Houston Rockets Rumors & News

Houston Chronicle "The Rockets’ offseason plans begin with their pursuit of a top free agent, starting with Lakers center Dwight Howard, but they don’t end there. The moves they hope will come next will be a major part of their sales pitch, a person with knowledge of that part of their presentation said. The..." June 17

Houston Chronicle "The Rockets have told agents for Francisco Garcia, Carlos Delfino and Aaron Brooks that they will not pick up contract options this month. That exception and veteran’s minimums could be used to shift to a much more experienced roster if the Rockets land a top free agent, a plan they apparently..." June 16

Houston Chronicle "The Rockets’ offseason plans begin with their pursuit of a top free agent, starting with Lakers center Dwight Howard, but they don’t end there. The moves they hope will come next will be a major part of their sales pitch, a person with knowledge of that part of their presentation said. The..." June 16

Houston Chronicle "ESPN analyst and former Lakers star Earvin “Magic” Johnson wouldn’t make any guesses regarding Dwight Howard’s contract choices but said Howard’s addition to the Rockets would make Houston one of the teams with the best shot at an NBA title. Johnson, on a media conference call to discuss ABC..." June 13

USA Today "Gearing up for the 2014 FIBA World Cup in Spain, USA Basketball selected a wide-ranging mix of experience, youth, size, speed and shooters for its 27-man roster that will train in July 22-25 in Las Vegas. The past two NBA rookies of the year — guards Kyrie Irving of the Cleveland Cavaliers and..." June 12

ESPN.com "The NBA will allow advertising on the court for the first time next season. The league sent a memo to its teams saying they will be permitted to sell space on what is referred to as the apron. The space covers the out-of-bounds area on the sideline between the baselines and the coaches' box..." June 11

Houston Chronicle "Dwight Howard will not be the only object of the Rockets’ free-agent affections, and the Los Angeles Lakers center has not been the only subject of their intensive preparations for next month’s sales pitches. Howard has generated by far the most attention as a Rockets free-agent target, but the..." June 09

Hoopsworld.com "Cuttino Mobley has always carried himself with confidence. That swagger was apparent when he was suiting up for the Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Sacramento Kings and Los Angeles Clippers, and he still gives off that same bravado nearly five years removed from his last game in the NBA. The..." June 04

SB Nation "The Houston Rockets are receiving "hopeful signals" that Dwight Howard is considering signing with them this summer, according to ESPN.com's Marc Stein. The free agent center has reportedly been making it clear to James Harden that he is interested in heading to Houston, even if it means taking..." June 01

Yahoo! Sports "The Houston Rockets are determined to trade forward Thomas Robinson – the fifth pick in the 2012 NBA draft – to create salary-cap space for the pursuit of the Los Angeles Lakers' free-agent superstar Dwight Howard, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. The Rockets have made clear to multiple rival..." May 30

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "The Milwaukee Bucks' list of coaching finalists was reduced to two Monday when Los Angeles Lakers assistant Steve Clifford agreed to become the new coach of the Charlotte Bobcats. Clifford had been scheduled for a second interview with Bucks officials Tuesday. But reports surfaced Monday..." May 28

Houston Chronicle "James Harden, an All-Star in his first year with the Rockets, was named as third-team selection to the All-NBA team today. Harden received five first-team votes from a panel of 119 writers and broadcasters. He is the first Rockets to be an All-NBA selection since Yao Ming was second team in..." May 24

SI.com "Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski will be returning as the head coach of USA Basketball for the 2016 Olympics, according to a source with direct knowledge of the situation. A formal announcement is expected in the next 48 hours. Krzyzewski led Team USA to gold medals in both the 2008 Beijing Olympics..." May 23

CBSSports.com "With the Lakers hoping for a swift decision from Dwight Howard on his free agency this summer, the All-Star center has given no indication he will rush the process and has privately indicated that he plans to give strong consideration to multiple teams, league sources told CBSSports.com. Though..." May 19

Philly.com "The 76ers have received permission to interview Houston assistant Kelvin Sampson. However, if they are going to talk to him they had better do it quickly as Sampson has already drawn a lot of interests from other teams. Charlotte and Milwaukee have already interviewed Sampson. Considering that..." May 16

Houston Chronicle "Denver’s Masai Ujiri was named the NBA Executive of the Year, the league announced today. Daryl Morey of the Rockets finished third in the voting behind Ujiri and Gary Sacks of the Clippers. Morey made two key free-agent signings in Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin and then was ready when James..." May 11

Philly.com "The Sixers have reached an agreement with Houston Rockets assistant general manager Sam Hinkie to become the team's new GM, according to multiple reports. With current GM Tony DiLeo's departure and the impending retirement of president Rod Thorn, Hinkie will be the Sixers' top decision-maker on..." May 10

Houston Chronicle "The Rockets fully embraced their small lineups, even switching to a lineup that put 6-5 guard James Harden on Oklahoma City power forward Serge Ibaka in the post season. This is not considered a long-term plan. When discussing the ways he would like the Rockets to improve, Rockets coach Kevin..." May 08

Yahoo! Sports "Houston Rockets assistant coach J.B. Bickerstaff will interview for the Detroit Pistons' head coaching job on Wednesday, league sources told Yahoo! Sports. Bickerstaff, 34, has risen rapidly in the eyes of NBA executives as a head coaching candidate. Bickerstaff will be the fourth known..." May 08

Houston Chronicle "As you all might imagine, I’m not into the moral victories. If the win isn’t determined by the scoreboard, there is little to discuss. I was one of the few to point out that the 2009 season, the only time the Rockets have won a playoff series in the last 16 years, was a disappointing..." May 05

Houston Chronicle "Be it in 140-character increments or in post after post on page after page of website after website, there was no lack of opinion in the wake of the Rockets’ playoff departure that Jeremy Lin is a poseur, a disappointment, a weakling, an incomplete product, a failure, a flop. In some ways, Lin..." May 05

Houston Chronicle "While work remains to be done on the finer points of the game, the Rockets at least have acquired one of the elements essential to successful teams — the ability to make one of the NBA’s best players really, really angry. Oklahoma City’s six-game series against the Rockets ended Friday with..." May 05

Houston Chronicle "Phase I is complete. The reconstruction of the Rockets’ roster began with a massive overhaul. But the foundation was put in place and was thoroughly tested, proving to be sound. No less an expert than Oklahoma City star Kevin Durant raved, “They’re building something great in Houston.” “I..." May 05

Houston Chronicle "Now that they have the season out of the way, James Harden and the Rockets can get to know each other. A team that was called upon to reinvent itself throughout a long season of unexpected developments played its final game of the year Friday night, but Harden, the leader of this new era..." May 04

Houston Chronicle "The Rockets finally ran out of comebacks. They had taken the Oklahoma City Thunder as far as they could, farther than seemed possible when the series began, and could go no farther. The Rockets had one last burst in them, opening a 10-point third quarter lead. And with that, they were done. The..." May 04

The Oklahoman "A Houston Rockets rookie tried to trash talk Kevin Durant. Two days later, Durant got the last laugh. Royce White, the Rockets’ 16th overall pick in last year’s draft, took to Twitter following Game 5 to tease Durant and the Thunder about the team’s seven-point home loss. “Y’all are looking..." May 03

Houston Chronicle "Kevin Durant apparently doesn’t know Omer Asik. The way Asik is playing, Durant will soon. In the fourth quarter of the Rockets’ 107-100 Game 5 victory, Oklahoma City used a strategy of fouling the Rockets’ center intentionally in hopes of making a comeback. It didn’t work, as Asik made..." May 02

Houston Chronicle "Houston’s season is not history yet. Instead, the Rockets’ quest for NBA history is still alive. The Rockets beat host Oklahoma City 107-100 on Wednesday in Game 5 of the Western Conference opening round. The Rockets pulled within 3-2 in the series and come back home for Game 6 on..." May 02

Houston Chronicle "The only thing worse for the Rockets than having to go to Oklahoma City for Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference's first-round series would have been not going. Every good young team evolves. The Thunder took the championship-bound Los Angeles Lakers to six games in the first round in 2010,..." May 01

Houston Chronicle "Patrick Beverley has endured summers in Chicago and winters in Russia, so there isn’t much chance he’s going to get emotionally distraught over another night in Oklahoma City. And even if Beverley were prone to get his feelings hurt when people hurl abuse his way, he can consult one of the..." May 01

Houston Chronicle "The Charlotte Bobcats have requested permission to talk with Rockets assistant coach Kelvin Sampson about their vacant head coaching position, a person with knowledge of the discussions said today. Sampson, a Charlotte resident, was acting head coach during Kevin McHale’s absence this..." May 01

Houston Chronicle "Finally, the ball did not bounce 12 feet in the air and stab the Rockets in the heart. Kevin Durant did not get the last shot. The Rockets held on. After consecutive games in which the Rockets did everything but close out a win, they held their breath as a pair of final, last-chance Oklahoma..." April 30

Houston Chronicle "Rockets guard Jeremy Lin went through a pregame shooting drill and decided he was healthy enough to play. He struggled through 18 minutes, making just 1 of 6 shots. He did not play in the fourth quarter. “It’s kind of besides the point right now,” Lin said when asked how he felt with the chest..." April 28

Houston Chronicle "The youthful Rockets may be on the verge of playoff elimination, but it’s not for lack of effort by their oldest players on the court. Francisco Garcia, 32, and Carlos Delfino, 30, had 18 and 11 points, respectively, to spark a second-half Rockets rally that fell short by the margin of Kevin..." April 28

Houston Chronicle "Finally, as Kevin Durant’s last-minute 3 bounced high above the rim and hung in the air before falling through the net, the Rockets had run out of comebacks. The Rockets had come back from a 26-point deficit to take another fourth-quarter lead. They led in the last minute. But with the game on..." April 28

Houston Chronicle "Patrick Beverley called Russell Westbrook’s injury “unfortunate.” Chandler Parsons said it was “a shock.” James Harden went with “sad.” But the Rockets would not go as far as to call the play in which Westbrook was hurt was in any way “dirty.” Beverley collided with Westbrook as the..." April 27

CSN Chicago "Another All-Star point guard suffers a knee injury in the first round of the playoffs and another Chicagoan is in the middle of the story. Not Derrick Rose, of course, since his own devastating ACL tear occurred almost a year ago. But his close friend and offseason training partner, Oklahoma..." April 27

Yahoo! Sports "Before the Houston Rockets' practice on Friday, Patrick Beverley scooped up his phone and started to scroll his mentions on Twitter. Russell Westbrook needed knee surgery, and the angry online mob had come calling for the Rockets rookie in cyberspace. "Get off it," the Rockets trainer chastised..." April 27