Houston Rockets

It appears that the Houston Rockets are not done making moves to improve the roster.

The team made a trade with the Oklahoma City Thunder Tuesday that netted it Victor Oladipo and other assets. Jake Fischer of Yahoo Sports reported that the team is continuing to look around the league to make further trades, potentially involving Oladipo.

Fischer reported that the team has expressed interest in Alec Burks of the Detroit Pistons, Talen Horton-Tucker of the Utah Jazz and Malcolm Brogdon of the Portland Trail Blazers, although the Trail Blazers reportedly plan to keep Brogdon.

The Rockets have had a very loud offseason. The team signed guard Fred VanVleet and forward Dillon Brooks in free agency and added Amen Thompson and Cam Whitmore in the first round of the NBA Draft.

This influx of talent was surely needed for a Rockets team that struggled in 2022-23. Houston went 22-60, finishing in a tie for the second-worst record in the NBA. The new look for the team should help the team have a better performance under first-year head coach Ime Udoka, but the tinkering of the roster may continue.

Oladipo notably isn't expected to play much in the 2023-24 season as he recovers from a knee injury, per Fischer, so flipping him for value in the aforementioned players could be a strong play.

As part of the Kevin Porter Jr. trade from the Houston Rockets to the Oklahoma City Thunder, Victor Oladipo is on his way to the Lone Star State. However, most NBA personnel don't believe the former All-Star will play much of the upcoming campaign due to a knee injury, according to Yahoo Sports' Jake Fischer.

Oladipo, 31, spent the majority of the last three seasons playing for the Miami Heat, battling several lengthy injuries in the process. He most recently tore the patellar tendon in his left knee during the team's first-round victory over the Milwaukee Bucks in the postseason.

The Heat traded Oladipo and two-second round picks to the Thunder earlier this offseason.

The injury required Oladipo to undergo his third major surgery in four years, joining a couple of procedures on his quadriceps tendon in his right leg. Just a really unfortunate run of health for the two-time All-Star.

Since being acquired by the Thunder in what would have been his second stint with the organization, Oladipo hadn't reported to Oklahoma City after the deal went down in July. It was suspected that the Thunder planned to waive him prior to the trade, per Fischer.

Instead, Sam Presti managed to bag two more second-round picks and get Oladipo's $9.5 million salary off the books.

Now, the Rockets may look to see if they can flip Oladipo for another piece that could improve their roster and playoff hopes.

Fischer reported that Houston has had its eyes on players like Detroit's Alec Burks, Utah's Talen Horton-Tucker and Portland's Malcolm Brogdon.

In 42 games last season, Oladipo averaged 10.7 points per game, three rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.4 steals.

The Houston Rockets are trading Kevin Porter Jr. to the Oklahoma City Thunder, which will waive the 23-year-old immediately, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.

Houston is also sending two future second-round picks to Oklahoma City in the deal, Wojnarowski added. The Rockets will receive Victor Oladipo and Jeremiah Robinson-Earl as part of the trade.

The Thunder will pay the remaining $16.9 million left on Porter's contract when they waive him.

Porter was selected in the first round of the 2019 draft by the Milwaukee Bucks, which flipped him to the Cleveland Cavaliers on draft night.

The USC product spent one season with the Cavaliers before being traded to the Rockets in January 2021. He spent the last three seasons of his career in Houston and put up his best numbers in 2022-23.

Porter averaged 19.2 points, 5.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.4 steals in 59 games last season while shooting 44.2 percent from the floor and 36.6 percent from deep. His contributions put the Rockets no closer to contending for a title as they finished with a 22-60 record.

Porter's performance on the court has been overshadowed by allegations that he assaulted his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, at a New York City hotel last month. He has pleaded not guilty to charges of second-degree strangulation and third-degree assault.

Porter was initially accused of fracturing one of Gondrezick's neck vertebrae and leaving her with a deep cut above her right eye, resulting in a charge of second-degree assault.

However, prosecutors dropped the second-degree assault charge against Porter this week. Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Mirah Curzer cited "insufficient evidence," adding, "What initially appeared to be a fractured vertebrae was not in fact an injury caused by the defendant."

Porter's lawyers shared documents with the New York Post indicating that Gondrezick's neck fracture was a congenital defect and not a result of the alleged assault.

Porter was offered a plea deal on the third-degree assault charge, but he rejected the offer, Curzer said.

Prior to the trade, the Rockets told Porter he could not be with the team in any capacity following the alleged attack.

Rockets general manager Rafael Stone said earlier this month at the team's media day:

The allegations against him are deeply troubling. Going back a few weeks, as soon as I heard the allegations, I informed his representatives that he could not be part of the Houston Rockets. They understood, and he has not been with the team or around the team or had any interaction with the team since that time and will not be at media day today or in training camp.

Porter signed a four-year, $82.5 million extension with the Rockets before the 2022-23 season. Although he's now slated to become a free agent, it's possible he won't be picked up by a team—if at all—until his legal situation is resolved.

Houston Rockets guard Kevin Porter Jr. rejected a plea deal in his assault case, according to Manhattan Assistant District Attorney Mirah Curzer.

Porter is no longer facing a felony second-degree assault charge after evidence showed the fractured neck his girlfriend, former WNBA player Kysre Gondrezick, suffered in the alleged attack was a result of a congenital defect, according to the New York Post.

"What initially appeared to be a fractured vertebrae was not in fact an injury caused by the defendant," Curzer told Judge Jay Weiner.

Curzer revealed the DA's office offered Porter a plea on his third-degree assault charge, but the Rockets guard rejected the plea. He currently faces up to seven years in prison if convicted on the remaining assault charge and a second-degree charge of strangulation.

Porter allegedly hit and choked Gondrezick during an argument at the Millennium Hilton New York. According to police, Gondrezick escaped Porter's attack by leaving the room and was found by a hotel employee.

The Rockets have banned Porter from all team activities since the charges were announced.

"The allegations against him are deeply troubling," Rockets general manager Rafael Stone told reporters at media day. "Going back a few weeks, as soon as I heard the allegations, I informed his representatives that he could not be part of the Houston Rockets. They understood, and he has not been with the team or around the team or had any interaction with the team since that time and will not be at media day today or in training camp."

Porter is due $15.9 million guaranteed this season. His contract calls for $3 million of his 2024-25 salary to guarantee if he is on the roster at the beginning of this season.

It's possible, if not likely, that Houston moves on from Porter before the start of the regular season to avoid those guarantees locking in.

Porter was previously arrested in 2020 on a weapons charge while playing for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Those charges were later dropped.

Porter's next court date is Nov. 27.

Small forward Dillon Brooks' ejection from the Houston Rockets' Tuesday preseason game is set to be an expensive one.

Brooks was fined $25,000 for "recklessly making contact" with the groin of Indiana Pacers center Daniel Theis, the NBA announced Thursday.

The incident led to Brooks' ejection in the first quarter of the Rockets' 122-103 win.

Brooks was last financially penalized by the league in April, when he accrued a $25,000 fine for not speaking to reporters during the Memphis Grizzlies' first-round series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers.

Brooks told reporters after the game the contact with Theis was unintentional, per ESPN.

"I tried to navigate a screen," Brooks said Tuesday. "I might have tapped him below the waist, but he got right back up. I don't know. It's weird that every time it happens to me, I get picked on. I guess it's part of reputation."

Prior to the postseason fine, Brooks had lost a total of $248,242 through fines and suspensions, according to The Commercial Appeal's Damichael Cole.

Brooks' fines last season included a $35,000 slip in March following a sideline collision with a cameraperson, as well as a $20,000 fine and suspension in February after an on-court altercation with Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell.

Brooks was also suspended without pay twice in March after exceeding the league's technical foul limit. Players begin receiving automatic suspensions without pay after accruing 16 technical fouls in one season, according to NBA rules.

Brooks' 18 technicals trailed only the Golden State Warriors' Draymond Green for the most in the league.

After averaging 14.3 points per game in the regular season through 73 starts for the Grizzlies, Brooks' production dropped to 10.5 points in Memphis' six-game series loss.

Brooks signed a four-year, $80 million contract with the Houston Rockets in July after the Grizzlies informed him he wouldn't be retained in free agency, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported.

Dillon Brooks made a very, well, Dillon Brooks-like first impression during his opening game as a member of the Houston Rockets.

Brooks was ejected fewer than five minutes into Tuesday's preseason contest against the Indiana Pacers for punching Daniel Theis in the groin area as the big man was attempting to set a screen. Officials reviewed the play and deemed it a flagrant 2, which is an automatic ejection.

Yet Brooks believes he was the victim.

"Tried to navigate a screen," he told reporters. "I might have tapped him below the waist, but he got right back up, and I don't know. It's just weird that every time that happens to me, I get picked on, so I guess this is a part of the reputation."

When asked if he feels like referees are targeting him, Brooks added: "What's the name? What's my name? My name is Dillon the Villain, so I guess."

He has earned that reputation, most notably during the Memphis Grizzlies' first-round playoff series loss to the Los Angeles Lakers last season.

Brooks was a member of the Grizzlies at that time and consistently trash-talked LeBron James throughout the series. Yet things went downhill for both him and Memphis when he was ejected for a flagrant-2 foul on the King that was very similar to Tuesday's infraction.

Los Angeles went on to win the series in six games, and Brooks' antics stood out as the biggest storyline.

Grizzlies general manager Zach Kleiman even hinted at the team's eventual decision to not bring the Oregon product back when he told reporters after the series, "there were definitely some self-created distractions in the series and along the way. We are going to take a different approach (next season)."

Yet that didn't stop Houston from acquiring Brooks via a sign-and-trade this offseason in an effort to improve the roster and build a contender in the Western Conference.

Tuesday's contest was just a preseason one, but the Rockets cannot afford to lose the forward for stretches during the regular season because of ejections and potential suspensions. His defense will be far too valuable, especially if they are going to take a jump in the standings.

That means far fewer fouls like the one he committed Tuesday.

It hasn't taken No. 4 pick Amen Thompson long to impress Houston Rockets head coach Ime Udoka.

Thompson has been leading the second unit at Rockets training camp this week, and Udoka said the 20-year-old point guard "stood out to a lot of people" during Thursday's practice, according to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen.

"His pace is real, his size and athleticism, and he has that burst," Udoka said. "He really ignites the fast break on his own. He's been great."

Thompson had already impressed Udoka this summer in the 2023 Las Vegas Summer League, when the Rockets coach called the former Overtime Elite star "everything we thought he would be."

Thompson's progress is good news for the Rockets, who may need to rely on their 2023 first-round pick more with Kevin Porter Jr. no longer part of the team.

"He's just scratching the surface," Udoka continued. "He's getting up to speed. He's learning on the fly. He already has some natural ability and instincts that you can't teach, and the IQ and the passing ability that stands out immediately. But he'll learn as he goes. He's done a great job."

Thompson played in the Summer League for just 28 minutes before suffering an ankle sprain that kept him from the rest of summer play, but that was still enough time for Udoka to gain a good impression of the rookie.

Udoka is well aware of this small sample size. According to Feigen, the Rockets coach "emphasized" that Thompson had less playing experience in Overtime Elite than players get coming out of college, and that he had made just a single Summer League appearance.

Nonetheless, Thompson's positive first impression on Udoka has apparently only improved throughout training camp.

Thompson was practicing Thursday on the team's second unit alongside Cam Whitmore, Tari Eason, Jae'Sean Tate and Jeff Green, according to Feigen. That mix between youth in 2023 first-round pick Whitmore and 2022 first-rounder Eason, combined with experience from 15-season veteran Green, will present an interesting dynamic on the court as Thompson prepares to make his October 25 Rockets debut.

Drake's knack for referencing athletes in his music continues on his latest album "For All the Dogs" which dropped on Friday.

The hip-hop superstar shouted out Houston Rockets forward Dillon Brooks in "Another Late Night."

It's an amusing reference since Brooks doesn't seem like the biggest Drake fan in the world.

Leading up to the 2023 FIBA World Cup, players on Team Canada were asked to pick their favorite Canadian between Drake and Ryan Reynolds. Brooks was the only player who responded that went with the Deadpool actor.

Drake wasn't the only person to make a sports reference on the album.

J. Cole, who is featured on "First Person Shooter," seemingly mentions Ice Cube's BIG3 league and boxing icon Muhammad Ali: "Is it K-Dot? Is it Aubrey? Or me? We the big three like we started a league, but right now, I feel like Muhammed Ali. Huh, yeah, yeah, huh-huh, yeah, Muhammed Ali"

It's not a surprise to see Drake make these references. There have been articles written breaking down his best raps referencing athletes in his songs over the years.

LeBron James, Kevin Durant and Tom Brady are among the notable athletes who appeared onstage with Drake during the "It's All A Blur" tour.

Of course, Drake is also a fixture at NBA games. He's frequently seen sitting courtside at Scotiabank Arena to cheer on his hometown Toronto Raptors.

At least one anonymous league executive believes that Houston Rockets guard Jalen Green has the potential to lead the NBA in scoring one day.

ESPN's Zach Lowe reported that an opposing executive with a draft pick in Green's range told Houston's front office that he could secure a scoring title at some point during his career.

Green hasn't become an instant star since he was selected second overall in the 2021 Draft, although he's displayed flashes of All-Star potential throughout his two years as a pro.

He improved his scoring average from 17.3 to 22.1 points per game while showcasing an ability to score from all three levels, albeit on below league-average efficiency. The former G League Ignite standout's incredible athleticism translated to the professional level right away, throwing down highlight-reel dunks nearly every week.

Some context is important regarding Green's subpar 53.8 TS%, as he was often guarded by opponents' best perimeter defenders on a nightly basis. That isn't easy for anyone to overcome, especially a 20-year-old in his second season.

Green has had a busy summer, training in Los Angeles with NBA stars such as Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. He also participated on Team USA's select team, helping prepare the national team for their appearance in the FIBA World Cup.

Rockets general manager Rafael Stone has grand expectations for Green's third year. "This is a huge year for him," said Stone. "It's on him to really put together all the things he's worked on. You see individual games where he's locked in -- whether it's on-ball defense, help-side defense, making the right reads in the pick-and-roll. And then there are other games where he just kind of let go of the rope. He's a bucket."

Houston has added talented players through both free agency and the draft, including All-Star point guard Fred VanVleet as well as former 5-star recruit Amen Thompson. If Jalen Green has a breakout season, the Rockets could compete for a spot in the play-in tournament.

The Houston Rockets' oft-rumored pursuit of a James Harden reunion never appeared close to coming to fruition.

With the team expressing little interest in the days leading up to free agency, Harden instead shockingly opted into his $35.6 million player option with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Rockets inked Fred VanVleet to a three-year, $128.5 million contract.

While ESPN's Stephen A. Smith reported the Rockets were interested in pursuing Harden, new coach Ime Udoka stopped the pursuit in its tracks. Udoka pushed back on that assertion in an interview with ESPN's Zach Lowe.

"Nothing against James, but Fred is just a better fit," Udoka said. "I coached James in Brooklyn. He's one of the smartest players I've ever been around. The words 'Ime doesn't want James' never came out of my mouth. It was, 'Let's look at the best fit.' If we want Jalen and the young guys to take the next steps, we need them to have the ball. As for me saying I don't want James, that was never the case. It was about fit."

Udoka's point about fit is a little curious given VanVleet is a point guard who also spends most of the time playing with the ball in his hands. He's not quite the ball-stopper that Harden is, but VanVleet is also a fundamentally worse player in every offensive category and is a limited defender as well due to his size.

Between VanVleet and Dillion Brooks (four years, $86 million), the Rockets made arguably the two biggest overpays on this year's free-agent market.

It's fair to say signing Harden to the exact contract Houston gave VanVleet would have been a sounder move—albeit one that would have, as Udoka said, threatened the development of the team's young guards.

But VanVleet's presence will also take the ball out of the hands of Jalen Green and rookie Amen Thompson as is. So, in that sense, it's hard to buy the "best fit" narrative given Harden has coexisted with several high-profile point guards in his career (Chris Paul, Russell Westbrook, Kyrie Irving).