HOUSTON – Houston Rockets second-round pick Chandler Parsons, forward from Florida, has found that the business of the NBA can be frustrating to say the least.

First Parsons had to deal with the lockout.

Now, after joining the Rockets for training camp, he can’t practice with the team because he has yet to sign his contract.

This is not a story about an NBA player holding out.

The Rockets can’t sign Parsons until they decide how they are going to handle their available salary cap space as they try to improve the team, either through free agency or by trade.

Like every other team in the league the Rockets are trying to get months of work done in a very short amount of time.

It’s fallout from the lockout.

“There are a lot of different scenarios how we would negotiate Chandler’s contract, and because the Rockets are looking at different things, it’s made it difficult how to do Chandler’s deal, said Mark Bartelstein, Parsons’ agent, in an interview with FOX 26 Sports.

“As bad as we want to get Chandler in camp, we’re also trying to be respectful to give them some flexibility.”

Meanwhile Chandler is at practice watching and listening, but not taking part.

“It’s definitely frustrating,” Parsons said. “It’s a tough situation just to have to sit here every day and watch them practice when I’m dying to be out there.

“They’re 100 per cent going to sign me. They just got to figure out how much and the logistics of the deal. That’s not up to me. That’s up to my agent and them.”

Rockets coach Kevin McHale sympathizes with Chandler and all of his young players who are having to deal with a team whose roster is a work in progress.

“Terrible, I feel terrible for him, ” McHale said. “I feel really bad for all of the guys trying to come in here, trying to work for a spot.

“These guys have been CBA guys, D-league, they’ve been over to Europe. This is their shot and we’ve got a game in a couple of days.

“I’m trying to get reps for our main guys. It’s so unfair to those kids and Parsons is right in there with them. What a bad time to be a young guy trying to make a team, especially with a new coaching staff.”

HOUSTON – NBA sources confirm the Houston Rockets are once again trying to land Los Angeles Lakers center Pau Gasol.

He would come to Houston as part of the three-team deal the Rockets have been attempting  to engineer with the Lakers and New Orleans Hornets.

The initial deal had Houston sending forward Luis Scola and guards Kevin Martin and Goran Dragic to New Olreans, with the Hornets sending guard Chris Paul to L.A.

The original deal that was killed by the NBA, also had the Lakers sending forward Lamar Odom to New Orleans, who would also get a 2012 first-round pick via the New York Knicks from the Rockets.

If the trade is to go through additional players may be added to gain the approval of the NBA.

Scola, Martin and Dragic were not allowed to practice with the Rockets on Saturday while the three teams waited for the NBA to approve the deal.

“I faced the media yesterday,” Scola said while laughing during his interview with FOX 26 Sports. “I told them everything I know.

“The same answers apply for today, nothing has changed. I don’t know what’s happening.”

Scola did work out on Saturday, but not with the team.

“I was not allowed to practice,” Scola said. “I was allowed to work out by myself earlier. I did work out. I wait until the last moment to see if I’m finally cleared to practice and they said no.
So I took a shower and I left. There’s nothing more I can say because I really don’t know.”

Scola said he just wants to get on the floor and play basketball and if possible, with the Rockets.

“I just want to play, at this point I just want to play,” Scola said. “I told you yesterday how much I would like to be here in Houston.

“You, me and everybody knows how that is not up to me. At this point since I can’t control where I’m going to play, all I want is to play.”

Scola said it is not easy being patient through this process.

“I’ve been waiting five months to play and finally when the day comes they don’t let me practice,” Scola said. “At this point I just want to play and hopefully it’s in Houston.

“I’m just sorry I can’t tell you more, because I don’t have any more. This will go through the night and tomorrow I wil go to Toyota Center.”

And Scola may be able to return to practice with the team of his choice-the Houston Rockets.

ESPN reported late Saturday night the Lakers have ended their efforts to acquire Chris Paul, which would also put an end to the three-team trade involving the Rockets and Hornets.
 

Chuck Hayes(notes) has been toiling for the Houston Rockets for six seasons and now appears ready to move on. The word from ESPN is that the 6-6, 238-pounder has been offered a four-year, $20 million contract by the Sacramento Kings that the team feels he’ll accept.

Fox Sports Houston has it that Hayes would like to return to the Rockets but doesn’t want to wait while the team sorts out all of its other free-agent possibilities.

“I talked to (Rockets general manager) Daryl Morey tonight and they need more time,” said Hayes’ agent, Calvin Andrews, on Wednesday, according to Fox. “So they are asking us for more time. I don’t know if Chuck can give them more time beyond tomorrow morning probably. I think tomorrow is D-Day.”

Hayes averaged 7.9 points, 8.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 28:06 minutes per game last season.

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Related: Houston Rockets, Sacramento Kings

The worst kept secret in the NBA Development League became official on Friday when the Houston Rockets announced Rio Grande Valley Vipers coach Chris Finch has joined the NBA team as an assistant to coach Kevin McHale.

“Obviously, I’m excited and grateful for this opportunity from Kevin and the Rockets,” Finch said. “I’ve always strived to focus on the job I’ve had and maximize the things that I need to do. I’m looking forward to working with a quality staff and a quality organization.”

The news of Finch’s departure is not new. Rockets general manager Daryl Morey told the Houston Chronicle last month that Finch had been hired as and an assistant to McHale. However, Friday was the first day Finch had spoken about his new job.

The Rockets announced the hiring of Finch, Kelvin Sampson, J.B. Bickerstaff and Brett Gunning as McHale’s assistants on Friday. Sampson will be the Rockets’ lead assistant coach.

Finch coached the Vipers the past two seasons, leading them to the NBA Development League Finals each time. The Vipers won the 2009-10 league title in his first season. Finch believes those accomplishments had an impact on the Rockets’ decision to give him a chance to coach in the NBA.

“Our success was certainly the catalyst for this opportunity,” Finch said.

Finch said he’ll fondly look back at his time in the Valley and not only because of the team’s success.

“I’ll remember the people, without a doubt,” Finch said. “It was one of the most warm and welcoming places where we’ve ever lived. It’s always a thrill when you have a team that wins and produces excitement and creates something that the community could be proud of.”

After controlling his own roster moves in previous years in Europe, Finch said coaching the Vipers allowed him to transition out of that routine because the Rockets dictated most of the personnel transactions.  He said that was one of the most difficult things he had to do.

“I had to embrace it,” Finch said. “This is what I signed up for and I had to manage it. It was not an easy thing to do, but it was done with a higher purpose. … If you want to coach at the highest level, you are not going to have control of the team.”

The Rockets have long considered Finch an NBA coaching candidate since his arrival to the Valley. Houston hired Finch, who also coaches the British national team, from Europe where he had a successful coaching career and brought him to the Valley shortly after the Rockets obtained the basketball operating rights for the Vipers two summers ago.

“It’s very rewarding to see his growth in terms of coming back to the states and the level of success that he had,” said Gersson Rosas, who serves as both the Vipers general manager and Rockets vice president for player personnel.  “He helped out team become one of the top D-League teams. … His body of work speaks for itself. The D-League is a hard platform to be successful with the travel, injuries, roster turnover. I felt like we had a highly-qualified candidate.”

McHale said that Finch impressed him during the Rockets’ draft preparation.

“I had an opportunity to work with Chris Finch a few weeks leading up to the draft, and I am very impressed with his success in the D-League and internationally,” McHale said in a news release.

Rosas said the search for Finch’s replacement would begin soon. The Rockets plan to take a similar approach to filling the spot that they did when the hired Finch — find someone they could develop into an NBA coach. Finch’s assistants with the Vipers, Paul Mokeski and Jai Steadman, don’t appear to be top candidates, however they could be retained as assistants.

“It’s going to be a very thorough process,” Rosas said. “We’ll talk to our current coaches. We value the continuity. They have been a part of it. It will ultimately come down to the next head coach. As of now, those situations haven’t been decided.”

 David Hinojosa covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for Valley Freedom Newspapers. You can reach him at (956) 683-4442.

HOUSTON – The Houston Rockets hired a Hall of Fame power forward to coach the team, then added more big men to play for him during Thursday night’s NBA draft.

Houston drafted Kansas star Marcus Morris and Florida standout Chandler Parsons, and added 7-foot Lithuanian Donatas Motiejunas in a deal with Minnesota that also brought point guard Jonny Flynn to the Rockets. Houston dealt backup center Brad Miller to Minnesota.

It was fitting that Houston would swing a deal with the Timberwolves after hiring Kevin McHale to replace Rick Adelman. McHale was the former vice president of basketball operations in Minnesota and also had two stints as the team’s coach.

“Kevin just wanted people taller than him,” general manager Daryl Morey joked.

But the Rockets did seem to be looking for size with Yao Ming’s status in doubt. The top overall pick in 2002, the 7-foot-6 Yao is an unrestricted free agent and has been plagued with foot and leg injuries in recent years. He’s played in only five games in the past two seasons.

Morey said the Rockets will wait to see how Yao recovers from a stress fracture in his left ankle before the franchise makes any decisions about his future. And Morey said Yao’s situation had little bearing on the team’s moves.

“We went with who we thought was the best guy there each time,” Morey said. “We’re a team trying to re-establish our foundation. We don’t feel like we can look at our roster and pick a player for a certain place. We just thought those were the best players we could get at that time.”

The 6-foot-9 Morris was drafted immediately after his twin older brother, Markieff, was taken by Phoenix at No. 13. Marcus Morris was named the Big 12 player of the year after averaging 17.2 points and 7.6 rebounds in 38 games for the Jayhawks in the 2010-11 season.

“I bring a lot of toughness to the game, a lot of energy,” Morris said. “I feel that my presence is felt wherever I play. I’m a scorer and I can defend a lot of positions.”

The Timberwolves selected the 7-foot Motiejunas with the 20th pick, setting the trade in motion.

Motiejunas is playing his second season with the Italian club Benetton Treviso, and has averaged 13.1 points, 4.4 rebounds and two steals in 30 regular-season games.

Morey said he and McHale were impressed by Motiejunas’ low-post skills.

“He’s been a top player in Europe, really high upside, really mobile,” Morey said. “He has a perimeter offensive game as well, and he can really move his feet on the defensive end.”

The Rockets used the 23rd overall pick on Nikola Mirotic, a forward from Montenegro. Mirotic is in his first season with Real Madrid.

Houston initially sent the 38th overall pick to Minnesota, then bought it back to take the 6-9 Parsons, another forward. Morey hopes that Parsons blossoms like Chase Budinger, a second-round pick in 2009. Budinger averaged 9.8 points and 3.6 rebounds in 78 games last season.

“He (Chase) proved that he was better than other players on our team, other draft picks we took that year,” Morey said. “Chandler is another guy we got for a very good price, and someone who can potentially win minutes over time.”

The Rockets were glad to find a taker for Miller, who is due to make almost $10 million over the next two seasons. But the additions of Morris, Motiejunas and Parsons crowd the roster at the forward position, leaving McHale and Morey to make some decisions before the season begins.

Chuck Hayes, also a free agent, has played in 156 of 164 games over the past two seasons and Luis Scola has been a regular starter for the bulk of the last four years. Houston also drafted Patrick Patterson with the 14th pick last season, and picked up Jordan Hill in a trade with New York in February 2010.

“We’ve challenged the roster a little bit, in terms of the total number of guys and the different positions,” Morey said. “But we’d rather have the problem of too much talent, too many good players, than too little and we’re just happy everything is balanced.”

Morris shot 57 percent from the field and topping 20 points in 12 games for Kansas last season. Parsons averaged 11.3 points and 7.8 rebounds in 36 games for Florida.

The 235-pound Morris says he’s open to slimming down and moving to a small forward spot, if that’s what the Rockets need from him.

“I think I can just get in there and fit wherever they want me to play,” Morris said.

HOUSTON — Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander officially introduced Kevin McHale as the team’s new coach on Friday.

Alexander says he has found a “leader of men” and the “perfect fit” in the former Boston Celtics great.

The 53-year-old McHale replaces Rick Adelman, who parted ways with the team after four seasons. The Rockets have missed the playoffs the past two seasons.

McHale was working as a television analyst. He says he missed the competition and set a playoff berth as an immediate goal.

A seven-time all-star, McHale helped Boston win three NBA championships during a 13-year playing career. McHale then worked 16 seasons as an executive with the Minnesota Timberwolves, including two stints as interim head coach.

HOUSTON (AP) — Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander officially introduced Kevin McHale as the team’s new coach on Friday.

Alexander says he has found a “leader of men” and the “perfect fit” in the former Boston Celtics great.

The 53-year-old McHale replaces Rick Adelman, who parted ways with the team after four seasons. The Rockets have missed the playoffs the past two seasons.

McHale was working as a television analyst. He says he missed the competition and set a playoff berth as an immediate goal.

A seven-time All-Star, McHale helped Boston win three NBA championships during a 13-year playing career. McHale then worked 16 seasons as an executive with the Minnesota Timberwolves, including two stints as interim head coach.

HOUSTON – Houston Rockets owner Leslie Alexander officially introduced Kevin McHale as the team’s new coach on Friday.

Alexander says he has found a “leader of men” and the “perfect fit” in the former Boston Celtics great.

The 53-year-old McHale replaces Rick Adelman, who parted ways with the team after four seasons. The Rockets have missed the playoffs the past two seasons.

McHale was working as a television analyst. He says he missed the competition and set a playoff berth as an immediate goal.

A seven-time All-Star, McHale helped Boston win three NBA championships during a 13-year playing career. McHale then worked 16 seasons as an executive with the Minnesota Timberwolves, including two stints as interim head coach.

POSTED: Friday, June 3, 2011

UPDATED: 10:51 am CDT June 3, 2011

HOUSTON, June 1 (UPI) — The Houston Rockets Wednesday named Kevin McHale as their new head coach, replacing the fired Rick Adelman.

McHale, 53, a Hall of Fame player with the Boston Celtics in the 1980s, previously coached the Minnesota Timberwolves in two stints totaling 94 games and worked in the team’s front office from 1993-2009.

Adelman, who coached the Rockets for four seasons, was let go after the team finished the 2010-11 season with a 43-39 record and missed the playoffs for a second consecutive year.

“As we explored the opportunity to come to Houston, it felt like the right situation for me,” McHale said. “I enjoy the competitive nature of our game and I am looking forward to getting to work with the very talented roster of players that are already in place here in Houston.”

Rockets owner Leslie Alexander cited McHale’s success as a player with the Celtics, with whom he won three NBA championships and was selected as an all-star seven times over a 13-year career.

“Kevin’s hard-nosed work ethic and tenacity on the court led him to a Hall of Fame career and a legacy as one of the NBA’s greatest low post players of all time,” Alexander said.

HOUSTON (AP) — Kevin McHale has been hired to coach the Houston Rockets.

The Rockets made it official on Wednesday that McHale will take over for Rick Adelman, who left the team days after his fourth season in Houston.

McHale spent 15 years with the Timberwolves in his native Minnesota. The Boston Celtics Hall of Famer was let go in 2009 and has recently served as a TV analyst. Reports on Friday said he was taking the job.

The 53-year-old McHale becomes Houston’s third coach since 2003, when Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down for health reasons. Jeff Van Gundy coached the team from 2003-07, taking the Rockets to three playoff appearances.

McHale says coaching the Rockets is the “right situation” for him.

(© Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

HOUSTON, Texas (AFP) – Kevin McHale was confirmed as the new coach of the Houston Rockets on Wednesday by the NBA club, which dropped Rick Adelman in April after the team failed to reach the playoffs.

McHale, who agreed to terms on the deal last week, takes over just three weeks ahead of the NBA Draft and with only one month remaining in the NBA’s contract between owners and players as a possible shutdown looms in July.

McHale, a former Boston Celtics star and Minnesota Timberwolves executive who twice was forced into an interim coaching role at Minnesota, won three NBA crowns in the 1980s during a 13-season career with the Celtics.

“Kevin McHale is a proven NBA champion who has the leadership skills and basketball knowledge necessary to guide our team into the future,” Rockets owner Les Alexander said.

The 53-year-old American might have the chance to guide another famed NBA big man if 2.26m Chinese star center Yao Ming, who missed all but five games last season with a broken foot, is able to return to the NBA and signs with the Rockets.

McHale becomes the club’s 12th coach and the third since 2003, when Rudy Tomjanovich stepped down because of health issues.

“It felt like the right situation for me,” McHale said. “I enjoy the competitive nature of our game and I am looking forward to getting to work with the very talented roster of players that are already in place here in Houston.”