Dorsey and Rockets agree to terms

Agreement allows Dorsey to play
Memphis product set to suit up for summer league squad


Joey Dorsey's Summer League holdout lasted one game.
After Dorsey sat out the first game because contract negotiations were not complete, Dorsey's agent and the Rockets reached an agreement to allow Dorsey to begin playing.
Though still not signed, Dorsey accepted the Rockets' offer to purchase insurance as is customary for most second-round picks playing in Summer League. The Rockets acquired Dorsey, the third player taken in the second round last month, in draft-night deals with Portland and Memphis.

Yao could be ready for Olympic warmup:

Chinese newspapers say Yao Ming is likely to resume working out with China's national basketball team later this week. The Houston Rockets' center has a "very high" chance of playing in China's three games at the Stankovic Cup Olympic warmup tournament in the eastern city of Hangzhou, Hu Jiashi, deputy director of the Chinese Basketball Association was quoted as saying by newspapers. China's first game is against Serbia on Thursday.

Donte Green Drops 40 to lead comeback over the Suns:

In the highest scoring game of the week, Donte Greene's 40-point performance lifted the Rockets to a 100-97 victory over the Phoenix Suns at the NBA Summer League Presented by EA SPORTS in Las Vegas on Monday.

The contest was the first game of the 2008 NBA Summer League played inside the Thomas & Mack Center on the campus of UNLV. Supporting Greene in the win was Michael Harris' double-double of 21 points and 13 rebounds and Maarty Leunen's 16 points. "I didn't know that it was a record – I was just here to get a W," said Greene on nearly breaking the Summer League scoring record. "Once I got to 36, Phoenix started keying in on me a lot more, so I started to look for my teammates to get them going. I got Aaron (Brooks) going, and Maarty (Leunen), and Mike Harris and we got the win."

The team effort of the Suns set the pace in the opening stanza as they got their lead up to as high as 12. Greene kept his squad close, scoring an impressive 19 of his team's 25 points in the first 10 minutes. Hot shooting from both teams highlighted the first half as Phoenix shot 53.8 percent, 71.4 percent from behind the arc, and extended their lead to 13, while Houston shot 52.6 percent from the field. The Rockets were the squad that came out of the break with all the momentum as they cut their deficit from 13 to five, including an and-one floater with 0.2 seconds left in the quarter by Brooks. Houston played tough as they cut the lead to one with 2 minutes to go on a Greene alley-oop from Russell Robinson. The game stayed tight in the final minutes when Houston took their first lead of the game, 98-97 on a reverse lay-up by Leunen from a great pass by Greene. The Suns' D.J. Strawberry attempted a three-pointer as time expired, but it was just off the mark.

Phoenix was led by their backcourt tandem of Alando Tucker and Strawberry, who both finished with 22 points, while big man Robin Lopez chipped in with 19 points of his own.

You can watch game highlights below:

More talk of Detroit pushing hard for McGrady:

Toronto's Metro News is reporting that the Detroit Pistons are making a serious play to acquire Tracy McGrady from the Houston Rockets.

Given the fact that Joe Dumars seems set to break up the Pistons, this could very well be in the works, although the article provided no details. And why the Pistons are targeting such an injury prone star is also suspicious. But don't be surprised to see the Pistons pull off at least one blockbuster trade this summer.

Update: Here is a link to an excellent article written by Hoopsworld.com's Bill Ingram: McGrady and the Pistons

The article gives a little more insight as to what to expect (if anything) from this trade rumor.

It's finally official... Brent Barry is now a Houston Rocket:

The Houston Rockets signed free agent Brent Barry to a two-year contract on Thursday, making him the third member of the Barry family to join the franchise.

Barry played 31 games with San Antonio last season and shot 43 percent (48-for-112) from 3-point range. The Rockets will be his sixth NBA team and he should provide some 3-point shooting off the bench in Houston. Luther Head's playing time will take the biggest hit with the arrival of Barry.

This is very exciting news for us Rockets Fans. Brent's veteran experience should help discipline our young guards and add much needed depth to our bench.

More Rumors: Rockets frontrunner to sign Brent Barry:

Brent Barry is off the Phoenix Suns radar. Darius Miles and Devin Brown are on the periphery. And Tyronn Lue remains the favorite to be Steve Nash’s backup at point guard.

As he was last March, the 36-year-old Barry showed interest in signing with the Suns — even though they could only offer him the $1.262 veteran minimum salary. But all indications now are that Barry will wind up in Houston, where the Rockets can offer him their bi-annual exception of $1.9 million.

The Suns weren’t in a position to match or beat the offer. If they fill their remaining roster spots with rookie Robin Lopez and nothing other than veteran minimum contracts, their payroll will be $76.1 million for the 2008-09 season. That’s a shade under $5 million over the luxury tax, leaving the Suns with a payroll and tax bill over $80 million ($81.1 million) — the highest in franchise history.

As always click on the post title for the full article.

Pistons interested in T-Mac?

It's just talk at the moment and nothing is certain but it appears the Pistons president, Joe Dumars, would like to make a significant change to his core group. In other words he's looking to make an all-star trade if necessary this off-season to shake things up in Detroit. A couple trade names mentioned in an article posted on Mlive.com where our very own T-Mac and Denver's Carmelo Anthony. According to the article Chauncey Billups and Tayshaun Prince are the two Detroit players most likely to be included in a deal. Just click on the post title for the full article.

Gerald Green picked up by the Mavs:

After being dropped by the Rockets at the end of last season, Gerald Green, on the first day of free agency has reached an agreement with the Mavericks. Green was the 18th pick of the 2005 draft and has as much raw athleticism as any player in the league. It's believed to be just a one-year contract, with the Mavs hoping he finally figures out how to play in the NBA in his fourth season.

Carl Landry's agent is upset with Daryl Morey:

Carl Landry's agent is upset with Rockets' GM Daryl Morey for requesting test results on the forward's right knee before entering contract negotiations with the restricted free agent.

"Obviously, I view it as a move on (Morey's) part to undercut his value and dissuade the interest he has garnered,'' Buddy Baker said. "The reverse has happened. Teams have taken the position that he will not match offers. That has opened the floodgates." It does appear the plan has backfired, as Landry might not feel as strongly about staying with the Rockets as he did initially. And according to Landry and Baker, the knee is fine.

Who can blame Daryl Morey for playing it safe. The Rockets have been plagued with too many injuries the past few years.

Brent Barry contacted by the Rockets:

Brent Barry officially opted out of his contract with the Spurs on Tuesday, thus becoming an unrestricted free agent.

The Rockets began the free-agent recruiting period with an 11 p.m. call to Spurs guard Brent Barry on Monday, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said, but the team might already have hit a snag in its plan to bring back forward Carl Landry. The Rockets telephoned Barry as soon as NBA rules allowed in an effort to land the free agent, who got away last season when he was released by the Seattle SuperSonics but chose to return to the San Antonio Spurs.

Robert Horry wants to return for one more season with the Spurs or... Rockets?

Horry told Houston television station KRIV that he doesn't want to retire. He also says he knows he could have had a better season last year.

Horry is set to become a free agent July 1st. He turns 38 in August.

Horry says he'd like to return to the Spurs, where he spent the last five seasons. If that's not possible, then he would like to head for the Houston Rockets -- where he played his first four seasons.

Rockets 2008 NBA Draft results:

The Rockets originally drafted Nicolas Batum with the 25th pick in Thursday's draft and then traded him to Portland for the No. 27 and 33 picks. The Rockets later traded pick 27 for Memphis's 28th pick. The Rockets ended the draft with Donte' Greene of Syracuse (28th pick), Joey Dorsey of Memphis (33rd pick), and Maarty Leunen of Oregon (54th pick). It's an interesting choice in moves by the Rockets GM Daryl Morey, but you gotta feel pretty good about it.

Daryl Morey Press Conference:

Rockets, Wizards Ready to Swap?

The rumor circulating this morning is that the Wizards are interested in an instant impact player who can help Caron Butler, Antawn Jamison and Gilbert Arenas win immediately. The Rockets have that type of player in Luther Head, who was labeled as "no longer untouchable" by the Rockets at the end of the season. As for Houston, they had Courtney Lee in for a long session with everyone - and I mean everyone - in the front office so the team could get a good feel for who he is as a person. And Lee did not disappoint.Assuming all goes as planned, and with so many picks in play to so many different places that's not a given, the Rockets will send their #25 and Head to the Wizards for the #18 pick. The thinking is that 18 will be high enough to get Lee, who is a lock to go to Orlando if he's still there at 22. The Wizards would then simply draft best available with the 25th.

Personally, I hope this isn't true. I think the Rockets could get a better offer.

Yao Ming says the stress fracture in his left foot is 80% healed:

X-rays and an MRI taken in Houston on Tuesday showed his recovery was on schedule, with the foot about 80 percent healed. The remaining 20 percent usually takes a full year, Yao said. "In terms of being basketball fit, the only way to do that is to play games," Yao said. The Rockets jus have to hope that Yao doesn't rush back to soon trying to play for China in the Beijing Olympics.

T-Mac's secret baby momma awarded $54,000 a year in paternity case:

Apparently this is what caused the rough time T-Mac was enduring a couple years ago during the All-Star break. Looks like someone did a good job keeping this covered up until now. The Herald Tribune has even posted a link to the court papers. I was going to post the link, but as a Rocket fan I believe this is better left alone.

Yao Ming has still not been cleared to play:

Though there were reports from China that Yao has been cleared and will play in the Stankovic Cup in July, Huizinga said that doctors have not even cleared Yao for full practice yet. "The reports that he's been cleared to play are not correct. The checkups have been very good...But it's much too early for him to be cleared." Despite the bad news, we're still guessing Yao is ready to play in the Olympics in August.

Yao Ming said he will donate $2 million to rebuild Chinese schools devastated by last month's earthquake:

Rockets center Yao Ming said he will donate $2 million and create a foundation to rebuild Chinese schools devastated by last month's earthquake in his home country. There's no doubt that he's one of the league's good guys.

Pistons' most likely deals: Tracy McGrady, Carmelo Anthony, or ... nothing

"Normally, I am not a big fan of trade speculation. It tends to get ridiculous: How about Jiri Hudler and Jimmy Howard for Sidney Crosby? No? What if they throw in Evgeni Malkin? I'll tell you what: I'll give you my pickle for half your sandwich. No, I won't throw in the barbecue chips. OK, a few. It's silly. But when Joe Dumars announced that he would try to shake up his Pistons core, he practically begged people to speculate. And considering Dumars is unlikely to swing a deal before the draft June 26, or even the start of free agency July 1, this gives us a bunch of time to either a) work or b) dream up trade scenarios. (Or, in my case, both at once!) Let's look at this logically. The Pistons have six highly regarded starters: Chauncey Billups, Rip Hamilton, Antonio McDyess, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace and Rodney Stuckey. If you were looking to make a trade, and you had six highly regarded starters, wouldn't you try to package two for a superstar? Of course you would."

The Rockets 05' Playoff Series was fixed?

"Disgraced former referee Tim Donaghy charged Tuesday that NBA officials encouraged league referees to influence the results of playoff series, including the Rockets' 2005 series against Dallas. Donaghy made the allegations in a letter filed with the court by his lawyer. He did not specify teams in the letter, but he described the situation of the series in which Dallas owner Mark Cuban complained of illegal screens set by Yao Ming."