Rockets hope to continue Vipers affiliation

McALLEN - For the first time, Rio Grande Valley basketball fans viewing today's start to the NBA playoffs can watch someone who played on a local court as they participate in the race for the Larry O'Brien trophy awarded to the NBA champion.

Houston Rockets forward Steve Novak and point guard Aaron Brooks played for the NBA Development League's expansion Rio Grande Valley Vipers this season as part of an affiliate agreement with the NBA franchise. While the NBA ultimately decides the D-League's affiliates for each team, the Rockets and Vipers hope 2007-08 was the beginning of a long-term relationship.

"It was great," Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey said. "We would actually like to have our players there more, but they, frankly, surprised us and contributed to the NBA team a lot more than we might have expected the first year.

"Novak and Brooks, it really helped them to go down and get some playing time with the Vipers."

Novak, a second-year forward out of Marquette, averaged 18.2 points and 7.2 rebounds in nine games with the Vipers, helping them get off to a 7-3 start before being recalled by the Rockets on Dec. 26.

Brooks, meanwhile, played in two games for RGV and averaged 23.0 points, 5.5 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game. The Oregon product was Houston's No. 1 selection in the 2007 NBA draft.

A third Rockets player, forward Carl Landry, was almost assigned to the Vipers early in the season before having a big game with the Rockets and finding more time in the NBA team's playing rotation. The Vipers also had an affiliation agreement this season with the New Orleans Hornets and Cleveland Cavaliers.

New Orleans did not assign any players to the Vipers, while Cleveland sent center Cedric Simmons and guard Shannon Brown to RGV for brief stints. After returning to the Cavaliers, those players were later traded to the Chicago Bulls.

"For any player, I'm of the opinion that it's more beneficial to play even if it's not at the NBA level to get some playing time to keep your skills and your timing sharp and keep your conditioning," Rockets Vice President of Player Personnel Dean Cooper said. "It's hard in this league because once the season starts there just aren't a lot of practices."

A Vipers contingent that included co-owner Yvette Ramos met with Rockets brass Wednesday in Houston to discuss the teams' affiliation agreement. Ramos said the meeting went well, and Morey believes the affiliation will continue.

"There's no contract; that's decided by the NBA," Morey said. "We've enjoyed our relationship with the Vipers. Unless there's a change in how the NBA does its affiliates, we expect to be working with them.

"For sure, if we've got a rookie or second-year player that's not getting minutes on the NBA club because he's behind veteran guys, we're going to use the Vipers."

Todd Mavreles covers the Rio Grande Valley Vipers for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4451. For this and more local stories, visit www.themonitor.com.