The Houston Rockets are coming into the offseason with big moves on the horizon, as a trade for Kevin Love or Rajon Rondo is a target along with the option of signing Carmelo Anthony as a free agent and it's likely that trades with Jeremy Lin, Chandler Parsons or Omer Asik could go down if general manager Daryl Morey wants to try and attempt these moves to give Dwight Howard and James Harden a Big 3 in Texas this summer.
The Rockets made a splash last offseason by signing Howard and now they hope to do the same this summer with a trade or by signing Anthony. According to ESPN.com writer Marc Stein, the Rockets are one of the main teams looking to sign Anthony and they are hoping to convince him to leave New York after a rough season. Anthony once again led the team in scoring, but he missed the playoffs for the first time in his career and as he gets older he wants to start playing for championships. The team will have to move Omer Asik or Jeremy Lin to make any of these moves work and that means Chandler Parsons could get thrown in, as teams may not want to take that type of money without getting a decent player in return.
Making matters even worse, the Knicks took a major step back from last season into this year, as they won 54 games and the division in 2012-13 and came into this season with high expectations before starting 3-13. The playoff hopes for the team basically were dashed there and the only reason they stayed in contention was because the east was so terrible this year.
The Knicks feel that they have the best chance to sign Anthony because they can give him the longest contract and the most money, but the Rockets aren't fretting, as they think they can compete with the offer from the Knicks due to the fact that the salary cap is expected to rise into next season. While Houston will not be able to match the deal the Knicks can give, they at least can compete money wise with that and if they make moves with Lin and Asik, it would allow Morey more flexibility to make it happen. Anthony is likely staying with the Knicks, but SI.com reports that the Chicago Bulls and Rockets will be making legitimate runs at him if he opts out into free agency.
According to ESPN.com writer Ian Begley, there is a chance that Anthony will consider opting in rather than opting out, meaning he could be a free agent in 2015 rather than 2014. All signs point to Anthony opting out now and signing a big deal with the Knicks or some other team, but Begley writes that Anthony could look at staying now and that would allow the Knicks to try and clear space and get things set for a big run in the summer of 2015, which happens to be when Kevin Love is a free agent as well. Rajon Rondo has long been a target for both the Knicks and the Rockets and depending on how this summer plays out, he could be in the mix for both teams.
