The Houston Rockets brought Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, franchise player James Harden and owner Leslie Alexander to their 12:01 a.m. ET meeting with guard Kent Bazemore to start free agency, as first reported by NBA.com's David Aldridge. It appears they mean business.
"Hearing how they loved the city, hearing how even after their playing career is over, you're still a part of the Rockets and part of the Rockets family, and having Les Alexander there, I thought was huge, especially for a 12:01 meeting," Bazemore's agent, Austin Walton, said, via Fox 26's Mark Berman. "You get the owner out, I thought was extremely impressive, and have him talk about how those relationships have been cultivated, and how they last well beyond your basketball playing careers. I was extremely impressed."
Regardless of whether or not Bazemore signs in Houston, this is the happiest story of free agency so far. It was not that long ago that Bazemore was a fringe player at the bottom of the Golden State Warriors roster. At the 2014 trade deadline, he was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Steve Blake. Now he's being recruited by The Dream and The Glide.
More notes:
- July 1 is Bazemore's 27th birthday.
- No deal was reached at this meeting, according to cleveland.com's Chris Haynes, so Bazemore will continue to talk to teams.
- The Lakers, who declined to make him a restricted free agent two years ago, have reached out to him, via the Los Angeles Daily News' Mark Medina.
- The Nets are "working hard" to recruit Bazemore, according to NBA.com's David Aldridge. He has a great relationship with coach Kenny Atkinson from their time together in Atlanta.
- It might take $19-20 million to sign Bazemore, according to ESPN's Zach Lowe. Lowe reported before free agency began that Memphis and Milwaukee would be among his suitors, too.
