Samuel Dalembert: ‘I’m Interested in the Rockets’


Sammy Dalembert recently made a lot of noise about playing in Miami, but then he realized he’d have to take a massive paycut for that to happen. So, now, the free agent big is leaning towards Houston. From Fox Sports: “It remains to be seen just how much of a pay cut a top free agent would take to join the Miami Heat. But at least one admits the Heat’s salary-cap situation could make it difficult. Because they are over the salary cap, the Heat at most will be able to offer a free agent the mid-level exception of $5 million. That might not be enough to entice center Samuel Dalembert. ‘Yeah, that would be tough,” Dalembert said. ‘But you never know. There are trades and things that you could do.’ Dalembert made $13.43 million last season with the Sacramento Kings, which means the mid-level exception would result in a huge pay cut. He was asked if a sign-and-trade might be more realistic option for him to end up with Miami. ‘Maybe something like that,’ said Dalembert, who spoke from his home in Boca Raton, Fla. Dalembert told FOX Sports Florida last week that the three teams he’s targeting are the Heat, New York and Houston. It sounds as if the Rockets, with a gaping hole at center due to the retirement of Yao Ming and plenty of money to spend in free agency, are his preference at this point. ‘Houston, that one is the best,’ said Dalembert. He later added, ‘I’m interested in the Rockets. They have a good team over there, a running team.’”