What, you didn’t think the Houston Rockets were going to be quiet during NBA free agency this summer, did you?
Of course not. Why would you? Not only is the salary cap exploding, giving most teams plenty of money to spend, but Houston’s general manager, Daryl Morey, is notorious for chasing superstars at every turn.
There was James Harden, albeit via trade, in 2012. Dwight Howard in 2013. Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James and Chris Bosh in 2014.
And there will be more names added to this list in 2016:
"We're ready made to add another star level player." – @dmorey on #Rockets off season plans. Could be Dwight coming back or someone else
— SiriusXM NBA Radio (@SiriusXMNBA) June 15, 2016
The Rockets don’t have a ton of cap space as of now to throw at Mike Conley, Kevin Durant, Nicolas Batum and every other star you can possibly think of. But that all changes if Dwight Howard, as expected, declines his 23.3 million player option. The Rockets, in that case, would let him leave, giving them close to $30 million in spending power.
More than $40 million can be carved out if the Rockets let both Donatas Motiejunas and Terrence Jones, restricted free agents, walk as well. And they can come oh so close to manufacturing two max-contract slots by finding takers for Corey Brewer’s and K.J. McDaniels’ deals—after letting each of Jones, Motiejunas and Howard walk.
So yes, the Rockets are ready and in position to add another star player. But is a star player ready to join them after the disappointing 2015-16 season they just had?
That’s the question that will come to define Houston’s summer.
