Positioning for run at usual suspects
Morey layers defense, sheds players, has flexible payroll
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni immediately liked what he saw. He didn’t see it for long, but half a season was enough for D’Antoni to believe in what Iman Shumpert could bring him if they were together again.
“I drafted him. I was the coach of the Knicks when we drafted him there,” D’Antoni said. “I had him for a half a year. He was good back then. I thought he was going to be a really good pro. He is. He shoots the ball, and he guards. He’s very smart. He’s half point guard, half two, half three, half four. I think he’ll fit perfectly.”
D’Antoni stepped down as Knicks coach in 2012 during Shumpert’s rookie season out of Georgia Tech, but he watched Shumpert develop and make his mark, even if he might not add up to D’Antoni’s halfplayer math.
Shumpert became a
Madison Square Garden fan favorite even in the leanest of Knicks seasons. He went to the Cavaliers, who he famously said “grabbed me out of hell,” to become part of a championship team. He was a key to the Kings’ surprising resurgence this season.
In Shumpert, a long-armed, 6-5 defensive-minded wing with the versatility to play and especially defend at a variety of positions, the Rockets believe they have added what they needed most.
“I’m excited about it,” guard Chris Paul said. “I’ve been knowing Shump for a while, man. You watch a lot of games in this league, Shump got dog (in him). When I say that, hoopers know what I mean. That means he’s scrappy. He gets after it. Somebody like that, I can play with any day of the week.”
When the Rockets landed Shumpert on Wednesday, completing a three-team deal in which they gave up Brandon Knight, Marquese Chriss, a lottery-protected, first-round pick and a second-round pick, D’Antoni got a chance to finish what they had started together.
“He’s strong, and he’s a veteran,” D’Antoni said. “He won a championship. So there’s a lot of good things.”
With that done, the Rockets worked deals to move under the luxury tax. Owner Tilman Fertitta said before the season he wanted to avoid the repeater tax penalties and trade limitations placed on teams that pay tax penalties in three out of four seasons, calling the rule “a horrible hindrance” and “just brutal.”
That might have foretold the other moves Thursday. With Shumpert expected to push forward James Ennis III out of the rotation, they agreed to deal the small forward to the 76ers. They then moved Wade Baldwin IV and Nik Stauskas, players acquired in the three-team deal to land Shumpert, to the Pacers along with a future secondround pick to move under the salary tax line.
In the deal to move Ennis, the Rockets get the option to swap second-round picks in 2021, the next season in which they will have their own pick.
Ennis averaged 7.4 points this season, making 50 percent of his shots and 37.3 percent of his 3pointers. He is on a one-year contract he signed with the Rockets as a free agent in 2018. Baldwin and Stauskas were not in the Rockets’ plans given the glut of guards and wing options.
The Rockets made the moves, general manager Daryl Morey said, “to create the flexibility to be able to play the buyout market, open a roster spot and create financial flexibility now … and down the road.”
The trade-deadline moves leave the Rockets with 12 players on the roster and two weeks to move up to at least 14. In addition to pursuing free agents following the usual post-deadline buyouts, the Rockets could convert Danuel House Jr.’s two-way contract to a standard NBA deal for the balance of the season or, if he should reverse course and accept their offer, for three seasons.
In a season full of roster changes — with four players going out, three coming in (not including Stauskas and Baldwin) and House doing both twice — the Rockets believe they got what they needed, as they did with the additions of Kenneth Faried and Austin Rivers.
“We've been targeting him as someone who fits really well with James (Harden) and Chris, a guy who is a high-level spot shooter from distance and (strong) defender and someone who has played in the Finals multiple times and won the championship.”
Shumpert, 28, is averaging 8.9 points per game, making 36.6 percent of his 3-pointers this season. After expecting to play against Shumpert on Wednesday in Sacramento, the Rockets were ready to play with him.
“Shump is a vet who can help us defensively, ball-handling, shooting,” Harden said. “He’s been playing very, very well this year. Once he gets here, get a couple practices in him, and let’s go.”