The Houston Rockets are starting to realize they are not the frontrunners to sign Carmelo Anthony. The team hosted the guard and even placed him in a jersey on their jumbotron, but the attention seems to be shifting away from Texas towards other teams like the Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers. The Rockets have made it a priority to land a big name in free agency, so if Anthony is not available then who is?
ESPN.com is reporting that if the Rockets officially miss out on Anthony, they will shift their focus to Chris Bosh and pull him away from the Miami Heat. There is growing talk in the league that the Big Three of the Heat might actually be willing to breakup more so than people originally thought. Miami is struggling with salary cap issues and the Rockets might be able to offer Bosh more.
The Rockets are in need of a big forward who can also shoot from 3-point range. They ideally would like to pair Bosh with Dwight Howard. The Rockets were originally going to pursue Dirk Nowitzki, but since he is re-signing with the Dallas Mavericks, they are looking to Bosh to fill the spot. Houston can afford a nice contract for Bosh after shedding the contract of Omer Asik which could win him over.
If Anthony does not sign with Houston, that likely takes trades for both Jeremy Lin and Kevin Love off the table. The Rockets will not be able to afford to get rid of the point guard despite his contract. Houston is having a hard enough time right getting a deal in place for Lin. Once the big-named players start to sign, no one will be able to afford taking on Lin.
The chances of getting Love are also slim. Houston liked the idea of getting both Anthony and Love in a deal. That is why they traded away Asik, to clear cap space. However, the Rockets do not have the right trade pieces to acquire the forward. The Minnesota Timberwolves would not accept a deal involving Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson of the Chicago Bulls, they likely will not accept a deal consisting of Lin and someone else. The Rockets must hope they can pull Bosh away.
