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By JONATHAN FEIGEN - Houston Chronicle
The Rockets began free agent recruiting period with an 11 p.m. call to Spurs guard Brent Barry, but the team could have already hit a snag in its hopes to bring back forward Carl Landry.
The Rockets called Barry as quickly as NBA rules allow in an effort to land the free agent that got away during the season when Barry was released by the Seattle SuperSonics but chose to return to the San Antonio Spurs.
Barry, 36, struggled to come back from a calf injury after he was dealt at the trade deadline, but made 49.1 percent of his shots and 46.3 percent of his 3s in the post-season. He averaged 7.1 points in 17.9 minutes, making 48.1 percent of his shots, in the regular season, in his 12th NBA season.
If he signs with the Rockets, he would follow his father, Hall of Famer Rick Barry, and brother, Jon Barry, who both finished their careers with the Rockets.
Signing Landry, the Rockets other primary free agent target might be more complicated than another chase of Barry, or even last summer’s sticky and eventually contentious negotiations when Landry was an unsigned second-round pick.
The Rockets have asked for Landry to undergo more in-depth testing of his right knee, which was injured during the season, before they would extend an offer. Landry, 24, missed seven games with what was termed a sore right knee. He averaged 8.1 points and 4.9 rebounds in 42 games, making 61.6 percent of his shots.
The Rockets signed Landry just before the start of training camp after a long, often tense negotiation over the amount of money that would be guaranteed in his rookie contract. The Rockets had planned to sign him to a three-year deal using a portion of their mid-level exception, but instead spent they remainder of their exception money to sign Steve Francis.
Landry is a restricted free agent, giving the Rockets the option to match any offer he receives, as long as the contract would work with the salary cap rules. That would limit them to their mid-level exception money. They hope to use the lower level exception, worth roughly $1.9 million, for Barry.
“We’re only making an offer if he gets a more detailed examination than imaging,” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey said.
Morey did not say that there were specific concerns, only that the team wanted as much information as possible before making an offer.
Landry’s agent, Buddy Baker, did not return messages on Monday.
The Rockets did avoid free agency with their 2006 first-round pick, Steve Novak. They exercised their option to extend Novak’s contract for a third season, worth $797,581. Novak averaged 2.7 points in 79 games in his first two seasons.
“Steve is a valuable asset to the Rockets,” Morey said.
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