--When the Rockets return to the court next month, they will do so under somewhat new direction. Gerald Madkins has been hired as the club's new director of scouting, and Shawn Respert will serve as the director of player programs.
Madkins played eight years professionally before returning to college ball as a coach, including a two-season stint as an assistant at his alma mater, UCLA. He has worked in the scouting departments of the Knicks and SuperSonics since 2003. Like Madkins, Respert is a former NBA player, having spent parts of four seasons with the Bucks, Raptors, Mavericks and Suns. He served the last two years as the director of basketball operations for the NBA Developmental League.
--Oct. 22 has been set as the date for Rafer Alston's trial after his Aug. 7 arrest on driving-while-intoxicated charges. If convicted, the guard could be fined up to $2,000 and jailed up to six months.
--The Rockets have chosen "Get Red" as their marketing slogan for the 2008-09 season. Among the goals: To get people to wear red to Rockets home games this season.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Hakeem is the greatest Rockets player of all-time, the best player in Rockets history." -- Clyde Drexler, shortly after former teammate Hakeem Olajuwon was enshrined into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame on Sept. 5.
