According to the Houston Chronicle ex-Nugget Ryan Bowen has agreed to terms with the Houston, continuing what many believe to be a terrific offseason for the Rockets.

Bowen chose the opportunity that sprang open when Bob Sura's back injury required surgery last week, accepting a deal sources said is worth $807,546 for one guaranteed season.

Bowen also expected offers from the Heat and SuperSonics before the start of their training camps next week, with the Nuggets, Kings and Timberwolves also expressing interest.

"I'm very excited about joining the Rockets," Bowen said. "I was just looking at all the possibilities. One of the possibilities was returning to Denver. But this was a good situation for me. I had a very good meeting last week with coach (Jeff) Van Gundy and (general manager) Carroll Dawson. Looking at the situation there, I thought it was a no-brainer. It was what I was looking for."

Desite his recent legal troubles, Denver GM Kiki Vanderweghe still has an interest in re-signing guard Rodney White, providing of course he can keep out of trouble.

"We're going to wait and see how things turn out," Vandeweghe said. "We just want to do what's best for Rodney. Obviously, this is a very hard lesson for him."

Vandeweghe believes the parties could reach an agreement soon, with the Nuggets also expected to sign free-agent guard Greg Buckner.

Denver also maintains an interest in free agent Ryan Bowen, who also has the attention of Miami, Houston and Seattle for his services.

Hall of fame guard, Calvin Murphy will miss next season after broadcasting for the Rockets for 14 seasons.

Accused of sexually abusing five of his daughters more than a decade ago, Mr. Murphy faces serious charges and will need to focus all of his time on the upcoming trial.

"We're waiting to see what the legal process proves," said Tad Brown, the club's senior vice president of sales, marketing and broadcasting. "Everybody is focused on moving ahead with the season, and Calvin is focused on getting ready to go to court. ... We will wait to see what happens at the trial, and that is all we can do."

Yao Ming's future in Houston seems even more certain today, than it did yesterday.

"You know what," Yao said, "in China most players play for the same team for their whole life."

It is likely Yao will maintain that ethic in Houston.  The Rockets will be able to pay Yao more than any other team and with Tracy McGrady on board, they will have the best outside/inside game in the entire league.

"I'd like to stay here," he said. "I like Houston's people. They've been nice to me. I'm lucky I'm not here in the summer."

New Rocket guard Bobby Sura underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a herniated disc in his lower back.

Sura, who signed with Houston in August, injured his back three weeks ago during a workout.

He is expected to return about two weeks after opening night versus the Sacramento Kings.

The Houston Rockets, after picking up the option on Yao Ming, are now looking towards extending the contract of Tracy McGrady.  

McGrady, still only 25, can opt out of his contract after this season, but he has expressed interest in signing a long term extension with Houston.

Yao and McGrady should become the most formidable center/guard duo in the league this year, and many year's thereafter.

After a summer spent reshaping the roster with a series of difficult choices, the Rockets kept one big thing the same with the simplest of decisions.

The Rockets sent notices this week to the NBA and to agents for Yao Ming that they would, as expected, pick up the option on the fourth season of Yao's rookie contract, worth $5,594,907 for the 2005-2006 season, league sources and sources familiar with the move said Tuesday.

The move, barring changes to the collective bargaining agreement, gives the Rockets the exclusive right next summer to negotiate a long-term extension for Yao beginning with the 2006-2007 season and to match any offer he might receive if he instead becomes a free agent after that season.

Negotiations on the new collective bargaining agreement will determine whether the rights set in place in the previous CBA would carry over, although the league is expected to make retaining that part of the system among its priorities.

Yao, 24, the first player taken in the 2002 NBA draft and an All-Star starter in each of his first two NBA seasons, averaged 17.5 points and nine rebounds last season.

The decision to pick up the option on Yao's contract was not much of a decision, but the Rockets face a difficult choice on Bostjan Nachbar, the other member of the 2002 rookie class. The Rockets have not picked up the fourth-year option on Nachbar's deal but have until the end of October to make that move. They likely would want to use training camp and the preseason to get a feel for where Nachbar might fit in their rotation and plans given how little playing time he received in his first two seasons.

Nachbar, 24, played in 45 games last season and averaged 3.1 points and 1.6 rebounds.

The Rockets are working on an extension of Tracy McGrady's deal. McGrady, 25, could opt out of his deal after this season but said he would like a long-term extension.

All 3,000 tickets for the NBA pre-season game in Shanghai were sold out in just 10 hours on September 12, according to Eastday.com.

About 2,500 fans started queuing up at the Shanghai Stadium gate September 10, according to a local report.

The NBA announced its decision to hold two pre-season games in China in February, hoping to cash in on the huge popularity of the Houston Rockets' Chinese player Yao Ming.

The Houston Rockets will play the Sacramento Kings in the first game on October 14 in East China's Shanghai Municipality, and in Beijing on October 17.

The Houston Rockets and Sacramento Kings are readying for their preseason game in Shanghai, China.

The Oct. 14 matchup is the first between two NBA teams in China, 25 years after Wes Unseld and the former Washington Bullets visited Shanghai to play the Chinese national team. The Kings and Rockets will meet for a second game in Beijing on Oct. 17.

The games are the NBA's latest attempts to harness basketball's surging popularity in China, boosted by Shanghai native Yao Ming in the Rockets lineup.

The Houston Rockets consummated the least-kept trade secret in the league today, sending a freshly re-signed free agent guard Mike Wilks, guard Adrian Griffin and guard Eric Piatkowski to the shooting-guard starved Chicago Bulls in exchange for Dikembe Mutombo.

The Rockets have long sought after a competent reserve center first for Hakeem Olajuwon and then for Yao Ming, but the acquisition of the eight-time All-Star and four-time Defensive Player of the Year should shore up Houston's front line.

Mutumbo, 38, has battled injuries and the wrath of coaches in recent years, struggling to average 5.6 points and 6.7 rebounds with the Knicks last season. He made it known to Chicago executives that he preferred to finish his career with a title contender after being dealt to the Bulls in a multiplayer deal involving Jamal Crawford.

Mutombo joins a long list of Rockets with New York ties. Head Coach Jeff Van Gundy, Assistant Head Coach Tom Thibodeau, Assistant Coach Steve Clifford, Assistant Coach/Advance Scout Andy Greer, Assistant Coach Patrick Ewing, unsigned free agent guard Mark Jackson, guard Charlie Ward and forward Clarence Weatherspoon all are former Knicks. Longtime Knick forward Charles Oakley also spent time with the Rockets this past season on a series of ten-day contracts.