Howard Beck of Bleacher Report is reporting that the Houston Rockets are preparing to go all-out in their attempts to land LeBron James if he chooses to opt out and become a free agent.
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.
There are rumblings that James will start weighing his options this weekend. One rival executive pegged his chances of leaving Miami at 40 percent.
The competition for James’ affection will be fierce, but Houston’s pitch may be tough to beat.
The Rockets already have the league’s best guard-center tandem (Harden-Howard), solid young role players (Chandler Parsons (who is set to become a restricted free agent), Patrick Beverley, Terrence Jones) and an owner (Les Alexander) who is willing to spend. Houston also has all of its first-round picks for the next couple of years as well as a knack for finding talent late in the draft.
Beck indicated that the Rockets could clear over $19 million in cap space by moving Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin as well as Donatas Motiejunas and Isaiah Canaan.