The Houston Rockets are confident they stand a great shot at landing Kevin Love in a trade this offseason, but is that the best move for the team? With James Harden and Dwight Howard on the roster, is getting a forward the best fit? Certainly Carmelo Anthony could do the team some good, but what about a point guard. With Jeremy Lin on the outs, do the Rockets try and get someone else in a deal?
Last season, the Rockets relied on a rotation of Patrick Beverley and Lin to take control of the point guard position. Neither player was terrible. Lin averaged 11.3 points per game with 4.3 assists while Beverley put up 8.7 points and 1.8 assists in his time on the court. While Lin and Beverley got the Rockets to the postseason, neither player is an All-Star talent, something Houston could use at the position. With assets to send away, do the Rockets make a deal for a point guard over Kevin Love?
Houston has been linked to many of the big names leading up to the official offseason. According Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders, the Rockets have every intention of adding one more All-Star player to the roster to round out their own Big 3 with Harden and Howard. Anthony would be nice, but he is not a pass-first player and he and Harden would have a hard time co-existing on the court together. While the Knicks guard is an option, players like Kyrie Irving, Rajon Rondo or Ricky Rubio could be pulled in a deal.
The Rockets are actively shopping Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik in a trade while making Chandler Parsons available as well. Houston has been shopping the Lin, Asik pairing since the start of last offseason, eager to get rid of their inflated contracts. Both players are entering the final season of their respective contracts which makes them an ideal take-on for any team, but their salaries have made things tough.
The Rockets have been linked to a deal regarding point guard Kyrie Irving, but it is unclear exactly what the Cleveland Cavaliers will do in that situation, first waiting to see if the star would sign a max-contract first. Rondo is available at the right price no matter what Danny Ainge says. The point guard certainly loves the Boston Celtics, but if the team does not make a move for Love then he likely has no intention of remaining on the roster. The Minnesota Timberwolves confirmed they receive trade calls for Ricky Rubio every week and could make a deal if Love truly intends on leaving as well.
The question remains whether a package including Lin and Asik with the option of Parsons is enough to land any of these players. So far it has not, but as the offseason continues, their asking prices could lower for the Rockets to trade.
