The Houston Rockets have dealt 26-year old SG/SF Courtney Lee to the Celtics for 23-year old power forward JaJuan Johnson, 23-year old shooting guard E’Twaun Moore, 25-year old PF/C Sean Williams and a future 2nd round pick. Lee played in 58 games (26 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 30.3 minutes, 11.4 points, 2.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 steals per game. He played in 139 games (27 starts) in his two years with the Rockets and he averaged 25.0 minutes, 9.6 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game. JaJuan Johnson played in 36 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Celtics last year and he averaged 8.3 minutes, 3.2 points, 1.6 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game. E’Twaun Moore played in 38 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Celtics last year and he averaged 8.7 minutes, 2.9 points, 0.9 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game on 38.1% shooting from the floor. Sean Williams played in 14 games (0 starts) for the Celtics and Mavericks last year and he averaged 9.7 minutes, 3.6 points, 2.3 rebounds and 0.5 assists per game. He has now played in 137 games (29 starts) in his first four years in the NBA and he is averaging 14.4 minutes, 4.2 points, 3.4 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. The Rockets continue to add players and draft picks while dumping salary at the same time.

UPDATE: (7/20/2012) - The Rockets have acquired the draft rights to 24-year old shooting guard Jon Diebler as part of this deal. Diebler was a second round pick of the Trailblazers in the 2011 NBA Draft. He is 6′6″, 197 pounds. He played in 33 games in Greece last year and he averaged 26.0 minutes, 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. Diebler shot 45.3% from three point range last year.

UPDATE II: (7/25/2012) - The Rockets have waived E’Twaun Moore.

UPDATE III: (8/29/2012) - The Rockets have waived Sean Williams.

UPDATE IV: (10/29/2012) - The Rockets have waived JaJuan Johnson.

The Rockets have been trying to trade 32-year old power forward Luis Scola for quite some time now. They have not found any takers as of yet, so they are likely to release him soon via the amnesty clause. If they use the amnesty clause on Scola, they will save $21 million dollars in cap space over the next two years. That being said, Scola won’t be too easy to replace. Scola played in 66 games (all starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 31.3 minutes, 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. He has now played in 386 games (343 starts) in his first four years with the Rockets and he has averaged 30.2 minutes, 14.5 points, 7.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. He is the Rockets’ #8 rebounder in franchise history with 2,166 of them. He will have no problem finding a new job if the Rockets let him go.

UPDATE: (7/14/2012) - The Rockets have officially waived Luis Scola using the amnesty clause.

The Rockets re-signed 38-year old center Marcus Camby to a 3-year, $13.2 million dollar deal and then they dealt him to the New York Knicks for 26-year old PG/SG Toney Douglas, 23-year old center Josh Harrellson, 25-year old PF/C Jerome Jordan and second round picks in both 2014 and 2015. Camby played in 19 games (13 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 24.1 minutes, 7.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game. Camby played in 59 games (53 starts) overall last year for the Rockets & Trailblazers in which he averaged 22.9 minutes, 4.9 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.4 blocked shots per game.

Toney Douglas had an awful year in 2011-12 for the Knicks. He played in 38 games (9 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 17.3 minutes, 6.2 points, 1.9 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. But, he only shot 32.4% from the floor for the Knicks last year. Douglas has now played in 175 games (30 starts) in his first three years in the NBA and he is averaging 21.2 minutes, 9.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game. He might really benefit from escaping the pressure of playing in New York. Josh Harrellson was solid off the bench as a rookie for the Knicks last year. He played in 37 games (4 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 14.6 minutes, 4.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 0.3 assists per game. Jerome Jordan played in 21 games (0 starts) as a rookie for the Knicks last year and he averaged 5.1 minutes, 2.0 points, 1.3 rebounds and 0.2 assists per game.

This was another solid deal for the Rockets as they keeping adding chips which are going to allow them to make a lot more trades before the 2012-13 season begins. I think they are going to bring in at least two star players before next season starts.

UPDATE: (7/19/2012) - The Rockets have waived Jerome Jordan.

UPDATE II: (8/16/2012) - The Rockets have waived Josh Harrellson.

21-year old center/power forward Donatas Motiejunas has signed a 4-year, $4.2 million dollar deal with the Rockets. He was the 20th overall pick in the 2011 NBA Draft (by the T-Wolves who dealt him to the Rockets). He played in 51 games (Poland, VTB United League and Euroleague) in which he averaged 27.3 minutes, 14.3 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.0 steal per game. This is a good thing for the Rockets as Motiejunas should help them off the bench in 2012-13, but he could develop into much more down the road.

The Houston Rockets have signed 23-year old point guard Jeremy Lin to a 3-year, $25.1 million dollar offer sheet. Lin played in 35 games (25 starts) for the Knicks last year and he averaged 26.9 minutes, 14.6 points, 3.1 rebounds, 6.2 assists and 1.6 steals per game. Lin has now played in 64 games (25 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 19.1 minutes, 9.2 points, 2.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. The Knicks are going to have until July 14th to match the offer sheet the Rockets have given to Lin. With Kyle Lowry off to the Raptors and Goran Dragic off the the Suns, the Rockets suddenly have a huge whole at point guard and they hope to fill it with Lin.

UPDATE: (7/18/2012) - The Knicks have declined to match the Rockets’ offer for Jeremy Lin. Lin is now the starting point guard of the Houston Rockets.

The Houston Rockets have dealt 26-year old point guard Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors for 27-year old SG/SF Gary Forbes and a future first round pick. The pick will be top three protected in 2013, top two protected in 2014 and 2015, top one protected in 2016 and 2017. If the Rockets don’t get the pick by 2017 (that’s very unlikely), then they will receive the Raptors first round pick in 2018.

Lowry played in 46 games (38 starts) for the Rockets last year and he averaged 32.1 minutes, 14.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, 6.6 assists and 1.6 steals per game. He played in 218 games (109 starts) in his four years with the Rockets and he averaged 29.0 minutes, 11.5 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game. Lowry was a solid player for the Rockets.

Gary Forbes played in 48 games (2 starts) for the Raptors last year and he averaged 14.9 minutes, 6.6 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game. Forbes has now played in 111 games (13 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 13.5 minutes, 5.8 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.9 assists per game. The Rockets didn’t make this deal for Forbes (but he should help them off the bench)……they wanted the likely lottery pick in 2013.

UPDATE: (10/29/2012) - The Rockets have waived Gary Forbes.

The Rockets have signed 25-year old center Omer Asik to a 3-year, $23.1 million dollar offer sheet. Asik played in 66 games (2 starts) for the Bulls last year and he averaged 14.7 minutes, 3.1 points, 5.3 rebounds, 0.5 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game. He has now played in 148 games (2 starts) in his first two years in the NBA and he is averaging 13.2 minutes, 2.9 points, 4.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. Obviously the Rockets think that Asik will be the next Marcin Gortat (a player who finally got his chance to start with the Suns and has excelled in his new role). It’s going to be hard for the Bulls to match the offer sheet, but they have until July 14th to do so.

UPDATE: (7/24/2012) - The Bulls declined to match the offer sheet for Omer Asik, making him the new starting center of the Houston Rockets.