The Houston Rockets Thread

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The Houston Rockets have sent point guard Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors in exchange for forward Gary Forbes a future protected first-round pick.

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Jeremy Lin signed the four-year, $28.8 million contract sheet. The New York Knicks are expected to match the offer.

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The Houston Rockets received Tony Douglas, Jerome Jordan and Josh Harrellson as well as second-round picks in 2014 and 2015 from the New York Knicks in a sign-and-trade deal with the New York Knicks for Marcus Camby.

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The Houston Chronicle reports that the Houston Rockets are planning to exercise the amnesty clause to waive Luis Scola to buildup for a potential Dwight Howard trade.

I'm sure if Scola gets waived, other NBA teams will bid for his contract. Though someone like Dwight Howard could have benefited from having Scola around.

[durden_tyler]

What is Houston doing? Amnesty on Luis Scola? Probably overpaid with that long-term money but why not just trade him away? Probably get picks and/or expiring contracts? Why amnesty him now? i know they are going all in for Dwight but does Scola suck so much these days?

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I am quite baffled as well. From what I have been reading, it seems the Rockets are freeing up as much cap space as they can. Scola's numbers dipped last season but still was productive. I think Houston just wanted to shed cap space immediately.

It's boom or bust now for Dwight Howard.

[Le MaK]

It's For known reasons , Orlando will only trade Dwight along with both Terrible contracts of Hudo and Rich.
with Scola being amnestied , the Rockets can afford both bad contracts , Dwight... and a second Max deal in the 2013 Off season ( a hit on CP3 ).
It's everything or nothing for the Rockets right now... and they might end up regretting it big time.

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Jeremy Lin all but gone to Houston Rockets as all signs point to the NY Knicks deciding not to match 3-year, $25M offer

Linsanity is all but over.

As first reported in Tuesday's Daily News, Garden boss Jim Dolan has decided not to match Houston's offer sheet for the 35-game phenom.

While a Knicks source told the Daily News the decision to let Lin walk "is not yet unequivocal," all indications point to Lin becoming a Rocket. An official announcement was expected later Tuesday and the Rockets said Tuesday afternoon they had not yet heard from the Knicks. Because the Knicks were unhappy with the way Houston handled the offer sheet, revamping the final year on Friday to up the offer, sources said the Knicks might wait until the 11:59 p.m. deadline Tuesday night to either match the offer or pass on Lin.

Reached by the Daily News Tuesday afternoon, Lin's mother, Shirley said, this "is not Jeremy's decision. You're better off talking to his agent. We can't do anything but whatever is handed to us."

Lin, a restricted free agent, signed an offer sheet with Houston Friday, which included a $14.8 million salary for the third year.

That backloaded contract made it hard for the Knicks - who would have to pay around $30 million in luxury tax in 2014-15 - to match.

But the money wasn't the only issue.

The Daily News reported Monday The Knicks were already upset with Lin for hiring a publicist without consulting with them first and then sought to re-work his contract.

"I don't think this is about the money as much as it is Jim feeling that a player isn't showing the Knicks the same loyalty they showed Lin," said a person who has had business dealings with Dolan. "Don't forget, the Knicks gave Jeremy Lin a chance. Then Jim has his basketball people telling him that Felton is every bit as good if not better than Lin so it makes the decision easier for him to make.

"Jim can be vindictive but sometimes that's a good thing in the NBA. I applaud the Knicks if they are making this a basketball decision because I'm not sure that is the case with Houston."

-NY Daily News

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Huffington Post | Jeremy Lin Heading To Houston Rockets: REPORT

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Knicks decline to match Rockets' offer for Lin

HOUSTON (AP) -- Jeremy Lin is leaving New York and taking Linsanity to Houston.
The New York Knicks announced Tuesday night that they will not match the Houston Rocket's three-year, $25 million offer for Lin, a restricted free-agent.
New York officially had until 11:59 EDT to decide whether to re-sign Lin, who became an international phenomenon in the media glare of Big Apple.
The Rockets made it tough for the Knicks to sign off on keeping him by backloading their offer sheet with a $15 million salary in the third season. If the Knicks agreed to that deal, they would've faced a hefty luxury tax in 2014-15 because of other big contracts on their books -- between $30-40 million.
Lin now returns to Houston, where he spent about two weeks in December during training camp. The Rockets liked what they saw in the undrafted point guard, but had to waive him because they had Kyle Lowry and Goran Dragic on the roster.
The New York Times initially reported the Knicks' decision, citing an unidentified person briefed on the situation.
One sports consultant said the adjustment to the offer sheet was a stroke of genius by Rockets general manager Daryl Morey.
"The Rockets deserve a lot of credit for the way they've gone about this," said Marc Ganis, president of Chicago-based SportsCorp. "It was extremely intelligent -- with an assassin's touch."
The Knicks, though, gave Lin his first shot, picking him up after the Rockets waived him. He was briefly demoted to the developmental league, recalled and finally got his chance when coach Mike D'Antoni put him in with the Knicks floundering at 8-15. Lin scored a career-high 25 points in a 99-92 win over New Jersey Nets and "Linsanity" was born.
Lin had slept on teammate Landry Fields' couch the night before, still refusing to get his own place as he headed into that week, knowing the Knicks would have to decide whether to cut him or guarantee his contract for the rest of the season.
But Lin proved more than just an overnight sensation -- he had 28 and 23 points in his first two NBA starts, and then scored a career-high 38 in a 92-85 victory over Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.
The stock price for Madison Square Garden Inc. surged on the production and popularity of the team's international star. Lin also made the Sports Illustrated cover in consecutive weeks, only the 12th athlete to hold that distinction since 1990. On Tuesday, Lin had more than 829,000 followers on Twitter.
The more opponents saw Lin, though, the more they seemed to figure him out as the season wore on. He went 1 for 11 with eight turnovers in a humbling, nationally televised loss in Miami and the Knicks dropped their first six games in March.
D'Antoni resigned in mid-March and Lin hurt his left knee less than two weeks later. The Knicks revealed on April 1 that Lin needed surgery to repair a meniscus tear and would miss six weeks.
The Knicks made the playoffs behind surging Carmelo Anthony, but bowed out to Miami in the first round. The Rockets, meanwhile, missed the postseason for the third straight year and have spent the offseason completely rebuilding their roster.
Houston has been trying to put together a package of assets and draft picks to offer Orlando in exchange for disgruntled All-Star center Dwight Howard. In the process, the Rockets lost the unrestricted free agent Dragic to Phoenix, then traded Lowry to Toronto in exchange for a future first-round pick with lottery protection.
With no true point guard left on the roster, the Rockets turned back to Lin. The Knicks may have shown their hand when they brought back Raymond Felton in a sign-and-trade deal with Portland.
Houston, meanwhile, jumped at the chance to reacquire their popularity in China, where Yao Ming became a larger-than-life figure. Many Rockets landed lucrative shoe contracts with Chinese companies on Yao's coattails and Rockets' games drew massive television ratings there.

-NBA.com

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Linsanity brings the same hype as Yao Ming mania brought to Houston over a decade ago. Since the Rockets will be hosting the 2013 All-Star Weekend, I am expecting a heavy push in promotion to have Lin voted in the western all-stars squad.

[durden_tyler]

Linsanity brings the same hype as Yao Ming mania brought to Houston over a decade ago. Since the Rockets will be hosting the 2013 All-Star Weekend, I am expecting a heavy push in promotion to have Lin voted in the western all-stars squad.

What do you mean a heavy push in promotion? They don't even have to do that. China will ride this bandwagon and he's going to give CP3/Nash a run for their money for All Star Starter status.

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It has started.



Stop The Insanity!

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The Houston Rockets have acquired Jajuan Johnson from the Boston Celtics via the Courtney Lee sign and trade.

The Rockets waived center Jerome Jordan and guard John Leuer.

EDIT:

Rockets received in addition E'Twaun Moore, Sean Williams and a future second round pick.