The Houston Rockets are coming into the offseason with some major questions and a Rajon Rondo trade with the Boston Celtics could be a target after losing in the playoffs and names like Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik, Chandler Parsons and Patrick Beverley could be on the trading block to make that happen and if it doesn't, the team also likely will target Carmelo Anthony if he opts to leave the Knicks this summer.
The Rockets have a GM in Daryl Morey who is not afraid to make big moves and think outside the box and that is what he will have to do this summer to get another elite player like Rondo or Anthony in the fold. Morey wants to bring a Big 3 to Houston and while he has a Big 2 and a half with James Harden, Dwight Howard and Parsons, he may have to give up the latter player to get a deal done. According to Marc Stein from ESPN.com, the Rockets will make calls to Boston this summer regarding Rondo, who the Celtics did not trade last season and have said they want to sign to a long term extension.
This will be a big summer for Rondo and the Rockets, as they will look at the possibility of trading for Rondo or Kevin Love and if those moves do not work out, Anthony is another major target. According to SI.com and Pro Basketball Talk, Anthony is going to be a target for the Houston Rockets and Chicago Bulls in free agency and those teams could be the ones to convince him to leave the Knicks. Phil Jackson wants to keep Anthony, but he has already said he will have to take a pay cut and that is what every impending free agent who has played well wants to hear.
The whole Steve Kerr situation coupled with the fact that the Knicks were terrible last season may get Anthony to leave and that plays in favor of the Rockets. The team will get an extra boost from the fact that the salary cap will rise and that may allow them to compete with the Knicks in giving a contract, but that may not even be necessary. The Knicks missed the playoffs this season and that was the first time for Anthony in his career and as he gets to 30, he wants to start winning championships and NYC is not the place to do that right now, even with Jackson in the mix.
Rondo showed last season that he was healed back after tearing his ACL and now the Rockets could look to make that move. The two sides nearly had a deal with Omer Asik last season, but the team balked at adding Parsons. To make one of these moves, the Rockets will have to deal Lin or Asik, as both are in the last years of their contracts and they also have a ton of money on them. The team could get lucky since they are expiring contracts and that makes them easier to move, as last year Morey could not find a team willing to take that money without Parsons. Will Rondo stay or go along with Anthony? Only time will tell this summer.