BREAKING: The Rockets have announced that longtime owner Leslie Alexander is putting the Houston Rockets up for sale.

Team CEO Tad Brown said Alexander would like to have more time for other pursuits.

“It can wear on you after decades. He’s tired,” says Brown of Alexander.

Brown will be “running the point” on finding a buyer, but it’s a big shock since Alexander has owned the team since 1993. He just extended the contracts of general manager Daryl Morey, superstar James Harden and added Chris Paul. The plan is to try to add Carmelo Anthony as well.

“It’s been my great joy and honor to own the Houston Rockets for the past 24 years,” said Alexander. “I’ve had the incredible opportunity to witness true greatness through the players and coaches who have won championships for the city, been named to All-Star and All-NBA teams, enshrined in the Basketball Hall of Fame, and done so much for our franchise and our fans.”

“The Houston community has been home to me; I will continue to support the charities I have made commitments to throughout the years. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for the fans, partners, city officials and employees who care so deeply for this team. I’ve made this decision after much deliberation with my family and friends, and do so knowing the franchise is in great shape with the players, coaches and management team in place.”

Certainly from a franchise value standpoint, the Rockets’ value has soared over the last decade. Alexander bought the team for $85 million in 1993. Forbes recently ranked the Rockets as the 8th most valued franchise in the NBA, estimating its worth at $1.65 billion. Given that there are only 30 of these, the team will likely sell for more than that. Alexander may see this as a good time to maximize the value of his investment.

Alexander has been a terrific owner, largely unappreciated. He has always thought big, chasing superstars every season. While making sure he’s involved, he largely stays behind the scenes and lets his basketball people go to work. You never saw his ego get involved in battles with Mark Cuban or others.

To expect that in a new owner, one who will pay likely over $2,000,000,000, is probably expecting too much. Changes are coming.

The Rockets have made it official, signing James Harden to a four-year extension that will keep him in a Houston Rockets uniform until 2023.

“Houston is home for me,” said Harden in the Rockets official press release.

With the extension, the largest ever in the NBA, the Rockets will pay Harden $228 million over the next six seasons. He is due over $59 million for the next two, with the four new seasons worth roughly $169 million. He will be paid just under $47 million for the 2022-23 season.

Signing the extension does not impact the Rockets’ cap situation for this season or next.

“Since he arrived in Houston, James has exhibited the incredible work ethic, desire to win, and passion to be the best that has made him one of the most unique and talented superstars in the history of the game,” said Rockets owner Les Alexander.

That’s a lot of bank for a guard who will be 34 years old at the end of the extension, but Harden is an MVP-caliber talent and the impact to the organization is not just felt on the floor.

Harden impact goes beyond MVP play. Before Harden, Rockets couldn't get interest from Dwight or CP3. With Harden, both pushed to come here.

— ClutchFans (@clutchfans) July 8, 2017

Cooler heads prevailed.

Nene will return to the Houston Rockets after agreeing to terms on a three-year, $11 million deal.

It was touch and go for a few days after both Nene and the Rockets learned that the four-year, $15 million deal they had originally agreed to was not legal under the new CBA. Both parties had misinterpreted the deadline of the new over-38 clause. It was reported that Nene was back to “square zero” and was looking at other teams and options.

The concern was that the Rockets would have to dip into the mid-level exception if they were going to sign Nene, but that wasn’t the case as Nene agreed to the non-Bird three-year deal, letting the extra four million bucks go.

Nene was a key contributor last season for the Rockets as he worked extremely well with James Harden on pick-and-rolls and in post-up situations. He was a monster in the playoffs, averaging 13.6 points on an absurd 84.8% shooting (!) in the first round against the Oklahoma City Thunder, providing a great counter to the physicality of Steven Adams and Taj Gibson. Unfortunately, he suffered a left groin tear in Game 4 against the Spurs and was lost for the remainder of the season.

Houston’s roster right now is starting to take shape with James Harden, Chris Paul and Eric Gordon in the backcourt (I mean… “WOW!”), Trevor Ariza and PJ Tucker covering the wings and smallball four spots and Clint Capela and Nene manning the five.

The next question will be what happens with the traditional four and Ryan Anderson.

The Rockets are looking for defensive depth and they got some Saturday night, signing former University of Texas Longhorn PJ Tucker.

Tucker signed a four-year deal worth $32 million, according to Yahoo! Sports. The years and dollar amount are nearly identical to the 2014 contract the Rockets signed with Trevor Ariza, but the Rockets will be using their mid-level exception this time around.

Tucker is a 6-foot-5, 225 pound guard-forward who brings toughness and attitude. Built like a Mario Elie, Tucker is known for his defense with the Phoenix Suns and most recently the Toronto Raptors.

With the loss of Patrick Beverley, the Rockets certainly were in need of a bulldog and the 32-year old Tucker is definitely that.

“I love his emotion, I love his grit, love his fire, I love his passion, everything about him,” said his now-former coach Dwane Casey last season. “There’s nothing about P.J. Tucker that I don’t like.”

Tucker is roughly an average three-point shooter, hitting over 35.1% from long range for his career, but he did hit 24-60 (40%) in his 24 games with the Raptors last season. He will certainly get open looks with the Rockets.

But it’s defense that Tucker will really bring.

“For me, being able to take someone out of their game and be able to stop a main player on another team is bigger than scoring any amount of points or anything else,” said Tucker last season. “It’s part of the game that’s not glorified and people don’t always want to do but it wins games.”

If you look at the West, teams are trying to roster at least two strong wing defenders to play the Warriors. The Spurs have Kawhi Leonard and Danny Green. The Thunder now have Paul George and likely bring back Andre Roberson. The Wolves will roll out Jimmy Butler and Andrew Wiggins. The Rockets hope Ariza and Tucker can be their fire extinguishers.

Here is a highlight video from a couple of seasons ago, showing the kind of defense Tucker plays.

News of the Chris Paul trade had barely broken before reports started coming out about how others wanted to join the party in Houston.

ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith reported on Wednesday that Knicks star Carmelo Anthony will sign with the Rockets if he gets a buyout from the Knicks. Anthony and Chris Paul are close friends.

“If Melo pulls off getting waived by the New York Knicks, getting bought out of his contract, he will go to Houston in all likelihood, joining Chris Paul and James Harden in Houston. That’s what I’ve been hearing over the last hour,” said Smith.

You can watch the full video below:

Now we see why the Rockets were so confident they were getting Chris Paul.

The Rockets have made a major trade, sending Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Kyle Wiltjer, DeAndre Liggins, Darrun Hilliard and their 2018 first round pick to the Los Angeles Clippers for superstar point guard Chris Paul, as first reported by Yahoo! Sports. Liggins and Hilliard were acquired today from the Dallas Mavericks and Detroit Pistons respectively for cash to help facilitate the deal. The first round pick is top-3 protected.

Paul had informed the Clippers he was going to sign with the Rockets, which made Los Angeles open to the deal.

Wow. So much to digest. If you listened to our podcast Monday morning, I said I felt this was going to happen because the Rockets were operating as if they already had Paul, but it’s another thing entirely to see it actually occur. It’s a high price to pay for a player who said he was willing to sign here, but the Rockets would have had to unload Ryan Anderson and likely Lou Williams to clear enough space to sign Paul outright.

I hate losing Patrick Beverley, who is one of my favorite players ever, but it’s hard to pass on Chris Paul, who is a legit superstar and, like Beverley, also a First Team All-Defensive player.

The Rockets are trying something unique here — two ball-dominant point guards who want to play with each other. Harden led the league in assists per game last year (11.2) while Paul was fourth (9.2). If Paul and James Harden are both willing to sacrifice their numbers to make it work, and it seems they’re willing to do that, then this could be something that works. I have to think last year’s ballhandling collapse at the end of Game 5 (that clearly carried over to Game 6) likely doesn’t occur if the team has Chris Paul.

But there are plenty of pros: The Rockets will have a superstar playmaker on the floor at all times. They will be able to penetrate and make something happen from both sides of the floor. D’Antoni, an offensive genius, has two of the best offensive creators in the game. Both Paul and Harden are good shooters that could (potentially) play off of each other. Paul hit over 41% from three-point range last season.

And filling out the roster? What role player or shooter out there wouldn’t want to play in a system run by D’Antoni that features two of the most unselfish superstars in the game?

The question really is just about egos — they need to win to make this work.