Lowry was drafted in 2006. He became a restricted free agent in 2010 after his third- and fourth-year options had previously been picked up by Memphis. The Rockets matched an offer sheet from Cleveland on him. Nothing atypical about any of that. EDIT: I think you're referring to the Rockets declining to sign Lowry to an EXTENSION by the deadline for doing so. It wasn't an option. They surely would have picked up any option on Lowry that was only tied to him being the 24th pick of the draft. The NBATV ticker keeps reporting that the Rockets waived Jabeer and Samhan today but have NOT included Blakely in the report. I'm wondering if the Rockets read my post about Blakely's usefulness as a non-guaranteed contract for salary-matching purposes in trades and therefore decided to hold off on waiving him.
"The Rockets trimmed their training camp roster by waiving guard Ibrahim Jaaber and center Omar Samhan on Monday and will release Marqus Blakely, a forward they signed last season. They hope forward Jeff Adrien, who had been playing in Italy for Benetton Treviso, will receive FIBA clearance to sign with the Rockets by Wednesday." http://www.chron.com/sports/rockets/article/Rockets-inquire-about-Chuck-Hayes-status-2413446.php
If they sign with any D-league team the Rockets could call them up. It's not like the MLB minor leagues.
Yeah, but with the Rockets running all basketball operations for the Vipers, RGV really is like a minor league affiliate (minus the big league team having rights to all the players). If Jabeer and Samhan want to maximize their chances of being called up by the Rockets, they'll sign with the Vipers. That said, I think another NBA team picks up Blakely and that Jabeer (and maybe Samhan) go back to Europe, although the delayed NBA training camp may mean that Euro jobs are now limited.
