The Rockets’ offer comes after hopes to land Marc’s older brother, Pau Gasol, were ended when commissioner David Stern nixed a blockbuster three-team deal that also included all-star guard Chris Paul and Lakers forward Lamar Odom.

Los Angeles instead sent Odom to Dallas for a 2012 first-round pick.

Following news of the Rockets’ offer, Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley has made it clear he doesn’t plan on losing Gasol, who averaged 11.7 points and seven rebounds per game last season. Heisley told NBA.com he fully intends on matching any offer thrown at the 26-year-old restricted free agent.

“We’re keeping Marc. We can’t afford to let him go. Marc and his agent have to decide what they want to do. But we would definitely match that if that came up to us.”

Heisley  added: ” I’m committed to winning a championship.”

A maximum contract for Gasol starts at $12.9 million for the Griz or any team. However, Memphis can give Marc Gasol 7.5percent raises and five years while other teams can only offer 4.5percent raises over a maximum of four years.

via Sports Illustrated

Marc Gasol Gets 4-Year, $55 Million Offer from Rockets is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Houston Rockets extended a contract for the services of Memphis Grizzlies Center Marc Gasol.  The $55 Million Dollar 4 year deal is the most the Rockets can offer Gasol, as he is a restricted free agent.  Being a restricted free agent means that the Grizzlies have the option to match any offer received by Gasol and he has to stay if they do.  Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley told NBA.com on Sunday that his team would match the offer.

The Houston Rockets originally had arranged for a multi-team trade for Gasol’s older brother Pau but the move had been vetoed by the NBA. No stranger to trade talk involving the Gasol Family, the Los Angeles Lakers had previosuly traded their rights to Marc Gasol in order to secure the trade for the older Pau Gasol.  This is the first time in NBA history that one brother was traded for another.

Marc Gasol stands at 7’1 and has had an amazing run in his two seasons in the NBA.  He broke the Memphis Grizzlies franchise rookie record of the highest field goal percentage at the end of the season by shooting 53%. The previous record was held by his older brother Pau, who shot 51.8% from the field his rookie season.He will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.

Do you agree with the decision to tender Marc Gasol a contract by the Houston Rockets?

Houston Rockets Make Offer To Marc Gasol is a post from: The Inquisitr

Yao, the 30-year-old, eight-time NBA All-Star, played in only five games since the 2008-09 season due to an assortment of injuries, the latest being a stress fracture in left foot for which he underwent surgery earlier this January.

Ming first rose to prominence playing for the Shanghai Sharks as a teenager before starring on the Chinese national team. After negotiating with the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) for a contract release, the Rockets made him the No. 1 overall selection in the 2002 NBA draft.

Over the course of his injury-plagued NBA career, Yao averaged 19 points, 9 boards, and nearly two blocked shots per contest – numbers that landed him on the All-NBA team five times.

Despite his phenomenal God-given abilities, it was injuries that kept Yao from ever reaching his full potential – and simultaneously prevented the Rockets from reaching the ultimate prize – an NBA Championship.

“If he was never injured, he would have been one of the greatest centers ever,” said Rafer Alston, a point guard for the Rockets from 2005-09. “You can’t guard him. You had to foul him. He’s 7-6, so he has a height advantage. He had the jump hook over the shoulder. If he was healthy we would have gone far.”

Shaquille O’Neal said it best a recent online video post congratulating Yao:

“We’re going to miss you, bro.”

Yao Ming Set to Retire From the NBA is a post from: The Inquisitr

How now, without Yao? That is the question for the Houston Rockets and their fans. Of course it is not like Yao Ming has been all that healthy since he came to Houston in the 2002 NBA draft. While he missed just two games in his first three seasons, Yao has been anything but healthy since then. Now, after having undergone bone graft surgery to repair his foot it now appears that Yao will be gone until training camp of next season. That means the Rockets are minus the player that their franchise has been built upon. They also lost Ron Artest in the off season, and the future looks very dark indeed.

Of course the news was even worse, when the team found out about Ming’s surgery they already knew that Tracy McGrady recovering from micro knee surgery would miss at least the opening part of the 2009-10 season. In fact there is no guarantee that he can recover from this kind of surgery and play the same game he played before hand.

The plan at the moment is to retrench the team without Ming at its center. They will look to implement Coach Rick Adelamn’s wide open offense that leads to easy buckets off fast breaks, and creates open shots in the passing game. Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola will be the lead men on the floor. To help replace Ming the Rockets signed Australian Center David Andersen, while he is clearly not Yao he can run, and the Rockets are looking to be a much faster team.

This team is also looking for veterans Trevor Ariza and Kyle Lowry can step up their games as they continue to develop youngsters Brooks and Carl Landry. It is a long step from being among the contenders in the west, to what looks to be a very long NBA campaign for the Rockets and their fans.

2009-10 NBA preview: Houston Rockets is a post from: The Inquisitr

As the Inquisitr speculated yesterday, the LA Lakers have let Trevor Ariza go and signed Ron Artest from the Houston Rockets to replace him as their small forward. It’s good to get one right!Ariza rejected the Lakers’ basement price bid for his services in the 2010 NBA season, which allowed the Rockets and Lakers to swap players as Houston had not been pursuing Artest for a new contract, according to the Houston Chronicle.

While Ariza will be getting a pay rise at Houston, Artest is reported to be cutting his wages in attempt to chase a title ring to below that of Ariza. Ariza’s new Rockets team mate Yao Ming won’t be back until half way through the 2010 season after surgery on a stress fracture in his left foot.

Time will tell whether the trio of Kobe Bryany, Pau Gasol and Artest will look as formidable as the Celtics tirumvirate of Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen did during 2006. It certainly seems that all the big-name talent is congregating in a few NBA teams.

Confirmed: Artest in, Ariza out for LA Lakers is a post from: The Inquisitr

The Los Angeles Lakers have continued their rivalry with the Cleveland Cavaliers off the court in the NBA off-season, with 2009 ring-winner Trevor Ariza on the way out of LA, maybe to Cleveland, and Ron Artest possibly the subject of a tug-of-war between the two franchises as he leaves the Houston Rockets.

Ariza, who averaged 11.3 points and 4.2 rebounds and shot 50% from three-point range in the 2009 NBA playoffs, is reported to be unhappy with the base-level deal the Lakers are offering him as a free agent. While the Portland Trailblazers and Toronto Raptors are the only two NBA teams who are in a position to offer him more, Ariza is reported to be so annoyed with the Lakers that he would be willing to switch teams for the same money, with Cleveland itself one team that has showed interest in him.

Meanwhile, the Rockets’ Artest was reported to have met with Cavaliers star LeBron James at the BET Awards recently, fueling the Cavs’ interest in Artest to shore up their defensive weaknesses that saw them bundled out before reaching the 2009 finals against the Lakers. Houston TV is reporting that Houston is only offering Artest a one-year deal and Artest’s agent has confirmed that his player would talk with James or LA’s Kobe Bryant if approached.

Could we see a new trio of stars at either the Cavs or Lakers, like the Boston Celtics had in 2008 for their championship?

Trevor Ariza out, Ron Artest in for LA Lakers? is a post from: The Inquisitr

Carl Landry Shot

Carl Landry, 25, was shot while driving near downtown Houston, local media reports indicate. Investigators believe another car bumped into his vehicle, possibly in an attempt to rob him. Detectives say when Landry got out of his vehicle to look at the damage, someone in the other car opened fire while driving by.

Landry suffered only a flesh wound. He’s expected to be off the court for a couple of weeks.

“We are very thankful and relieved that Carl’s injuries were relatively minor and that he is doing well,” a statement by Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey says. “Carl was the victim of an apparent random act of violence early this morning after the team arrived from New Orleans. We are in the process of working with authorities to gather more information. Carl was treated and released at Memorial Hermann-Texas Medical Center for a surface wound in his left calf and a dislocated finger on his left hand. X-rays were negative. We expect him to make a full recovery and return in 1-3 weeks.”

Landry and his teammates had landed at a Houston-area airport just after midnight that morning. The team had just returned from its game in New Orleans.

So far, no arrests have been made.

Houston Rockets’ Carl Landry Shot is a post from: The Inquisitr