The Rio Grande Valley Vipers have hired Joseph Blair as head coach for the 24-25 season. Blair previously was head coach of the Vipers in 18-19 after several seasons as an assistant coach. Blair was most recently an assistant coach with the Washington Wizards. The Vipers are the G League affiliate for the Houston Rockets ..read more

Amen Thompson offers the Houston Rockets positional versatility, which could complicate certain lineup configurations while amplifying others. Houston's decision to select Reed Sheppard at No. 3 could allow the coaching staff to continue to allow Thompson to develop into a player that defies traditional roles. Thompson played approximately ninety percent of his minutes as a rookie at either shooting guard or small forward with the rest being as a traditional point guard. Thompson could share ballhandling duties with Sheppard when on the floor together. "The consensus from the coaching staff is ..read more

As the NBA continues to find ways to increase player availability for key and high-profile games, that has led to more back-to-backs being scheduled in 2024-25. Teams average 14.9 back-to-back games in next season's schedule, which is up slightly from last season. That figure is still down considerably from a decade ago. This season, the league has arranged the schedule to make sure no team is on a back-to-back ahead of opening week national TV games, holiday games (Christmas and MLK) and before Saturday night showcase games on ABC throughout the season. In addition, no NBA Cup games will be p ..read more

Host Danny Leroux, Rob Mahoney of The Ringer and Matt Moore of The Action Network go in-depth on the NBA's Southwest Division. They discuss how the Rockets, Pelicans, Spurs, Mavericks and Grizzlies fared in the off-season, including which teams improved and what moves stood out. The three also predict the season to come, including projected finish, breakout players and rookies they are most excited to see. Subscribe to RealGM Radio on Apple Podcasts or via the RSS feed ..read more

The Houston Rockets have fully guaranteed Jeff Green's salary for the 2024-25 season. Green will be on Houston's books for $8 million for the upcoming season. This upcoming season will be Green's 17th in the NBA. In his first season with the Rockets, Green played in 78 games and averaged 6.5 points in 16.8 minutes per game ..read more

The Houston Rockets have signed center N'Faly Dante to a Two-Way contract. Dante (6-11, 265) was eligible for the 2024 NBA Draft following his graduate season at Oregon. He was named All-Pac-12 First Team in each of his final two seasons and was a Pac-12 All-Defensive Team selection in 2023-24. In his final season with the Ducks, Dante averaged 17.0 points, 9.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.9 blocks and 1.7 steals while shooting 69.5% from the floor ..read more

The Houston Rockets are unlikely to sign either Alperen Sengun or Jalen Green to max rookie extensions, reports Kelly Iko of The Athletic. Both Sengun and Green are eligible for a five-year deal worth up to $224.2 million. The Rockets have had conversations with both camps about an extension and will continue that dialogue throughout the offseason, but the odds of either player signing one is slim. The Rockets are comfortable revisiting long-term contract talks with both players in 2025 as restricted free agents. Sengun had a breakout season in 23-24, averaging 21.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 5 ..read more

The Houston Rockets have agreed to sign Aaron Holiday to a two-year, $10 million deal. Holiday appeared in 79 games for the Rockets and averaged 6.6 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.8 assists in 16.3 minutes last season ..read more

The Utah Jazz are not sure if they will trade Lauri Markkanen this offseason, but they're listening to offers as he's set to enter the final season of his contract barring a contract extension. The Jazz would have to preserve their cap space and wait until August if they were to do a renegotiate-and-extend deal with Markkanen. "One player a number of teams have tried to target [is] Lauri Markkanen of the Utah Jazz," said Adrian Wojnarowski on Sports Center. "Utah is not sure it wants to trade him, but they have to listen. They've been listening. And a lot of the teams who lost out on Mikal Bri ..read more

The Houston Rockets have picked up their $7.6 million team option for Jae'Sean Tate. The Rockets are expected to operate as an over-the-cap team this offseason, and Tate could be a potential trade chip. In 65 games last season, Tate averaged 4.1 points and 3.0 rebounds in 15.9 minutes per game last season. His role was significantly reduced as the Rockets turned to younger players at the forward and wing positions ..read more