With the news that the 6’11″ shot blocking Samuel Dalembert signed with the Houston Rockets, he instantly began to go 2 to 3 rounds higher in fantasy drafts.

The reason for this is because Dalembert offers a lot of fantasy value with his shot blocking. His career high of 2.4 blocks per game came in 05-06 as a member of the Sixers, and while that ability may be dubious at this point (Dalembert turns 31 soon), he should still be good for 9 ppg, 9 rpg, and 1.8 bpg.

Ultimately, that does not make Dalembert a premier option at center, and if you are able to snag him at a bargain value, that is all the better. But a lot of fantasy owners are probably going to reach on Dalembert, which would be a mistake for these following reasons:

1. Houston’s offense will not feature Dalembert in any way.
2. Houston will still want to develop both Jordan Hill and Patrick Patterson
3. Kevin Martin isn’t good at setting up big men
4. Kevin McHale isn’t going to ask Dalembert to score.

I am not suggesting Dalembert will not have value, of course; only to temper your expectations. Remember: Dalembert’s career high in scoring is a mere 10.7 points per game and he shoots under 70% from the line for his career.

But it was clear he was going nowhere in Sacramento.

With the Kings looking to go youthful, Dalembert did not fit into their long term plans and would have only hindered the development of youngsters J.J. Hickson and DeMarcus Cousins. That’s good for the Rockets, who were able to get Dalembert at what could be considered a bargain, $6.7 M next year and $7 M in 2012-2013.

It gives Houston a legit option at center, since 2nd over all pick Hasheem Thabeet, whom they acquired from Memphis seemed to show so little promise, but ultimately was too much of a prospect to pass up. Thabeet is signed until 2013-2014, so who knows?—by then he may have learned enough from Dalembert to step in as the Rockets’ de facto starter.

For the time being, though, it is Dalembert who will be the starting center and second most relevant big man, behind all star snub Luis Scola. Scola and Dalembert should give the Rockets’ enough toughness on the interior to satisfy McHale’s desires, and Dalembert’s strong weak side defense will help cover the sometimes questionable defensive efforts of shooting guard Kevin Martin.

It’s a good fit for Dalembert, and a good fit for fantasy owners. As I said, Dalembert won’t be a premier center—but by most people’s considerations, he never was.

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Rookie Kawhi Leonard showed Spurs fans exactly what he’s capable of in his San Antonio debut on Wednesday night.

Leonard hit a 20-footer from the left wing with 5.3 seconds remaining to give the Spurs a 97-95 win over the Houston Rockets in the preseason finale for both teams.

Tim Duncan had 19 points and Tony Parker added 15 — and both know a bit about winning — but it was the rookie who sealed it for San Antonio.

“I loved seeing that last shot go down so that nobody would have overtime,” San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich said. “It made two teams really, really happy the game was over.”

Rookie reserve Marcus Morris scored 20 points, with Chase Budinger and Kyle Lowry each adding 10 points for Houston.

Morris scored 15 points in the second quarter to lead the Rockets to a 51-44 lead and shrugged off a poor shooting performance in the last game, where he went 0 for 4 with one point in 23 minutes.

“It’s nice for him to have a good game because he struggled last game,” Houston coach Kevin McHale said. “He’s going to be fine. He just has to learn how to play different positions. I thought, overall, we again did some good stuff but still have a long way to go.”

Both teams played their starters for most of the first and third quarters, with no starter getting over 24 minutes.

Down 95-85 with 3:31 remaining, the Rockets stayed aggressive by attacking the Spurs’ second unit. Jonny Flynn scored four points from the line and Jeremy Lin hitting a reverse layup to go along with Goran Dragic’s basket to cut the Spurs’ lead to two.

Lin’s driving layup capped a 10-0 run to tie the score at 95-all with 34.6 seconds left.

Leonard got a skip pass from Cory Joseph, made a move past Lin and hit the jumper to give the Spurs the win.

“I used to get the ball down in crunch time,” Leonard said. “I hit a game winner at San Diego State. I just took the shot and made it.”

Duncan’s block of Lowry combined with a pretty bounce pass on a James Anderson layup sparked a 6-0 run to break a 70-70 third-quarter tie and San Antonio never trailed after that.

Duncan and Parker returned to the starting lineup after sitting out Saturday’s preseason opener against the Rockets in Houston.

Parker scored 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter to lead the Spurs to a 14-4 lead before the Rockets made a run to close the quarter down by six.

But Houston’s second-unit led by Morris put the Rockets up 53-51 at the half.

SAN ANTONIO — Rookie Kawhi Leonard showed Spurs fans exactly what he’s capable of in his San Antonio debut on Wednesday night.

Leonard hit a 20-footer from the left wing with 5.3 seconds remaining to give the Spurs a 97-95 win over the Houston Rockets in the preseason finale for both teams.

Tim Duncan had 19 points and Tony Parker added 15 — and both know a bit about winning — but it was the rookie who sealed it for San Antonio.

“I loved seeing that last shot go down so that nobody would have overtime,” San Antonio head coach Gregg Popovich said. “It made two teams really, really happy the game was over.”

Rookie reserve Marcus Morris scored 20 points, with Chase Budinger and Kyle Lowry each adding 10 points for Houston.

Morris scored 15 points in the second quarter to lead the Rockets to a 51-44 lead and shrugged off a poor shooting performance in the last game, where he went 0 for 4 with one point in 23 minutes.

“It’s nice for him to have a good game because he struggled last game,” Houston coach Kevin McHale said. “He’s going to be fine. He just has to learn how to play different positions. I thought, overall, we again did some good stuff but still have a long way to go.”

Both teams played their starters for most of the first and third quarters, with no starter getting over 24 minutes.

Down 95-85 with 3:31 remaining, the Rockets stayed aggressive by attacking the Spurs’ second unit. Jonny Flynn scored four points from the line and Jeremy Lin hitting a reverse layup to go along with Goran Dragic’s basket to cut the Spurs’ lead to two.

Lin’s driving layup capped a 10-0 run to tie the score at 95-all with 34.6 seconds left.

Leonard got a skip pass from Cory Joseph, made a move past Lin and hit the jumper to give the Spurs the win.

“I used to get the ball down in crunch time,” Leonard said. “I hit a game winner at San Diego State. I just took the shot and made it.”

Duncan’s block of Lowry combined with a pretty bounce pass on a James Anderson layup sparked a 6-0 run to break a 70-70 third-quarter tie and San Antonio never trailed after that.

Duncan and Parker returned to the starting lineup after sitting out Saturday’s preseason opener against the Rockets in Houston.

Parker scored 11 of his 15 points in the first quarter to lead the Spurs to a 14-4 lead before the Rockets made a run to close the quarter down by six.

But Houston’s second-unit led by Morris put the Rockets up 53-51 at the half.

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

HOUSTON — A person with knowledge of the deal says free-agent center Samuel Dalembert has agreed to terms with the Houston Rockets.

The person spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made.

ESPN.com first reported that Dalembert had reached terms with Houston, a two-year deal worth $13.7 million that included a team option for the second year.

The 6-foot-11 Dalembert averaged 8.1 points and 8.2 rebounds for Sacramento last season. He played his first eight seasons in Philadelphia after the 76ers made him a first-round pick in 2001.

The Rockets were desperate to land a big man after NBA commissioner David Stern killed a three-team deal that would have brought Pau Gasol to town.

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

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 — The Houston Rockets have signed free-agent forward Jeff Adrien.

The 6-foot-7 Adrien had been playing in Italy after appearing in 23 games in separate stints with Golden State in 2010-11. Adrien played in 22 games last season for Rio Grande Valley, the Rockets’ developmental league affiliate.

A former star at Connecticut, Adrien finished his college career with 1,603 points and 1,126. He was the fifth player in school history to amass over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.

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

HOUSTON — The Houston Rockets have signed free-agent forward Jeff Adrien.

The 6-foot-7 Adrien had been playing in Italy after appearing in 23 games in separate stints with Golden State in 2010-11. Adrien played in 22 games last season for Rio Grande Valley, the Rockets’ developmental league affiliate.

A former star at Connecticut, Adrien finished his college career with 1,603 points and 1,126. He was the fifth player in school history to amass over 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.

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

HOUSTON (AP)—The Houston Rockets have signed free-agent forward Jeff
Adrien.

The 6-foot-7 Adrien had been playing in Italy after appearing in 23 games in
separate stints with Golden State in 2010-11. Adrien played in 22 games last
season for Rio Grande Valley, the Rockets’ developmental league affiliate.

A former star at Connecticut, Adrien finished his college career with 1,603
points and 1,126. He was the fifth player in school history to amass over 1,000
points and 1,000 rebounds in a career.

HOUSTON (AP)—It was a deal designed to propel the Houston Rockets toward
the top of the Western Conference.

The Rockets were willing to deal away top scorers Kevin Martin and Luis
Scola and backup point guard Goran Dragic to land Pau Gasol.

Instead, the NBA killed the three-team deal and the Rockets were forced to
prepare for the 2011-12 season with much of the same team that missed the
playoffs last year with a 43-39 record.

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

The Rockets open the season Monday on the road against Orlando.

Updated Dec 20, 2011 at 11:52 PM PST

Greg Smith, former Fresno State Center, finished 2nd in the Houston Rockets rookie dance contest.
Smith is trying to make the Rockets roster. He signed a free agent contract to attend training camp.
He went undrafted last June after averaging 12 points and 8 rebounds a game as a sophomore for the Bulldogs.

Bill Simmons essentially called this Houston Chronicle report the story that won’t go away:

Calling NBA commissioner David Stern’s assertion that the Rockets’ vetoed trade for Pau Gasol was never considered a done deal “an outright lie,” a person with direct knowledge of the process said Stern was informed throughout the negotiations and the day of the trade before he refused to let it go through.

Here’s the problem – the season starts in six days. Once the compressed NBA schedule gets underway, and the Clippers look great, and the Lakers look awful, will the public outcry die down or simply just go away?

It’s appalling that Stern would completely screw the Lakers and Rockets like this, but short of a lawsuit, I’m just not sure what complaining is going to do. Unless, of course, ESPN wants to get involved and attempt to press Stern on the issue … yeah, that’s not happening. [Chronicle]

Did NBA commissioner David Stern lie about his involvement in the vetoed trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers? The Houston Rockets think so, and they are livid.

Stern said after the trade fell through that he was only “generally informed” about the details of the trade during the negotiations, and that the Hornets never thought the deal was done. But sources told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle that is “an outright lie,” noting that Stern knew the details and that he and the Hornets knew it was a done deal.

Anger over the failed deal is coming from the Rockets, who would have received Pau Gasol from the Lakers. Feigen says that Rockets owner Leslie Alexander was “livid” over Stern’s role. Alexander tried contacting the commissioner but did not get a call back until after the Lakers pulled out of the re-negotiations. At that point Alexander refused to speak with Stern and still won’t speak with the commissioner.

It seemed as though this story died when Chris Paul was finally dealt to the Los Angeles Clippers. Rather, this story may just be starting to find its legs. And it seems like this could get uglier before it gets better.

HOUSTON (AP) — The Houston Rockets have signed second-round pick Chandler Parsons.

Parsons’ agent, Mark Bartelstein, said in a phone interview Saturday that Parsons signed a four-year deal worth $3.7 million.

The 6-foot-9, 200-pound Parsons was the 38th overall pick in the summer. He sat out the first week of training camp before his contract was signed, but he was expected to be in uniform for Saturday’s preseason opener against San Antonio.

Parsons led Florida in rebounds and assists and was selected the Southeastern Conference’s top player last season.

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

It was supposed to be different this time. After years of trying to trade for a legitimate star or sign one in free agency and having it fall apart at every turn, the Rockets were going to land their big fish. It was there on the table. It was agreed to by all parties.

And the league blocked it like Hakeem turning back a runner.

Everyone’s moved on. Chris Paul is a Clipper. Preseason games are in full swing. The Lakers brought in Troy Murphy… OK, so the Lakers haven’t really moved on. But the Rockets? The Rockets are soooooo mad  you guys.

From the Houston Chronicle:

By then, the person said, Alexander had no interest in speaking with Stern and has declined to speak with him since.

The Rockets had hoped with the added cap space to sign Nene, who instead returned to the Nuggets. With the bolstered front line, the Rockets intended to bring back Chuck Hayes to a roster they believed would then be in position to contend in the West.

“You can say he (Alexander) was very angry,” said the person, speaking on condition of anonymity. “He was on the phone with Daryl too many times that day to count. When the deal finally got done, he got a call from Daryl saying the deal was done. Afterwards, the commissioner said he didn’t think the deal was done. It was amazing. Daryl is extremely efficient and does things the proper way. Lakers owner Jerry Buss has been in the league 30 years and has made countless deals and thought the deal was done. Mitch Kupchak thought the deal was done. There was no question in his Alexanders and Daryls minds the deal was done.”

via Source: NBA commish lied about failed three-team trade that involved Rockets – Houston Chronicle.

The primary source of anger is because the Rockets and Lakers thought Demps had complete control to make the trade. And then he didn’t. Again, from the Chronicle:

“He said that David was briefed and that it was a done deal,” one of the individuals with knowledge of the talks said. “He (Demps) said multiple times that he briefed both of his local officials, (Hornets president) Hugh Webber and (Hornets chairman) Jac Sperling, and they and Dell at regular intervals were updating (NBA vice presidents) Stu Jackson and Joel Litvin and that they told David himself throughout the day. Also, Hugh and Jac, who were updating the league office, understood it to be a deal.”

via Source: NBA commish lied about failed three-team trade that involved Rockets – Houston Chronicle.

So the teams involved said it was done, and that the league office had been informed of the deal and was fine with it, and then wasn’t. That seems an awful lot like the league talked to some of its owners and the owners flipped out and cancelled the trade, which is something David Stern vehemently denied on a conference call following the Chris Paul Clippers trade. Stern reiterated that while Demps had authority to negotiate a deal, the final say rested with the league.

But again, if that was the case, why was the deal brought along so far?

On the other hand, here’s a question for the Rockets. Why are you so upset over this? Yes, you would have had Pau Gasol, which is a big name. But you still would have had to talk Nene into taking one-year less, or else paying an outrageous amount for him long-term. He and Gasol would have likely hit their downslide in similar timeframes, meaning you’d potentially have $35 million-plus wrapped up in two guys past their prime. And with the leftovers of your roster, where were you really going? Is Kyle Lowry-Terrence Williams-Chase Budinger-Pau Gasol-Nene really going to win the Western Conference? Is it going to get out of the second round? I’m not convinced it makes it out of the first. Anyone remember the last time Pau Gasol was the man on a playoff team without Kobe Bryant?

The Rockets have kept their flexibility. Maybe this move was to give the Rockets some push in terms of short-term success, but it didn’t provide a long-term answer. This could wind up being a blessing in disguise if they play their cards right.

CBSSports.com wire reports
Dec. 18, 2011

HOUSTON — Luis Scola scored 20 points, Terrence Williams had 14 and the Houston Rockets beat the short-handed San Antonio Spurs 101-87 on Saturday night.

Jordan Hill had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who had a 56-38 edge on the boards. Williams also had nine rebounds.

Manu Ginobili and DeJuan Blair scored 16 points apiece for the Spurs. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker sat out for San Antonio.

Houston led 51-36 at halftime after the Spurs went 8 for 40 from the field in the half. Ginobili went 2 for 10 in the first half.

The Rockets pushed the margin over 20 in the third quarter. The Spurs rallied, but a Houston lineup of reserves led by Williams held on for the victory.

Luis Scola scored 20 points, Terrence Williams had 14 and the
Houston Rockets beat the short-handed San Antonio Spurs 101-87 on
Saturday night.

Jordan Hill had 17 points and 13 rebounds for the Rockets, who
had a 56-38 edge on the boards. Williams also had nine
rebounds.

Manu Ginobili and DeJuan Blair scored 16 points apiece for the
Spurs. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker sat out for San Antonio.

Houston led 51-36 at halftime after the Spurs went 8 for 40 from
the field in the half. Ginobili went 2 for 10 in the first
half.

The Rockets pushed the margin over 20 in the third quarter. The
Spurs rallied, but a Houston lineup of reserves led by Williams
held on for the victory.