Houston Rockets
On July 12, 2007, the Spurs traded the rights to Scola, along with center-forward Jackie Butler, to the Houston Rockets, in return for Vassilis Spanoulis, a future second-round draft pick, and cash considerations. He signed with the Rockets soon after and his sticky buyout situation was resolved a few days later. Scola signed a three-year contract with the Rockets, at a salary of $9.5 million. Scola placed third in the NBA 2007–08 Rookie of the Year Award voting and he was also named to the NBA All-Rookie First Team. On March 13, 2010, he scored a career high 44 points against the New Jersey Nets.
On the afternoon of December 8, 2011, the day before the 2011 NBA lockout ended and players could move between teams, the Rockets, the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Hornets agreed to a trade that would have sent Scola, along with Goran Dragić, Kevin Martin, and Lamar Odom to the Hornets. In exchange, the Rockets would have received Pau Gasol, and the Lakers would have received star point guard Chris Paul. That night, after other team owners voiced their opposition, league commissioner David Stern nullified the trade.
On July 13, 2012, he was waived by the Rockets using the league's amnesty clause to provide salary cap relief. It is widely noted, however, that Scola was not cut due to a lack of performance; rather, the deal was an attempt to clear cap space for the Rockets to trade for former Orlando Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard, who was eventually traded to the Los Angeles Lakers. The Rockets would, however, eventually use their cap to gain former Oklahoma City Thunder Sixth Man of the Year shooting guard and Olympic gold medalist James Harden.
Read more about this topic: Luis Scola, NBA Career
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