Might the Houston Rockets be so enamored with the idea of acquiring Carmelo Anthony they would be willing to deal All-Star guard James Harden to do so?
Seems the answer to that is a resounding absolutely, particularly when you consider the other half of the Rockets’ plan seems to include nabbing LeBron James to form a new and perhaps improved Big 3 of himself, Anthony and Dwight Howard.
Both James and Anthony opted out of their respective deals this week and ever since seemingly every NBA team in existence has been angling to add them to their roster. And that doesn’t hold truer for any team more than the Rockets, who are rumored to be ready to pull the trigger on deals for veterans Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik to free up cap salary cap space to make their run.
Earlier this offseason, the Rockets also hinted they plan to allow emerging young forward Chandler Parsons to become a free agent this summer for that same reason. But even with all their wheeling and dealing, Houston may have a problem.
No less than the Clippers, Lakers, and Cavaliers are also rumored to be working out details that will allow them to make a play for both star forwards. In Cleveland, the Cavs’ appear willing to deal away the No. 1 pick in Thursday night’s draft to create the resources to make such a move, while the Clippers are rumored to be open to offering up-and-coming big man DeAndre Jordan and the Lakers the No. 7 pick in the draft and other assets.
The Bulls are also thought to be strong players for Anthony, with coach Tom Thibodeau rumored to already be conducting background checks on Anthony through several of his former coaches. Bulls’ stars Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah are also said to be a part of the recruiting effort and on Wednesday Anthony’s camp confirmed he indeed plans to meet with the organization.
Around that same time, James reportedly was meeting with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh in Miami to figure out their situation.
How it will all end, no one can be certain, other than to conclude it all makes for one fluid offseason.
