In a room like this, no crossover dribble is ever as quick as a rumor. But this one had some juice to it, more than the usual free-agent signing or even fresh trade rumor.

This appealed to the insiders and the experts. The Rockets had landed the draft rights to Luis Scola, giving up only a player who said he didn't want to play for them. And the talk started, especially after word spread he would buy out his Tau Ceramica contract and make the jump to the NBA five years after the San Antonio Spurs drafted him.

In Buenos Aires, Scola went through a "crazy" few days of phone calls, meetings and a physical, quickly agreeing to the Rockets' contract offer of three years, $9.3 million (not including the Rockets' $500,000 payment toward his buyout).

By Friday night, the trade was approved. By Saturday, the 27-year-old power forward was making arrangements to arrive in Houston late Monday night and begin the career he had imagined since he began playing basketball.

"I've been waiting to be in NBA since I remember, not just last five years," Scola said when reached at his home in Buenos Aires. "I think it's the best league in the world. I always wanted to be playing with the best players in the world.

"As I started playing and growing, I felt like I got a little closer every year. I just needed a chance to play in the league and make a good career."

Scola, 6-9 and 230 pounds, has that chance. And as scouts and general managers who have watched him for the past decade, especially as a part of Argentina's powerhouse Olympic champion national team, spoke of him, they described a passion, toughness and most of all, a good fit.

"He's really interesting," said Mavericks general manager Donn Nelson, who has scouted Scola for more than 10 years. "He's athletic. He's got the Argentinian toughness. Early on, he didn't have the outside shot, but that's there now. He's a really nice pickup.

"I think he's a fit. He knows how to play. He's a really nice passer. There is an art to knowing how to get out of the way to let other people do things. He's a glue guy, just an all-around good player. He knows how to play, plays hard all the time, does what it takes for his team to win.

"I was involved in coaching him in some of the international teams. He was on some of those first teams to come over. I really liked him then. I thought he needed some time over in Europe. He worked on his game, added the outside game. And he's always been one of those really engaging personalities. He's a true winner in every sense of the word."

That has made Scola a coveted prospect. The fit became a topic of conversation since the trade.

"If (Rockets coach Rick) Adelman does anything like he did in the past, the passing game, the movement, Scola will fit great," said Ryan Bowen, the former Rockets forward who practiced with Scola last season. "He's a great passer, he moves and he hits the midrange jumper."

Adelman's impressed

While the Pistons, SuperSonics, Cavaliers and Rockets vied to get Scola's draft rights from the Spurs, Adelman watched tape and was impressed enough with what he saw for Scola to become the Rockets' priority.

"I've watched him on tape a lot," Adelman said. "I just think he is a very active player, plays every possession hard. He passes the ball well. I just like the activity more than anything else.

"He's different from a lot of guys because he is always playing, always moving. He's one of those guys if someone makes a play and gives it to him, if he doesn't have it, he gives it to the next guy. That's what I saw on that team they played on in Argentina. He always made the right play.

"That was the advantage I had in Sacramento. We had some smart players. If they're smart and willing to give it up, the offense flows. When I was in Sacramento, people didn't talk about it, but we were a pretty good defensive team. In the playoffs we had a very good defensive team because we were smart. If you're smart offensively, you can be smart defensively, when you put a gameplan together."

As it became apparent that Scola and the Spurs would not get together and San Antonio was ready to find a trading partner, the competition for him began across the NBA. But he was far from a discovery to the people repeating his name around the summer league.

"I've been watching Scola since high school," said Brent Johnson, in his 10th year as a Rockets scout. "He is a very, very intelligent player, fits our new coaching style because he is a big man that can pass, very physical, can score in the low post. He is probably the best (power forward) in Europe. I'm really excited about what Rick can do with him. It's going to be unbelievable. Scola really fits.

"We're getting a lot of compliments. I think he's going to be a surprise for people who don't know. People in the basketball world, they all know. People have been watching him all this time."

Championship aspirations

This is what Scola had imagined all this time, too. He said he was flattered to hear about the talk in Las Vegas.

"I'm willing to work hard every day, and I'm willing to help," he said. "I don't know what else to say. I think those are the most important things. I'm motivated to work hard and help the team win games. The players there, they know the team, the city, the fans, they are the real players of the Rockets, but I will try to help them win more games."

His national teammates, Manu Ginobili and Fabricio Oberto, have won NBA championships with the Spurs. Scola said it was too soon to talk about that, but with one dream realized, he seemed ready to imagine another.

"If we win a championship," he said, "I would be the happiest person in the world."

That would really be something to talk about.