The Kevin Love trade rumors may heat up again, as the Houston Rockets may be looking at a deal after they missed out on Chandler Parsons and teams like the Chicago Bulls, Golden State Warriors could jump into the fold as well and this comes as the Cleveland Cavaliers have been looking at offers to the Timberwolves for Love with Anthony Bennett, Dion Waiters and Tristan Thompson and first round picks potentially involved, but not Andrew Wiggins.
The story on Love picked back up before the LeBron James news and things continued after that, as the Cavs were thinking about a move before they even knew about James coming home. According to ESPN.com writer Marc Stein, the Rockets may look at a Kevin Love deal again, as they currently have lost out on all three of three big targets in free agency. Chandler Parsons is now with the Mavericks, while the two superstars in Chris Bosh and Carmelo Anthony opted to stay with their teams over signing in Houston.
The Rockets are coming into the season after losing in the playoffs to the Blazers and that was an upset after the team secured a top four seed in the west. GM Daryl Morey felt the team was a piece or two away from being championship contenders, but now they may have to scramble for more with Parsons gone. The team had a solid three with James Harden, Parsons and Dwight Howard and Morey made a push for Anthony to join that group. Parsons may have been out if the team signed Anthony, but most reports had Morey matching the Mavs offer if they signed Bosh.
The Rockets took a hit when they were eliminated from the Anthony sweepstakes and the offer sheet from the Mavericks put the team in a tough position. The team now has cap space to use and they could look at making trades for Rondo or Love. Stein writes that the team has long been interested in Rondo and that they could look at making a deal after trading away Jeremy Lin to the LA Lakers. The team could also use some more depth inside after getting rid of Omer Asik, but those two players had to go no matter what since they had so much money on their contracts.
The Rockets may now look at Love if the Celtics put the bar too high for Rondo, but that will be a big deal to make as well. The Wolves have rejected the offer of Anthony Bennett and Dion Waiters with a first round pick for Love to the Timberwolves and that means the Rockets will have to do better than that. A sign and trade for Parsons was an option that came up earlier in the season, but clearly that is off the table.
Love has made it clear that he wants to test the market when he gets the chance and he will cash in after putting up 25 points and 12 rebounds last season. Love is 25 and has never been to the playoffs in his six years with the team and that is one of the main sticking points and reasons he wants out. Love is the top young player on the market if it gets to the summer of 2015, as that is when he can opt out in free agency.
