While the Houston Rockets might not be frontrunners to land Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Kevin Love via trade this offseason, the Rockets might have already switched their focus to courting LeBron James away from the Miami Heat.
Per Matt Moore of CBS Sports (via information obtained from Bleacher Report), Houston has moved James to the top of their wishlist - with a couple of intriguing backup plans being discussed if they can't secure LeBron:
Now, Rockets officials are aiming for the trifecta, with their sights set on the biggest prize of all: LeBron Raymone James.
A long shot? Perhaps. But the Rockets have defied expectations before.
League sources say that Houston is preparing to make an all-out push to land James when free agency opens on July 1, assuming James opts out, as expected. If the Rockets miss out on James, they will turn their full attention to Carmelo Anthony. Chris Bosh is also on the radar.
The Houston Rockets made a run at all three players in 2010's free agent market, along with attempting to land Anthony via trade in 2011. While the Rockets didn't have success back then, the addition of Dwight Howard and James Harden could be enough to sway one of these three prized potential free agents to take their talents to Texas.
However, there are a ton of hurdles which will need to be cleared in order for Houston to have a legitimate shot at their number-one target, LeBron James. Firstly, they will need to find suitors for both Omar Asik and Jeremy Lin to remove the two players' $16 million combined cap number off the books.
Secondly, James would have to be willing to take a significant pay cut - something which might be easier to pitch seeing that there is no income tax in Texas.
Finally, the Rockets would have to convince James that leaving Miami (a place where he has gone to four straight NBA Finals), for the uncertainty of a new situation in Houston, is what's best for his career going forward.
All in all, the likelihood of Houston landing James is decidedly small at this juncture. Anthony or Bosh could present much more viable options this offseason, though, especially if the Rockets can clear the cap space necessary to make a legitimate run at them.
Chat Sports will have more on these developments in Houston as additional information is made available.
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