todorovic along with two future second round picks, it was announced today by General Manager Neil Olshey.

Robinson, 22, is entering his second NBA season after averaging 4.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 15.1 minutes in 70 games with Sacramento (51 games) and Houston (19 games) in 2012-13.

“Thomas is a dynamic young big man with tremendous upside,” said Olshey. “He is an elite athlete and brings a unique set of physical tools to our roster. He has the potential to be one of the best young power forwards in the league and his development will be a priority for us.”

Drafted by Sacramento with the fifth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, Robinson (6-10, 237) played three seasons at Kansas, where he averaged 17.1 points (50.5%), 11.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 1.08 steals and 31.8 minutes in 39 games his junior year. A consensus First Team All-American in 2011-12, he earned the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year Award as a junior.

Steve Nash expected Dwight Howard to leave Lakers

Even going into their meeting with Dwight Howard to convince him to re-sign, Lakers point guard Steve Nash thought Howard re-signing was unlikely.

“Frankly, I thought before the meeting that we really didn’t have a chance,” said Nash on the “Mason & Ireland Show” on ESPN L.A. (710) on Tuesday. “I’d like to think that after the meeting, we had a chance, but ultimately, I think Dwight wasn’t comfortable here and didn’t want to be here.”

Nash was part of the Lakers’ contingent last week that tried to sway Howard to stay. Instead, the All-Star center chose to join the Houston Rockets as a free agent.

“If he doesn’t want to be here, there’s no point for anyone in him being here, so we wish him the best and move on,” Nash said. “I heard he said to the media that he ever quite felt embraced in L.A. He never quite felt maybe supported, and that’s basically it. In some ways you can read into that what you will.”

Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times

Dwight Howard says Kobe Bryant was not why he left Lakers

Dwight Howard downplayed Kobe Bryant’s pitch as a reason for leaving the Lakers for Houston and claimed he was already a winner in an interview with The Times’ T.J. Simers.

In the Lakers’ meeting with Howard on Tuesday, Bryant reportedly told Howard he should listen to Bryant more often to learn how to become a champion.

“People twisted a lot of things he said,” Howard said Friday night. “I haven’t won a championship but I’m in the NBA. That’s winning. I’m blessed to be able to play this game, blessed to come out of back surgery. Winning isn’t all about just having a championship, but winning in life. Kobe never challenged that and nothing he said had anything to do with my decision. I respect Kobe, know who he is, but this is about me and going in a different direction.”

Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times