Houston Rockets to Focus on Carmelo Anthony Acquisition
The Houston Rockets made one of the biggest moves of the offseason by acquiring perennial All-Star point guard Chris Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers. However, they aren't stopping there. Their grand plan is to build a "super team" that can challenge the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference, and to do that, the Rockets are looking to add one more All-Star-caliber player to their roster.
Now that James Harden has agreed to sign a four-year extension, $228 million supermax extension, it's time for the Rockets to continue their search for a third star. And according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski and Brian Windhorst, the Rockets are now turning their "full attention" to completing a deal for All-Star forward Carmelo Anthony.
In another report, Wojnarowski also said that the Knicks are expected to renew trade talks with the Rockets after Tim Hardaway Jr. agreed to sign a four-year, $71-million deal to return to New York.
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"The Knicks' acquisition of Hardaway to the staggering deal is expected to trigger a renewed willingness to work with the Houston Rockets on trade scenarios to unload Carmelo Anthony, league sources told ESPN," Wojnarowski wrote in his report.
"The Rockets have been persistent in their pursuit of Anthony, who is willing to waive his no-trade clause to join Chris Paul and James Harden in Houston, league sources told ESPN, and the Knicks do not imagine a scenario where Hardaway is sharing the floor with Anthony to start the season," he added.
The Rockets still have to find a way to free up salary cap space to acquire Anthony, but they can find ways to make it work. General manager Daryl Morey has already been quite creative in the deal to acquire Paul, so this shouldn't be a problem.
Anthony has been the subject of trade rumors for months now. And he may finally be on his way out of New York.
