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Rockets Still Struggling: The Houston Rockets are not where they want to be, and if you have been watching them lately they have been underwhelming to say the least.

The first reaction is to say the team needs to make some roster changes, and while that may be true, Rockets’ General Manager Darryl Morey isn’t looking to make changes for change sake.

"You’re always learning about the team and the players, both good and bad," Morey said to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.. "Obviously, right now, we’re not playing as well as we’d like. I think (seeing) how guys respond to slumps, how guys respond to tough games and how they respond to being in tough situations, I do think you learn. You’re learning all the time. I think everything matters."

"Every move we make is very long-term (oriented)," Morey said. "The most we might focus is medium term, but we still keep the long term in mind. You have to (ignore the record). Our goal is to win a championship. It’s not to be 7-7 versus 4-10."

"We have to maintain our championship hopes. Obviously, some of that is maintaining a winning approach. Maybe that’s where (seeking immediate improvement) creeps in. But I think everything we do move-wise is focused on how do we get closer to being a championship roster."

Morey admits that injuries are playing a part in the Rockets struggles as of late and with both Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks out of the lineup the team is asking a lot more of their players.

"Some of our players are set up to play with guys, to play with Yao and Aaron, obviously," Morey said. "That’s part of why they are on the team. That said, we’ve always been a team that had players injured. We’ll take bets on players with more talent, even with an injury history. And so how guys respond when players are injured I think matters as well. We factor everything in."

"In terms of how we’re evaluating personnel, obviously we’re not a championship roster now," Morey said. "We’re always asking, ‘Will he fit on a championship roster?’ That’s what we’re looking at constantly."

The Rockets are set up nicely to be a trade player at the trade deadline. They are virtually two deep at every position and have a number of very movable assets. The Rockets continue to say they won’t make a move just to make a move… but it is clear the Rockets need to make a change, the question is who is going out and who is coming back? That’s the unknown at this point.

More On Cousins: Kings’ big man DeMarcus Cousins is his own worst enemy. Basketball people want to like him, mainly because he is so talented and gifted, but given the opportunity to handle things the right way or the wrong way, Cousins opts for the wrong way almost every time.

Earlier this week Cousins was asked to leave Kings’ practice, as a disciplinary move. A move Cousins says he understands and accepts as part of his learning curve in the NBA.

"It was a good lesson for me," Cousins said to Ailene Voisin of The Sacramento Bee. "I’m mad and I’m frustrated about losing, and in my opinion, I think different strategies should be in the game.

"But I was being selfish. I’m a big part of this team, and coach (Paul) Westphal has been saying it. I’ve been terrible. It’s the truth."

Listening to Kings’ insiders and coaches, you’d think they have a troublesome toddler in their locker room in how they describe Cousins.

"Certainly it’s not anything you can hide," Kings’ head coach Paul Westphal said of Cousins. "He’s got some issues and we’re doing everything we can to help him overcome them. I’m very glad we have him and we’re going to hopefully have a long, productive time together. I’m excited for those days ahead. We’ll look back on this someday and say, ‘Man, those were rough days, weren’t they? You were a handful, you knucklehead!’ "

Cousins currently leads the league in fouls per game at 4.3 per contest. He is third in the league in total fouls amassed with 68 personal fouls in 16 games. He also holds the distinction of having the most fouls with the least amount of minutes played.

The Kings continue to say they are committed to riding out Cousins’ immaturity issues, but it’s becoming increasingly clear that the Kings are not counting on Cousins this season and that if he can’t get a handle on his emotions, he may see more bench time than playing time.

That is sure to help the situation… right?

Felton Finding His Groove: Just when you thought the Knicks were going to fall apart, they continue to rally winning seven of their last 10 games including a 111-100 drubbing of crosstown rivals the New Jersey Nets.

Before you get too excited about the Knicks return to life above .500, keep in mind the teams they have beaten over this stretch are hardly the elite teams in the league – Sacramento, Golden State, Los Angeles Clippers, Charlotte twice, Detroit and New Jersey. Of those six teams they have amassed a total of 33 wins in 72 games.

So while the talent level of the teams they have faced is lower, that hasn’t stopped Knicks guard Raymond Felton and Knicks forward Amar’e Stoudemire from developing a nice two-man game on the pick roll.

"Me and Amar’e are just getting more comfortable with each other, just taking the flow of the offense," Felton said to Chris Sheridan of ESPNNewYork.com.

Knicks’ coach Mike D’Antoni is on the hot seat for sure this season. If the Knicks don’t make the playoffs this year he is likely out this summer and while there is some urgency to getting the Knicks on track, D’Antoni knows that Felton will play a big role in that.

"I think he’s getting comfortable with what we’re doing, we’re getting better spacing. With Amar’e, there’s a timing between the two that they kind of have to develop, and you never know if they will or they have," D’Antoni said. "But I think they keep getting better, and with Raymond we can show him on film what he’s missing and what’s out there, and then he picks it up and puts it in his game."

If the playoffs started today the Knicks would hold down the seventh seed in the East; however the schedule gets a bit harder for the Knicks over the next 10 games. The Knicks head to New Orleans on Friday and have Denver, Boston, Miami, Cleveland and Oklahoma City over the next 18 days.

If the Knicks can come out of this next stretch of games 7-3, that will be the measure of whether the Knicks are legit, or just beating up on lesser squads.

The NBA Back To Seattle? Former NBA coaching great Lenny Wilkens has been spending his time advising intentional teams and working with the South Korean National team. While Wilkens is enjoying retirement from NBA coaching, he has a bigger dream in mind and that is to return the NBA to Seattle.

{AUTHOR_BOX}"I’ve been talking to some people that I know," Wilkens said to Chris Tommason of Fanhouse.

"We’ve got to get a building first," Wilkens said admitting Key Arena won’t attract a team. "Nobody is going to come if we don’t have a building."

Seattle lost the Sonics to Oklahoma City in 2008, when the city and state were unable to reach a deal to build a new building for the team.

It’s commonly believed that current Thunder owner Clay Bennett and his partners bought the team intending on moving it to Oklahoma City, however that theory overlooks the millions Bennett and his partners spent trying to land an arena in Seattle.

At the time sources close to the situation explained that while Bennett’s group always viewed Oklahoma City has a safe fall back, if they were to have landed the state-of-the-art arena they were seeking they would have made substantially more money in Seattle in a new building than they would have in Oklahoma City.

Wilkens and his group are banking on the robust basketball fan base in Seattle in his efforts to land a new team in Seattle, but just like Bennett’s quest in 2008, until Wilkens lands a commitment for a world class building, Seattle will be the best basketball market without a team.

But it is good to hear that someone is still trying to make Seattle a basketball town again.

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NBA Chats: There will be three NBA Chats today starting with my weekly NBA Rumors Chat at 11am EST. I’ll do my best to get to as many of your questions as possible. Salary Cap Guru Larry Coon will host his next Salary Cap Chat at 3pm EST. Larry’s answers tend to be lengthy, so get in early to insure he can get to your question. Senior NBA Writer Tommy Beer will hostthe late day chat at 8pm EST. Tommy is HOOPSWORLD’s Fantasy Sports editor and also covers the Knicks and Nets for HOOPSWORLD. You can always the next chat here: Upcoming NBA Chats.