As part of a complex web of transactions, the Houston Rockets officially announced the additions of four players as part of their activities in the opening two days of the NBA’s 2023 free agency.
The Rockets had a league-leading figure of approximately $60 million in financial room beneath the salary cap heading into free agency. However, they created even more room with a series of controversial trades sending out salaries and future second-round draft assets, which may have been made with the signing Milwaukee big man Brook Lopez (who ultimately rejected the Rockets) in mind.
As it turned out, general manager Rafael Stone and the Rockets ended up adding big men Jock Landale and Jeff Green on top of the marquee deals with Fred VanVleet and Dillon Brooks.
None of the deals could be announced until Thursday, which is when the league’s temporary moratorium on transactions for its 2023-24 league year was lifted. Shortly after the moratorium ended, the league began processing signings and trades from all teams, and ultimately the Rockets had their deals approved, as expected.
Scroll on for each official announcement, from the team.
Rockets complete trade with Brooklyn
The Houston Rockets today announced they have acquired guard Patty Mills and a future second-round draft pick from Brooklyn in exchange for a protected second-round pick.
Mills (6-0, 180) has played 14 seasons for Portland, San Antonio and the Nets. In 860 career games with 107 starts, he has averaged 9.0 points, 2.3 assists and 1.7 rebounds in 20.4 minutes per game.
Rockets sign free agent Jock Landale
The Houston Rockets today announced they have signed free agent center Jock Landale.
Landale (6-11, 255) was eligible for the 2018 NBA draft after earning West Coast Conference Player of the Year honors following his senior season at Saint Mary’s. He played in Serbia, Lithuania and his native Australia before making his NBA debut with San Antonio in 2021-22.
Last season, Landale appeared in 69 games with four starts for Phoenix while averaging 6.6 points and 4.2 rebounds in 12.7 minutes per game. He was one of four players in 2022-23 to have averaged at least 6.0 points and 4.0 rebounds while playing fewer than 15 minutes. Of players who appeared in at least 40 games in 2022-23, Landale ranked tied for 13th in offensive rebounds per 36 minutes played (4.4).
Regular season and playoffs combined last season, Landale played 20-plus minutes 16 times. In those games, he averaged 11.9 points and 6.6 rebounds in 23.6 minutes while shooting 61.4% from the floor.
Landale helped Australia win its first Olympic men’s basketball medal with a bronze performance at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. He was the Boomers’ second-leading scorer with 12.8 points per game.
Rockets sign free agent Jeff Green
The Houston Rockets today announced they have signed free agent forward Jeff Green.
Green (6-8, 235) recently finished his 15th NBA season by averaging 17.2 minutes played during Denver’s championship playoff run. In 1,107 career games with 650 starts, he has averaged 12.4 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 28.5 minutes per game.
Over the past three seasons, Green averaged 9.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.4 assists in 24.0 minutes while shooting 50.3% from the floor. In 68 games for Brooklyn in 2020-21, he averaged 1.5 3-pointers made on a career-best 41.2% shooting. Rockets head coach Ime Udoka was an assistant coach with the Nets that season.
This will mark Green’s second stint as a Rocket. He joined the team during the 2019-20 season and helped Houston advance to the conference semifinals as part of the Orlando “bubble” experience.
Green made his NBA debut as a 21-year-old with the Seattle Supersonics in 2007 and has teamed with eight players who won the MVP award at some point during their career: Kevin Durant, Kevin Garnett, James Harden, LeBron James, Nikola Jokić, Shaquille O’Neal, Derrick Rose and Russell Westbrook.
Rockets sign free agent guard Fred VanVleet
The Houston Rockets today announced they have signed free agent guard Fred VanVleet.
VanVleet (6-0, 193) went from being undrafted in 2016, to sixth man for the Toronto Raptors during their championship run in 2018-19, to earning his first All-Star appearance in 2021-22. In 417 career games with 268 starts, he has averaged 14.6 points, 5.3 assists, 3.3 rebounds, 1.35 steals and 2.4 3-pointers made. VanVleet is also a career 86.9% shooter from the foul line, including 88.6% over the past three seasons.
Dating back to 2019-20, VanVleet joins LaMelo Ball as the only players to have averaged at least 19.0 points, 6.0 assists, 4.0 rebounds, and 1.50 steals. Over that four-season span, VanVleet was one of nine players with 200-plus games played to have averaged at least 3.0 made 3-pointers per game.
Last season, VanVleet ranked 12th in the league in assists (7.2 apg) and 10th in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.54). He has a career assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.15. Over the past five seasons, VanVleet was one of seven players with at least 1,500 assists to have an assist-to-turnover ratio of 3.00 or better.
VanVleet has averaged at least 6.0 assists, 1.50 steals, and 3.0 made 3-pointers in each of the past three seasons. Stephen Curry (6 times), James Harden (4 times), and VanVleet’s former teammate Kyle Lowry (once) are the only other players in NBA history to have averaged those numbers in a season.
Rockets acquire Dillon Brooks as part of five-team trade
The Houston Rockets today announced they have acquired guard/forward Dillon Brooks via a sign-and-trade with Memphis which also involved Atlanta, the Los Angeles Clippers, and Oklahoma City. As part of the deal, the Rockets acquired the rights to forward/center Alpha Kaba (Kah-ba) from the Hawks and two future second round picks from Los Angeles.
Brooks (6-7, 225) was the No. 45 overall pick by Houston in the 2017 NBA Draft before his rights were acquired by Memphis. In six seasons with the Grizzlies, Brooks appeared in 345 games with 318 starts while averaging 14.5 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 0.94 steals in 28.7 minutes per game.
Last season, Brooks was voted NBA All-Defensive Second Team. According to NBA.com/stats, of players who averaged at least 30.0 minutes played with 30-plus games played, he ranked tied for fourth in defensive rating (108.5). Brooks ranked sixth in defensive field goal percentage (.446) among players with 30-plus games played who defended an average of at least 12.0 shots per game.
Over the past four seasons, Brooks was one of five players with 150-plus games played to have averaged at least 16.0 points in fewer than 30.0 minutes. He also averaged 1.9 3-pointers made over that span.
Brooks, who was born in Canada, attended the University of Oregon. He was a two-time All-Pac-12 First Team member and was conference player of the year in his final season as a junior in 2016-17.
Kaba (6-10, 242) was the 60th overall pick by Atlanta in the 2017 NBA draft. The French-Guinean player was named MVP of the Turkish league in 2021-22, one season after Rockets center Alperen Sengun received the award. Kaba, who has a 7-foot-5 wingspan, spent last season with Budućnost VOLI in Montenegro.
Houston’s outgoing components from the five-team deal were trading guard Josh Christopher to Memphis; trading forward/center Usman Garuba, guard TyTy Washington Jr. and two future second-round picks to Atlanta; trading forward KJ Martin to the Clippers; and trading guard Patty Mills and three future second-round picks to Oklahoma City.
