The Houston Rockets are still in the running for Carmelo Anthony. The team is doing all they can to land the marquee free agent in hopes of having their own Big Three to contend with. However, the competition has gotten heated as attention shifts to the Los Angeles Lakers and New York Knicks as the frontrunners. So what does Houston do for a backup plan if Anthony heads elsewhere?
The Rockets are waiting to make a hard sell to Chris Bosh once Anthony makes his decision. According to ESPN.com, the Rockets believe they stand a chance to lure Bosh away from the Miami Heat and plan on intensifying their sales pitch to the center in the next week. Being a Texas native, Houston is convinced that they are the frontrunners for Bosh, especially if LeBron James leaves South Beach.
Bosh is waiting on James before making his decision. If James re-signs to the Miami Heat, it can be expected that Bosh and Dwyane Wade will follow and continue on with Miami. However, what if James does not re-sigh? Bosh has said multiple times throughout the 2013-14 season that he prefers to continue playing for Miami, but that could easily change if James does not return.
ESPN.com reports that the only way Bosh leaves Miami is if a team offers him a max contract. The veteran is willing to return for less money if his teammates do the same, but if another team offers him a max deal, he could be tempted to leave. A max deal for Bosh is four years and $96 million for Houston. Miami could give him five years and somewhere around $80-90 million if they want to be extremely cash strapped.
If the Rockets are going to offer that kind of deal they must make more salary cap space. They made one move by trading away Omer Asik, but they still need to shed the contract of Jeremy Lin to make room. NBA sources are reporting that the Philadelphia 76ers are interested in the point guard for the right price, but Houston's tag on Lin has been high up until this point which has taken away most of the interest. They would have to lower expectations on what Lin's return value is in order to make a deal.
Bosh with the Rockets seems like an odd choice. The team is in need of a big 3-point presence, but can he be productive on the court while sharing space with Dwight Howard? It failed for Gasol in Los Angeles and there is no guarantees that Bosh can make it work any better.