Instead, the NBA killed the three-team deal and the Rockets were forced to prepare for the season with much of the same team that missed the playoffs last year with a 43-39 record.

So that means point guard Kyle Lowry and swing forward Chase Budinger will rejoin Martin and Scola in the starting lineup. It means Jordan Hill or Patrick Patterson are the likely candidates to fill the power forward spot vacated when the team couldn’t re-sign workmanlike Chuck Hayes.

And it means that Dragic, shooting guard Courtney Lee, versatile scorer Terrence Williams and rookies Marcus Morris and Chandler Parsons are going to have to provide support off the bench.

“We feel comfortable going into the season with this group,” general manager Daryl Morey said. “We’ve got a lot of young players who might be able to prove something, and get us to the next level. We really believe in many of the guys and we’ve got a lot of really talented players.

“We’re going to need our vets, like Kyle or Luis or Kevin or Courtney or Chase, we need them to step up and take it to the next level. A lot of them have that ability.”

The Rockets are breaking in a new coach trying to mix it all together.

Houston parted ways with Rick Adelman and turned to Kevin McHale, the former Celtics great who has two partial seasons coaching the Minnesota Timberwolves on his resume. Lowry, beginning his fourth season with the Rockets, said he hasn’t noticed much of a difference in their coaching styles after a week of training camp.

“It’s not rocket science,” Lowry said. “It’s simple plays, simple offense, simple movement. We’ve just got to go out there and execute. We’ve got good offensive players, so it’s always going to be hard to stop professional athletes from getting to the hole.”

The Rockets ranked third in scoring last season (105.9 points per game). McHale said he sees plenty of offensive talent, but wants crisper execution.

“These guys can make plays,” McHale said. “What we don’t do, and what we’ve got to get way better at, is a lot of little stuff. We’ve got to cut harder, we’ve got to set better screens. These guys make shots and plays, they can play offensive basketball. We’ve got to do all of the little things, because when you get in dogfight games, when the ball’s not going in the hole, you’ve got to do all of the little stuff that’s going to help you win games.”

Houston ranked 22nd in total defense (103.7 points per game) last season and McHale emphasized team defense during the first week of practice. McHale said the Rockets made basic errors in their preseason opener, even though they held San Antonio to 35 percent shooting in a 101-87 victory.

“Our defensive mistakes are all correctable,” McHale said. “Making a better close-out, chucking out on the boards to make sure we don’t give up long offensive rebounds, better stunting, better positioning in the post, all that stuff is correctable.”

The schedule is demanding from the start, with seven of the first 10 games on the road starting with Monday’s opener at Orlando. The Rockets will play 23 back-to-back sets in all, and conclude 14 of them on the road.

McHale and the players are all just glad they can concentrate on basketball after the tumultuous first few days of training camp. Martin, Scola and Dragic awkwardly returned to the team after the trade fell through and met with McHale.

Martin, last year’s leading scorer (23.5 points per game) seemed frustrated by the chain of events, while the good-natured Scola, last year’s top rebounder (8.2 per game), laughed it off.

A week later, everyone seemed to have moved on.

“I think we’ve got a good team,” Scola said. “We may be one or two pieces short. Maybe, maybe not. But we have a lot of players who can play, and we have a lot of players at different positions, which is good. We’ve got depth.

“We’ve got a lot of young guys, that you never really know if they’re going to flow or not,” he said. “Hopefully, some of these guys surprise us.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

HOUSTON – Rockets general manager Daryl Morey refused to answer
questions Thursday about the three-team deal rejected by the NBA a
week ago, citing legal reasons.

The Rockets would have received Pau Gasol in the proposed deal
that also would have sent All-Star guard Chris Paul to the Lakers.
Lamar Odom was headed to the NBA-owned Hornets, and Houston also
would have sent Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, Goran Dragic and a
first-round pick to New Orleans.

The NBA said it killed the deal for “basketball reasons.”

Asked Thursday how he felt about the NBA’s decision, Morey said:
“On the advice of counsel, I can’t talk about it.” He also would
not comment when asked why he had spoken to an attorney, nor would
he reveal if the team was considering legal action against the
league.

“I understand the focus,” Morey said, “but I just can’t comment
right now.”

Morey did say that he has not spoken personally to Commissioner
David Stern about the situation. He said he didn’t know if team
owner Leslie Alexander had spoken to Stern, either.

“I haven’t heard from him,” Morey said.

Paul ended up in Los Angeles anyway, but playing for the
Clippers. The other Los Angeles team acquired Paul on Wednesday
night by trading high-scoring guard Eric Gordon, former All-Star
center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu and a first-round draft
choice acquired from Minnesota to New Orleans.

The Rockets, meanwhile, play their first preseason game against
San Antonio on Saturday night.

Martin, Scola and Dragic have been practicing with the team all
week, and Morey acknowledged Thursday that the trio was caught in
an “unfair situation.” Martin was Houston’s leading scorer last
season 23.5 points per game) and Scola was the second-leading
scorer (18.3 points per game) and top rebounder (8.2 per game).

“They’re professional,” Morey said. “We love those guys. I’m
sorry they got caught up in it.”

Martin did not speak to reporters after Thursday’s workout, but
the easygoing Scola maintained a positive outlook.

“I can’t worry about that,” Scola said. “There’s nothing I can
do to control that. There’s only one thing I can do, just work
hard, play hard. That’s what I’m doing.”

“I know the team likes me,” he said. “But if they think they’ve
got a chance to improve the team, if they think they’re going to
make the team better by doing a move that I’m in, I’ll have to be
OK with that.”

Morey says he’s confident the Rockets will be competitive this
year, even though the big trade fell through. And he’s still
keeping an eye on potential deals that will make the team
better.

“Even though I can’t comment, Mr. Alexander and I are fighting
hard for the Rockets organization,” Morey said. “Our goal doesn’t
change. It’s to continue to make this team better. Mr. Alexander
has a history of making moves and trying to get us in a position to
make us a championship contender. That’s what we’re going to still
do.”

“We don’t have any excuses,” Morey said. “We’re going to keep
fighting and winning, and we’re going to keep trying to make this
team a team the city can be proud of, and get it back to being a
championship-caliber team.”

HOUSTON – Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola has added his name to the list of players taking part in the Houston Lockout Charity Game hosted by former NBA coach and player John Lucas on Nov. 20 at the Delmar Stadium Sports Complex in Northwest Houston.

The game’s media manager, Kim Davis, told FOX 26 Sports Scola confirmed he will play in the game, proceeds benefitting Lucas’ charitable foundation.

The Rockets players who will join Scola include guards Kyle Lowry and Jonny Flynn and forward Chandler Parsons.

The game will feature Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant.

The game will tipoff at 5 p.m.