Houston Rockets Salaries
Contracts Above $5 Million
A sub-total of $48.92 million for five players. Yao Ming, Shane Battier and Jared Jeffries are entering the final seasons of their contracts while Kevin Martin and Trevor Ariza each have three and four seasons left on their respective deals. Read the rest of this entry »
The Desert News reports
Usual starting small forward Andrei Kirilenko is out, for the series.
Kirilenko actually reinjured his strained left calf — yet again — on Thursday, during what team spokesman Jonathan Rinehart called “a light workout.”
He missed 15 of the Jazz’s final 17 regular-season games because of the calf — an area of the lower leg that actually is a collection of muscles — and, according to Rinehart, will “miss the next two weeks as we address other treatments.”
The Jazz withheld news of the Kirilenko incident for a full day, prompting Sloan to say, “People think we’re trying to hide something with these guys when they get hurt, but the bottom line is when they get hurt, we still have to do our job; they have to take care of themselves and get ready to play.” Read the rest of this entry »
Excellent article on the Rockets website with Daryl Morey discussing the health of the Rockets franchise + offering details of the Rockets summer moves/goals.
On bringing Scola and Lowry back (both are restricted free agents this summer): They’re going to be back. Mr. Alexander said we’ve got all the resources. When we made the trade at the deadline and walked him through it, we said this might be a year where we go above where we’ve been before in terms of financial commitment and he felt like what we were getting in the trade (was worth it). Kyle and Luis are two of his favorite players on the team – for the obvious reasons that they help us win and they’re both hard working guys – and we’re going to have them back… Mr. Alexander said we’re keeping them no matter what. Read the rest of this entry »
Very good article by Jackie MacMullan in the Boston Globe today on Kevin Garnett
NBA observers point to the March 7 game against Washington, when young Andray Blatche dropped 23 points on KG, as evidence his dominant days are behind him.
“I watched and said, ‘Oh, man, he’s done,’ ’’ said Detroit assistant Darrell Walker. “The things Blatche did to him . . . dunking on him like that. If KG was right, it would never happen.
“I was there for the final days of Michael Jordan. This reminds me of that — exactly. Michael was one of the most competitive people ever. KG, too. But when you don’t have the same explosiveness anymore, it’s over.
“You can still get it done every once in a while, but every night? It just doesn’t happen. Even mentally tough guys like MJ and KG can’t get past it. It’s why players retire. It gets too hard.’’ Read the rest of this entry »
RealGM has the press release + a separate press release for the tiebreakers
15. Chicago (To Milwaukee)
16. Charlotte (To Minnesota via Denver)
17. Milwaukee (To Chicago)
18. Miami
19. Boston
20. San Antonio
21. Oklahoma City
22. Portland
23. Utah (To Minnesota via Philadelphia)
24. Atlanta
25. Denver (To Memphis)
26. Phoenix (To Oklahoma City)
27. Dallas (To New Jersey)
28. LA Lakers (To Memphis)
29. Orlando
30. Cleveland (To Washington) Read the rest of this entry »
NBA.com reports
NBA commissioner David Stern said on Friday that the league is projecting the cap to come in at about $56.1 million. The actual number won’t be determined until early July, before teams can begin officially signing players.
Though that figure would still be lower than this season’s $57.7 million cap, it’s far better than estimates from last summer, when the league sent a memo to teams warning them of a potential sharp drop to between $50.4 million to $53.6 million.
Excellent news for everyone with cap space. Read the rest of this entry »
A special one-time power rankings list for lottery teams based on their opportunities to improve this summer + potential place in the standings next year accounting for:
Teams will be primarily ranked on their ability to win next season and to a lesser degree their ability to build a winner long term based on their current personnel (number of quality building blocks).
Note: We’re largely talking about opportunities here. Some teams will capitalize on them and some will not.
Power Rankings
#1 — Houston Rockets
Yao Ming will return from injury and turn the Rockets into a 55+ win caliber basketball team.
In terms of free agency, Luis Scola is a certainty to return to the Rockets and Kyle Lowry is likely to return too. The Rockets are unlikely to spend much in free agency beyond those two players though due to luxury tax concerns. Houston will have a late lottery pick and that player should be good enough to crack their rotation but is unlikely to fill a key role for the club next season given their overall strength + depth. Read the rest of this entry »
My initial thoughts on the playoff seedings …
Eastern Conference
First Round
Second Round
Conference Finals
Indy Star’s Mike Wells opens the article
Indiana Pacers owner Herb Simon doesn’t like watching his franchise suffer through a fourth consecutive losing season.
But despite the potential for the first 50-loss season in more than two decades (the Pacers are 30-48 with four games left), Simon said in a recent interview that coach Jim O’Brien will return for his fourth season and team president Larry Bird will continue to lead the club’s rebuilding project.
“The losses aren’t where we want them to be, but we feel like things are getting there and there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Simon said.
The article then shifts to a Q&A with Herb Simon. Read the rest of this entry »
The Houston Chronicle reports
Luis Scola wants to be back with the Rockets, but the adventurer in him is open to moving on.
As much as he appreciated Rockets general manager Daryl Morey’s declaration that the team would sign Scola this off-season or match any offer he gets, Scola knew general managers often say such things to scare off offers to restricted free agents.
Morey, however, sought to end any lingering doubt.
“He will be back,” Morey said. And in case that were not clear enough, Morey added the weight of owner Leslie Alexander’s marching orders to his prediction.
“Leslie gave us the resources and said whatever it takes,” Morey said. “He’s back.” Read the rest of this entry »
