The Houston Rockets struck out in free agency this offseason, but a trade for Kevin Love, Goran Dragic or a deal for Rajon Rondo with the Boston Celtics could still be on the table, as Daryl Morey and the Rockets missed on Carmelo Anthony and Chris Bosh and they are still looking for a splash after also losing Chandler Parsons and now deals with the Timberwolves, Celtics or Suns could be explored.
The Rockets have long been interested in Rondo and after the team traded away Jeremy Lin and his massive contract to the Lakers, Houston could use some point guard support for Patrick Beverley. According to ESPN.com writer Marc Stein, the Rockets may look at a trade for Kevin Love, Rondo or Goran Dragic this offseason after missing out on bigger names in free agency, as they have some flexibility after moving Lin and Omer Asik this summer in trades.
The Rockets would likely need to give up a first round pick and potentially more selections to get any of those deals done, but they are worth exploring for Morey. The Rockets have shown in the past with the James Harden trade and Jeremy Lin deal that they are willing to take risks and now they could try and do that again. Dragic is another target for the team and he previously was with the Rockets and now could come back, as the Suns have a nice amount of players at the guard position and could afford to move one.
Dragic is coming off of a solid season and he won most improved player of the year for the Suns, but he could be expendable after the team signed Isaiah Thomas. The Suns added Thomas in a sign and trade deal and they also have Tyler Ennis after drafting him and the roster already has Archie Goodwin and potentially Eric Bledsoe. The Suns are looking to sign back Bledsoe and they have leverage over him right now and that could be a reason to keep Dragic for the time being, but Phoenix is expecting to sign him back.
The Rockets had a very good season last year with Dwight Howard coming in, but now they have to retool a bit after making trades and losing some players, mainly Chandler Parsons. While the team did not think he was worth the contract he eventually got with the Mavericks, the team still has to make up for his production. Signing Trevor Ariza was a good start, but the team has to do more, as Parsons was an integral part of the offense and developed into a very nice player.
Last season ESPN.com reported that the Rockets were looking to trade for Rondo with the Celtics and they were prepared to make an offer with names including Asik, Patrick Beverley, Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas, but nothing went down. The Celtics wanted Parsons in the deal to take on the money for Asik, but the Rockets relented and now they perhaps have some remorse for not pulling the trigger now that Parsons is gone. The Rockets have the chance to make a big move, but even if they don't, the team should be right in the mix in the west again.