Talks to land Iguodala fall short, but Cavs’ Shumpert a target
If nothing else, the Rockets demonstrated their priorities on Saturday, the first full day of NBA free agency.
Armed with their stack of non-guaranteed contracts, the Rockets had a meeting with Golden State’s Andre Iguodala and worked on a deal with the Cleveland Cavaliers to acquire Iman Shumpert, according to two individuals with knowledge of the team’s efforts.
Those individuals spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the private nature of ongoing talks.
But the Rockets’ long-shot pursuit of Iguodala ended late Saturday night when the veteran sixth man, in a tweet (cited sources close to himself ) reporting that he would stay with the Warriors.
The Warriors locked up Iguodala with a hefty offer, reportedly $48 million over three years, that was far greater than any the Rockets could put together while over the salary cap.
Iguodala had canceled his remaining scheduled meetings after sitting down with the Rockets on Saturday, but gave the Warriors the final turn to make a pitch to keep him.
While the Rockets opened trade talks with the Cavaliers about Shumpert, Iguodala considered his options before tweeting “Sources close to Andre Iguodala reporting agreed to terms to return to the bay …”
The motivation to pursue him was clear for the Rockets. They had often struggled last season against teams with multiple long and athletic wings such as Miami, Indiana and San Antonio.
Iguodala, the 2015 NBA Finals MVP, would have offered a defensive option in addition to Trevor Ariza to match up with the Western Conference’s highscoring small forwards such as Kevin Durant, Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Andrew Wiggins.
As to a deal with the Cavaliers, it would use the Rockets’ non-guaranteed contracts and possibly Chinanu Onuaku.
Shumpert played for Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni in New York, having the top-scoring season of his seven-year career. He averaged 7.5 points on 41.1 percent shooting, 36 percent 3-point shooting with the Cavaliers last season.
Though still considered among the Cavaliers’ top defensive players, he played a diminished role in the postseason each of the past two seasons since signing a four-year, $40 million contract in 2015.
Nene considering free-agency options
The Rockets’ other work on Saturday was even more complicated. They had reached agreement with Nene on a four-year, $15 million contract on Friday, but on Saturday had to revise the offer to three years, $10.3 million because the final season of the previous offer would come when he is 38-years-old and would not be permitted.
Nene turned down the offer to consider his free-agent options. The Rockets cannot make him a greater offer without using at least part of their midlevel exception.
The Rockets want to use part of that exception on a four-year deal with 2016 second-round pick Zhou Qi.
Zhou and the Rockets have agreed on the longer deal to allow more time to develop, according to two individuals familiar with the talks, but the Rockets have to keep that as a preference rather than a done deal while working through other issues.
The 7-2 forward/center has been working out with Rockets staff at Toyota Center for several months with the intention of signing with the team. Zhou, 21, had a strong season with the Xinjiang Flying Tigers before breaking a thumb in the postseason. He was an outstanding shot-blocker in the China Basketball Association with 3-point shooting range. He is scheduled to play with the Rockets’ Las Vegas Summer League team.
“He’s excited,” a person with contact with Zhou said. “This is his childhood dream coming true. We’re all very excited for him.”