Houston Rockets Blog – Page 65 – NBA Blog

Rashad McCants rejoins Texas Legends of D-League

The Texas Legends announced today that guard Rashad McCants has reported back to the team and is expected to be active for tonight’s game, as the Legends host the Sioux Falls Skyforce at 7:00 PM at HP Court inside Dr Pepper Arena.

McCants, 26, was assigned to the Legends from the Dallas Mavericks training camp and played in three games with Texas, before exploring options overseas. He becomes one of four Legends players to have been drafted in the first round of the NBA Draft.

In his three games with the Legends earlier this season, McCants averaged 12.3 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists, including a season-high 20 points in his first game with the team against Austin.

Despite leaving the storied college program of the University of North Carolina after just three years, McCants ranks 14th all-time in scoring at the school and is tied for second with 221 career three-point field goals. He also helped lead the Tar Heels to the 2005 National Championship.

He was drafted in the first round (14th overall) in the 2005 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves. McCants played in parts of four seasons with the T-Wolves and later the Sacramento Kings. In 249 career NBA games, the guard has averaged 10.0 points, 2.0 rebounds, and 1.3 assists per game.

Chris Roberts, a 22-year-old guard out of Bradley University, was also acquired via the available player pool. He played in one game at the start of the season with the Idaho Stampede, in which he scored four points and grabbed two rebounds. Roberts has appeared on ESPN SportsCenter Top 10 Plays five times, including his 75-foot buzzer beater to defeat Oakland in the 2009 Collegeinsider.com Postseason Tournament Quarterfinal. Roberts will also be active for tonight’s contest.

Knicks re-sign Jared Jeffries

New York Knickerbockers President of Basketball Operations Donnie Walsh announced today that forward Jared Jeffries has been re-signed as a free agent.

Jeffries, 6-11, 240-pounds, returns to New York with career averages of 5.2 points on .431 shooting, 4.3 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 0.50 blocks over 22.8 minutes in 528 games (322 starts). He played in 18 games for Houston this season, averaging 1.5 points and 1.9 rebounds over 7.7 minutes.

The Bloomington, IN native originally signed with New York as a free agent on Aug. 8, 2006, appearing in 236 games (135 starts) with the Knicks, averaging 4.5 points on .434 shooting, 4.0 rebounds and 1.3 assists over 22.9 minutes, before being traded to Houston on Feb. 18, 2010.

Rockets waive Jared Jeffries

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has waived forward Jared Jeffries.

Jeffries was acquired via trade on 2/18/10 and played in a total of 36 games (no starts) for the Rockets. He finishes his Rockets career with averages of 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

The Rockets roster now stands at 14.

Rockets trade Shane Battier to Grizzlies; Hasheem Thabeet to Rockets

The Memphis Grizzlies have acquired Shane Battier and Ishmael Smith from the Houston Rockets in exchange for Hasheem Thabeet, DeMarre Carroll and a future, lottery-protected first-round draft pick, Grizzlies General Manager and Vice President of Basketball Operations Chris Wallace announced today.

The move reunites the Grizzlies and the City of Memphis with Battier, one of the most-popular and effective players in franchise history.

“We are thrilled to have acquired a player of Shane’s caliber as we make a push toward the playoffs,” Wallace said. “Shane is remembered fondly in our Memphis community for his contributions to the franchise’s prior postseason runs, and we expect that his combination of shooting, defense and leadership will be key ingredients in helping us get back there. We are also pleased to add Ishmael Smith, who has a bright future in this league.”

The first-ever draft pick in the Memphis era (No. 6 overall in 2001), Battier starred for five seasons in the Bluff City (2001-06), averaging 10.5 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.28 steals in 32.3 minutes in 396 games (279 starts). The franchise’s all-time leader in steals (507), Battier also ranks in the top 10 in team history in points (4,160, 6th), rebounds (1,908, 7th), blocks (418, 3rd), three-point field goals made (389, 4th), free throws made (765, 7th), games played (3rd) and games started (5th).

Rockets trade Aaron Brooks to Suns

The Phoenix Suns have acquired guard Aaron Brooks from the Houston Rockets in exchange for guard Goran Dragic and a protected 2011 first-round draft pick, the team announced.

“We are excited to add Aaron Brooks to our team,” said Suns President of Basketball Operations Lon Babby. “We are confident that he will upgrade our backcourt now and in the future. He should add scoring to our second unit, which is important to our success.”

The 6-0, 161-pound Brooks is an established NBA point guard who owns career averages of 12.8 points and 3.6 assists in 247 games (124 starts). Originally selected by the Rockets with the 26th overall pick (first round) of the 2007 NBA Draft, Brooks was named the NBA’s Most Improved Player a season ago after averaging career highs of 19.6 points and 5.3 assists while starting all 82 games for Houston. Brooks garnered the honor after registering the largest scoring increase of any NBA player (+8.4 points) last season, and leading the NBA in three-point field goals made (209).

Brooks became just the sixth player in league history to tally at least 200 three-pointers and 400 assists in a single season.

The 26-year-old Brooks joins the Suns with 2010-11 averages of 11.6 points and 3.8 assists in 34 games (seven starts). After dealing with injuries early, Brooks has appeared in 21 of the Rockets’ last 22 games and has scored 15 or more points in seven of those games.

A fourth-year pro, Brooks has made two playoff appearances in his first three NBA seasons, appearing in 19 postseason contests (13 starts), and averaging 12.8 points and 2.5 assists. Brooks started all 13 playoff games for the Rockets in 2009, as Houston won a series and pushed the eventual champion Los Angeles Lakers to seven games in the semifinal round.

Peja Stojakovic hits four threes, scores 22 as Mavs beat Rockets

By Jeff Lenchiner

Back 800 years ago, a guy by the name of Peja Stojakovic was a flame-thrower for the Sacramento Kings, ripping the net every night and showing perfect form with one of the league’s best-looking outside shots. Never a great all-around player, Stojakovic was a scorer, and he did it well.

Mostly forgotten about in the past few years, Stojakvoic recently became a member of the Dallas Mavericks, where at least a partial revival was expected. The team has a pretty stacked roster, and all Peja is expected to do is stand outside and hit open shots. Which he was quite good at on Saturday.The AP reports:

Peja Stojakovic is settling in with his new team, adding a valuable dimension to the Dallas Mavericks’ offense.

Stojakovic scored 22 points and broke a tie with Dale Ellis for fourth place in career 3-pointers as the Mavericks beat the Houston Rockets 106-102 on Saturday night.

Dallas acquired Stojakovic on Jan. 24, and the 3-time All-Star wasn’t in playing shape because he’d been sitting out since November. He went 1-for-11 from long range in his first three games before rediscovering his touch on Saturday night and going 4 for 6.

“I was getting good looks in the last couple of games, too, it was just that the shots wouldn’t go,” Stojakovic said. “It’s easy to play with the guys. I get so many good looks because they draw so much attention. Tonight (Saturday), I was able make them.”

Stojakovic now has 1,723 career 3s and trails only teammate Jason Kidd (1,756), Reggie Miller (2,560) and Ray Allen (2,562) in NBA history. Allen passed Miller for the lead Thursday, and Kidd wouldn’t mind at all if Stojakovic eventually leapfrogs him.

The Mavs are without Caron Butler, normally a starter. It’ll be interesting to see how effective Stojakovic remains over the course of the season, both before and after Butler’s eventual return.

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Rockets recall Ishmael Smith from D-League

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has recalled guard Ishmael Smith from Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley. Smith, who had been re-assigned to the Vipers on Feb. 1, is expected to join the Rockets for tonight’s game in Denver.

Smith (6-0, 175, Wake Forest) has averaged 12.5 points, 7.9 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.50 steals over eight games (five starts) in a pair of stints with the Vipers this season. He was originally assigned to Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 17 and recalled by Houston on Jan. 24. With the Rockets, the undrafted rookie free agent has averaged 2.8 points and 2.2 assists in 26 games (three starts).

Rockets suspend Aaron Brooks one game

Houston Rockets guard Aaron Brooks has been suspended for tomorrow night’s game in Denver for conduct detrimental to the team.

The team will have no further comment regarding this matter.

According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, “Brooks was taken out of Saturday’s overtime win against the Memphis Grizzlies with 6:45 left in the fourth quarter, but instead of heading to the bench, went to the locker room. Brooks has said he had been frustrated with his role coming off the bench and with his play, but had gotten over it. He was not available for comment.”

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Kevin Love replaces Yao Ming on 2011 West All-Star team

Minnesota Timberwolves forward Kevin Love has been named to the 2011 Western Conference All-Star team, the National Basketball Association announced today. Love was named to the team by NBA Commissioner David Stern to replace Yao Ming, who was voted as a starter by the fans but is out for the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his left ankle. The honor is the first of Love’s career and the first for a Timberwolves player since Kevin Garnett during the 2006-07 NBA season. Love is the fifth player in franchise history to be named an All-Star, joining Garnett (10 appearances), Tom Gugliotta (1), Wally Szczerbiak (1) and Sam Cassell (1).

“This is an incredible honor for me and I’m so proud to be able to represent the Timberwolves organization at one of the league’s premier events,” Love said. “I’m thankful to Commissioner Stern for giving me his support, as well as to all the great fans in Minnesota who have been behind me and my teammates all season long.”

This marks the second time in franchise history that the Commissioner has named a Wolves player to the All-Star game as a replacement for an injured player. Kevin Garnett earned an All-Star nod in 1997 as a replacement for the injured Shaquille O’Neal, the first of his NBA-record-tying 14 consecutive selections.

“I’m really happy for Kevin. He worked extremely hard this offseason to elevate his game and learn how to consistently perform at a high level in this league,” Wolves head coach Kurt Rambis said. “This recognition is well-deserved, and exciting news both for Kevin personally and our organization as a whole.”

Love, the league’s leading rebounder at 15.5 boards per game, is on pace to become the first player since Moses Malone in 1982-83 to average 20+ points and 15+ rebounds in a season. He’s also on track to become the first player in NBA history to average 12+ rebounds per game while shooting better than 40% from behind the arc. In addition, Love leads the league in double-doubles (43), and his current streak of 34 straight games with a double-double is the second-longest in the last 25 seasons (Kevin Garnett – 37 straight in 2006; John Stockton – 37 straight in 1989).

On Nov. 12, Love made history when he tallied 31 points and 31 rebounds in a come-from-behind win over New York. Love became one of just 19 players in NBA history with a 30/30 game, and the first to accomplish the feat since Moses Malone in 1982.

Read fan reaction and discuss your own opinion in this forum topic.

Rockets re-assign Ishmael Smith to D-League

Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has re-assigned guard Ishmael Smith to Houston’s single-affiliation NBA D-League partner Rio Grande Valley. Smith is the second Rockets player to be assigned to the Vipers and recalled this season. He follows rookie forward Patrick Patterson, who played in nine games for Rio Grande Valley during a month-long assignment (11/9/10-12/13/10).

Smith (6-0, 175, Wake Forest), who was recalled by Houston from Rio Grande Valley on Jan. 24, averaged 12.8 points, 7.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds and 1.75 steals in four games (one start) with the Vipers after his first assignment on Jan. 17. With the Rockets, the undrafted rookie free agent has averaged 2.8 points and 2.2 assists in 26 games (three starts).