The Houston Rockets have agreed upon a three-year, $10.9 million deal with Nene.

Nene had an excellent with the Rockets after signing a one-year, $2.9 million deal in 2016.

The deal was initially reported as a four-year deal but Nene is not eligible for that due to the over-38 rule.

The Houston Rockets approached the New York Knicks about a trade of Ryan Anderson for Carmelo Anthony.

Anthony has a no-trade clause but the presence of Chris Paul with the Rockets could compel him to waive it for that opportunity.

Teams were recently seeking two first round picks from the Rockets in exchange for Anderson, who is on one of the NBA's least attractive contracts.

Anthony has interest in a buyout from the Knicks though they have shown no interest in entertaining discussions.

The Houston Rockets would like to sign Zhou Qi to a long-term deal by using a portion of the mid-level exception, according to a source.

The Rockets, however, would be willing to spend the exception on the right free agent and instead sign Zhou to a shorter deal.

The Rockets drafted Zhou in the second round of the 2016 draft.

Zhou averaged 16.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and 2.3 blocks per game last season in China.

The Dallas Mavericks have traded forward Jarrod Uthoff to the Houston Rockets in exchange for cash considerations. 

Uthoff is non-guaranteed for 17-18 at $1.3 million. 

Uthoff (6-10, 220) appeared in nine games for Dallas as a rookie last season, averaging 4.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 1.0 assist in 12.8 minutes per game.

Uthoff signed a pair of 10-day contracts with the Mavericks on March 9 and 19, and then a multi-year deal with the club on March 29.

Paul Millsap is unlikely to return to the Atlanta Hawks this offseason as they pivot towards a rebuild with Travis Schlenk as general manager. Schlenk has suggested multiple times in the media that they may not be able to offer a contract to Millsap that beats a rival team.

The Hawks and Millsap have mutual interest in a sign-and-trade scenario.

"I know sign-and-trade discussions have already happened involving Millsap and the Hawks," said Brian Windhorst on The Basketball Analogy podcast.

The Houston Rockets have interest in signing Millsap and a sign-and-trade deal would help facilitate a move since they are short on cap space at present. The Rockets have been searching for a Ryan Anderson trade, but teams are requesting two first round picks to take on his salary.

Millsap could still sign outright with a team such as the Phoenix Suns, Denver Nuggets or Minnesota Timberwolves.

John Gambadoro of 98.7 in Phoenix reports Millsap will meet with the Suns at the start of free agency.

Chris Paul deciding to join the Houston Rockets two days before the start of free agency via an opt-in and trade deal with the Los Angeles Clippers led the Los Angeles Times to pose the tampering question to a number of NBA executives.

“I don’t want to use the ‘T’ word — tampering — but we all don’t play by the rules when it comes to making deals,” one Eastern Conference executive said. “Besides, nobody is going to rat anybody out. That’s how this league works.”

James Harden was recruiting Paul for several weeks and there have been no reports of any contact between Paul and any members of the Houston front office. An executive from another team said Harden had already told a fellow NBA player that Paul joining the Rockets was a done deal.

“Every team is looking for an advantage,” one executive said. “The deal got done way too fast for somebody not to be talking already. That happened real quick. But hey, that’s how it goes in this league.”

The Clippers have not complained to the league about a possible tampering violation on Paul, according to an NBA official.

“Everybody uses agents to do their dirty work or they have a star player talk to another player on another team,” one team executive said. “Then it doesn’t affect the [general manager].”

Chris Paul had serious interest in signing with the San Antonio Spurs, according to a source.

Paul felt the uncertainty with LaMarcus Aldridge's situation made the Spurs a less attractive option. The presence of Tony Parker, who is rehabbing a quad injury, also would have made it awkward for Paul.

Paul instead orchestrated an opt-in and trade to go to the Houston Rockets.

After the Los Angeles Clippers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs, a source told The Undefeated that a key to his return was playing for a winning team. Paul was open to re-signing with the Clippers, but was concerned they were more likely to regress than progress as a team.

“Chris believes that Houston gives him the best chance to win now,” a source close to Paul said.

The opportunity for Chris Paul to play with Trevor Ariza factored at least somewhat into his decision to join the Houston Rockets.

Paul and Ariza were teammates with New Orleans earlier their career.

The Los Angeles Clippers attempted to trade for Ariza in the past.

Ariza can play as a small ball 4 when the Rockets play Paul with James Harden and Eric Gordon.

The Houston Rockets would have had to trade Ryan Anderson if they would have signed Chris Paul outright in free agency instead of trading for him.

The market for Anderson, who has three years and $60 million remaining on his deal was incredibly soft.

At least two teams were demanding two first round picks from the Rockets in exchange for taking on Anderson and his contract.

While Anderson has been injury prone, he's a productive floor spacer at the power forward position.

The Houston Rockets have acquired Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers in exchange for guard Patrick Beverley, forward Sam Dekker, forward Montrezl Harrell, guard Darrun Hilliard, guard DeAndre Liggins, guard Lou Williams, forward Kyle Wiltjer, a future first round pick, and cash considerations.

“Since winning back-to-back championships, the pursuit of a third title has remained the ultimate goal for our franchise,” said Rockets owner Leslie Alexander.  “We feel that combining two of the league’s greatest players in James Harden and Chris Paul, operating in Coach D’Antoni’s system, gives us a championship caliber team that will compete at the highest level for years to come.”

“On behalf of the Rockets organization and our fans I’d also like to thank Sam, Montrezl, Kyle, and Lou for helping make this past season a special one.  I’d also like to personally express my deepest gratitude to Pat Beverley, who, for the past five seasons, always left everything he had out on the court.”