Samuel Dalmbert finally signed officially with the Rockest on Monday, just hours before their Opening Night debut.

Dalembert played 20 minutes, finishing the game with 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

“I didn’t expect to (play so early in the game), but one of those fouls they called on Jordan was a little suspect,” Dalembert said. “As they say, you have to be ready. The first couple minutes were a little weird. They kept the plays a little simple and I was able to grasp some of it and we were able to do some stuff and improvise when the plays broke down. After the first few minutes, it kind of catches your breath. But after a while I got a little comfortable.”

The Knicks have claimed Jeremy Lin off waivers.

Lin was waived by the Rockets to make room to sign Samuel Dalembert.

Golden State waived Lin earlier in the offseason in order to sign DeAndre Jordan to an offer sheet.

Courtney Lee points to Orlando's decision to break up the team that went to the 2009 NBA Finals as the starting point in Dwight Howard's discontent that has led to a trade request.

Lee returned to Orlando as a member of the Rockets on Monday. After the Finals, Lee was traded to the Nets in a deal for Vince Carter.

“I’m not surprised (Dwight requested a trade),” said Lee. ”When they broke up the team in 2009, you could just see the frustration in Dwight’s face. We talked about it a couple of times and you could tell he was upset about it.

”Most franchise players are involved in the decision-making,” Lee added, “and Dwight’s  feeling like he’s not involved.  If you’re going to build around a player, you should communicate with that player and see who he’d like around him.”

The Lakers defeated the Magic in five games, but Lee missed a layup in Game 2 that would evened the series at one.

“It’s not like we got slaughtered in the Finals,” Lee said. “You’d have thought a team that went to the Finals would have stayed together. We got that far in 2009 and the next season we would have had another year’s worth of experience and playing together.”

The Rockets have reached terms on a new contract with free-agent center Samuel Dalembert, according to sources close to the situation.

Dalembert has agreed to a two-year deal worth $13.7 million -- $7 million this season and $6.7 million in 2012-13.

But the Rockets have a team option for the second season that would allow them to buy out of the contract for a fee of $1.5 million.

The Rockets on Monday made inquiries about the prognosis of Chuck Hayes to determine if his medical condition might allow him to be a free-agent option again, a person with knowledge of the talks said.

The Kings voided Hayes' $21.3 million, four-year contract on Monday, days after Hayes failed a team physical.

The team had announced last week that an abnormality was found during a heart examination.

Acting as the top executive of the Hornets, NBA Commissioner David Stern would not allow Hornets general manager Dell Demps to complete the deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers and Pau Gasol to the Rockets with Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Goran Dragic going to New Orleans.

Stern said in a media conference call last week that he was only "generally informed about the discussions with teams." He emphasized that Demps never thought the deal to be complete and that his decision as final say on the move was not unlike the customary role of owners during trade negotiations.

But according to two individuals with knowledge of the talks, Demps had assured Rockets general manager Daryl Morey and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak throughout the day that Stern and other NBA officials had been given all the details of the deal and had signed off on it.

"He said that David was briefed and that it was a done deal," one of the individuals with knowledge of the talks said. "He (Demps) said multiple times that he briefed both of his local officials, (Hornets president) Hugh Webber and (Hornets chairman) Jac Sperling, and they and Dell at regular intervals were updating (NBA vice presidents) Stu Jackson and Joel Litvin and that they told David himself throughout the day. Also, Hugh and Jac, who were updating the league office, understood it to be a deal."

The Rockets signed rookie Chandler Parsons to a four-year, $3.7 million contract on Saturday, agent Mark Bartelstein said on Saturday.

The Rockets guaranteed the first two years of the deal with conditional guarantees the next two seasons.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey refused to answer questions Thursday about the three-team deal rejected by the NBA a week ago, citing legal reasons.

“On the advice of counsel, I can’t talk about it,” he said.

He also would not comment when asked why he had spoken to an attorney, nor would he reveal if the team was considering legal action against the league.

“I understand the focus,” Morey said, “but I just can’t comment right now.”

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey acknowledged Thursday he is in negotiations with free agent center Samuel Dalembert.

The Rockets have been working the free agent market to add an impact big man to their roster.
Dalembert is 6-11 and 250 pounds.

"We have interest in Sam," Morey said in an interview with FOX 26 Sports. "If it makes sense for him and us, we would love to have him.

"It's in negotiations. Between the two of us looking for a fit. He's got a lot of options and we'll see if it makes sense here."

When the Hornets, Lakers and Rockets returned to the negotiating table after an initial Chris Paul trade was rejected, the NBA demanded that Kyle Lowry and Patrick Patterson be included in Houston's offer.

At that point, they would finally be given Pau Gasol.

Lowry, Patterson, Kevin Martin, Luis Scola and Goran Dragic, the NBA's asking price to route Gasol to the Rockets, would have represented five of their top six players.