The Rajon Rondo trade rumors are starting to heat up alongside Kevin Love and the Houston Rockets, Knicks and Phoenix Suns appear to be the best options for a Boston Celtics deal and this comes as the Rockets are also looking to clear cap space for Carmelo Anthony and that means names like Jeremy Lin, Omer Asik or Chandler Parsons could be traded in the summer of 2014.
The Rockets lost to the Portland Trail Blazers in the playoffs and now they are looking to get even better heading into next season. The team signed Dwight Howard last year and they are looking to make a Big 3 with James Harden and to do that they will need to make some moves. Anthony is a prime target and the team also likes Love and to get either of those deals done they will need to make trades.
The Chandler Parsons situation will dictate how things play out and the team also has to move Omer Asik or Jeremy Lin at some point. The team needs the cap space to make deals and this comes as both players are making double digits and are in the final years of their contracts. Last season Daryl Morey found it hard to move them because of that, but since the contracts are expiring, teams may be more willing to pull the trigger on a deal.
The Rockets have a number of big decision to make on their own without even taking into account their interest in signing Carmelo Anthony or trading for Kevin Love. The most pressing issue is the contract situation regarding Chandler Parsons, as that is a big issue itself and also will be a big determination about how the Rockets tackle the potential trades for Rondo or Love or the signing of Anthony. Parsons has developed into a starter and a very good player and possibly a potential All-Star for the Rockets and this comes after he was a second round pick and that means Houston doesn't want to lose that value.
Parsons has been giving the team a supreme amount of value because of the contract he plays on from being a second round pick and now he could be in line to cash in depending on what the Rockets do. According to ESPN.com, the team has a deadline at the end of June, which is before free agency officially begins, and they have to decide whether or not to pick up the option on his deal. Parsons could come in as a sub-million player next season if the team takes the option, but the means he will be an unrestricted free agent after next season. The team can decline the option, but that makes him a restricted free agent this year.
Either way the Rockets take a risk and they would like to keep Parsons, but if they want Rondo that may not be possible. GM Daryl Morey does a good job of making deals, but he was unwilling to part with Parsons last season in a deal that would have sent Omer Asik to the Celtics for the points guard and it's likely that is what he will have to do again. The team was beat soundly by the Blazers in the playoffs and now the Rockets are looking to bounce back next season and they could do it with a splash.