Houston Rockets | Sneaker Shop Talk

DeMarcus Cousins and Rockets to part ways

February 20, 2021February 20, 2021 Brandon King

This latest edition of WTF NBA news comes from Houston, where apparently the Rockets and DeMarcus Cousins have agreed on a parting of the ways, according to The Athletic and Stadium’s Ch While the age part is understandable, Cousins is 30 and trying to come back from two devastating injuries, torn Achilles and ACL, that happened in back-to-back years. That ,coupled with the emergence of Christian Wood , made Cousins expendable. It is somewhat head scratching that in a sport where height matters, the Rockets want to get smaller. This…

James Harden traded to Nets in mega-deal

January 13, 2021January 13, 2021 Brandon King

Massive but unsurprising news surrounding James Harden. He’s been traded to the Brooklyn Nets in a gigantic, four-team deal. From Woj: The Rockets have their third star, or rather the second until Kyrie Irving comes back, whenever that is. Though one could wonder if the Nets know more than they are telling about Irving’s status with this move.

James Harden not with team

January 13, 2021January 13, 2021 Staff

from ESPN: The Houston Rockets are planning to keep James Harden away from the team until they can complete a trade involving the unhappy star, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne and Adrian Wojnarowski. Houston’s front office is currently weighing the best final trade offers from the Brooklyn Netsand Philadelphia 76ers, sources told Shelburne and Wojnarowski. Rockets coach Stephen Silas told reporters that Harden would not be at Wednesday’s practice, one day after the former league MVP said the team is “just not good enough” following a blowout loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. “We felt that it…

James Harden has announced to the world it’s a wrap in Houston

January 13, 2021January 13, 2021 Brandon King

You can mark January 12,2021 as the day that the relationship between James Harden and the Houston Rockets officially came to an end. After a second consecutive drubbing at the hands of a very jovial Los Angeles Lakers , 117-100, Harden used the postgame presser to subtly and not-so-subtly declare that he was done in Houston. Harden’s comments seemingly did not go over well with still new teammate John wall who had this to say after the game: Wall is absolutely correct. If Harden after just ten games is ready…

Daryl Morey fined $50k for violating anti-tampering rules

December 28, 2020December 28, 2020 Brandon King

Philadelphia 76ers President of Basketball Operations Daryl Morey was fined $50,000 by the NBA for violation of the league’s anti-tampering rule. The fine stems from a now-deleted December 20 tweet in which Morey celebrated the one-year anniversary of James Harden breaking the Rockets’ all-time assist record. While on the surface the tweet, which Morey later said was sent out mistakenly via an automated application, may seem innocuous but steps into the realm of tampering due to the Harden trade demand/speculation has Philadelphia as a potential landing spot. This is not…

Wednesday’s Rockets and Thunder game postponed

December 23, 2020December 23, 2020 Staff

From ESPN: The Houston Rockets and Oklahoma City Thundergame for Wednesday night has been postponed, the league announced. The NBA said three Rockets players have returned tests that were either positive or inconclusive for coronavirus under the NBA’s testing program. In addition, four other players are quarantined at this time under the contact tracing protocol. Contact tracing protocols caused the Rockets to send home three players Wednesday after rookie teammate Kenyon Martin Jr. returned a positive coronavirus test and needed to be tested again for confirmation, sources told ESPN. John Wall and DeMarcus Cousins and Martin were…

John Wall amongst Houston Rocket players sent home while team traces COVID-19

December 23, 2020December 23, 2020 Brandon King

According to ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski, John Wall and s few other Houston Rockets players were sent home Wednesday due to another teammate testing postive. To be clear, Wall himself tested negative , but the tracing stems from rookie Kenyon Martin , Jr, who is “not with the team, self isolating”, per the team’s injury report. It is reported that John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins and Martin Jr were amongst a group of Rocket players who were at an apartment away from the team facility getttting haircuts. This is apparently what lead…

Rockets exploring three-team deal to move Harden

December 18, 2020December 18, 2020 Brandon King

From Tim Daniels of B/R: The Houston Rockets reportedly want to make a James Harden trade “sooner than later” and continue to expand discussions beyond the eight-time All-Star’s list of preferred destinations. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported Friday on Get Up the Rockets have started to explore three-team deals as part their effort to “maximize value:” The Brooklyn Nets, Miami Heat, Milwaukee Bucks and Philadelphia 76ers lead the group of contenders Harden would prefer to join, per Shams Charania of The Athletic. Harden doesn’t have a no-trade clause in his contract—they’ve become exceedingly rare in the…

Rockets head coach Stephen Silas still not sure when James Harden will return to team

December 7, 2020December 7, 2020 Brandon King

From Michael C. Wright at nba.com: Rockets coach Stephen Silas pointed out Monday his team has spent 80% of their practices focusing on defense, but 100% of that training camp time has elapsed without star guard James Harden, leading to a murky situation in Houston. Silas cited the NBA’s COVID-19 protocolsfor Harden’s absence Sunday from the team’s first training camp workout, but on Monday the coach expressed ambiguity regarding the star guard’s status. “He’s not here, and he has a reason,” Silas said. “But that’s on him to tell whoever what…

Woj details recent Houston-Washington trade

December 3, 2020December 3, 2020 Brandon King

Check out this clip from Get Up where Adrian Wojnarowski speaks with that clown Mike Greenberg outlining the Westbrook-for-Wall trade. Of particular note is that apparently James Harden preferred Wall to Westbrook.