CP3 and Dwight to Houston, Lin and others maybe included in trade.
The Houston Rockets have been searching for multiple stars to put on their team since the combination of Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming broke down. They've sought big-name free agents like Chris Bosh back in 2010, but didn't have any success bringing in a star for their team until they traded for James Harden right before the 2012-13 season. With Harden as their current franchise player, they're looking to bring in more stars to play with him in hopes of building their own super team.It's already been reported they have their sights on upcoming free-agent center Dwight Howard this summer and he's considering that playing situation for the next step in his career. But Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle reported that Howard won't be enough for them. They're also reportedly targeting Chris Paul to be their point guard.
Dwight Howard will not be the only object of the Rockets' free-agent affections, and the Los Angeles Lakers center has not been the only subject of their intensive preparations for next month's sales pitches.
Howard has generated by far the most attention as a Rockets free-agent target, but the team plans a similar and simultaneous pursuit of Los Angeles Clippers guard Chris Paul, a person with knowledge of the Rockets' thinking said. According to another individual familiar with the team's plans, they are targets No. 1 and 1A.
The difference is there have been far more indications Howard, a 6-11 center, will be receptive to the Rockets' recruiting efforts. Although it is too early to know if Paul, a 6-0 guard, is disinterested or keeping his thoughts private, the Rockets have gone through detailed preparations to chase both.
If the Rockets were able to pull that off, they'd certainly be all set for having stars on their team. The tricky part is trying to figure out if they can even feasibly do this. As of right now, the Rockets have roughly $54.9 million committed in salary for next season. With the cap expected to be around $58.5 million next season, that leaves only $3.6 million to get the two most sought-after free agents this summer.
Houston has a team option for Francisco Garcia at $6.4 million and a non-fully guaranteed deal with Carlos Delfino for $3 million. If they decline the option on Garcia and waive Delfino, that moves their cap space to $13 million. They can save another $2.5 million by waiving Aaron Brooks and his non-fully guaranteed contract for next season as well. Now, we're talking $15.5 million.
There are still mathematical problems here with trying to find the $39.2 million it would take to bring in both Howard and Paul for next season. Howard's contract is eligible to begin at $20.5 million and Paul's next deal would start at $18.7 million. They can clear another $3.5 million by trading Thomas Robinson for a second-round pick or two or even a future first-round pick if they can get lucky enough.
That gives the team roughly $19 million there, which can hover around $20 million if they waive Greg Smith, James Anderson, and Patrick Beverley. However, that's not fully necessary to be able to afford the contract of Paul.
Let's say $18.7 million goes toward CP3 for the Rockets. Now, they have to figure out a sign-and-trade deal with the Lakers in order to bring in Howard. The Lakers could ask Metta World Peace to use his early termination option on his contract and then re-sign him for lower money per season but for multiple seasons in order to save money and try to get under the luxury tax apron ($4 million over the luxury tax).
Then they could acquire Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik, with maybe a couple of their rookies from this past season (Terrence Jones, Donatas Montiejunas, or Royce White), and sign Howard to the Rockets in a sign-and-trade deal. It would lower the Lakers under the luxury tax apron and give them some depth and versatility with their roster. But they'd also be losing a star player in the process. If the Lakers wanted to play hardball while accomodating a fellow Western Conference team, they could demand Chandler Parsons in the deal.
Lin would be reunited with Mike D'Antoni and we could have Linsanity 2.0 at the Staples Center. The Lakers would still maintain cap flexibility for the 2015 offseason and just hope LeBron James waits another season before opting out of his contract with the Miami Heat.
It's all a pretty simple plan
(Maybe)
6/10/2013 9:28 AM