The Houston Rockets are reportedly interested in acquiring Carmelo Anthony this summer when the New York Knicks superstar hits free agency.
According to Mark Berman of NY Post, the Rockets are expected to make a bid for Anthony in the offseason like what they did when they inquired about the All-Star forward's availability before the trade deadline.
However, the Rockets are not capable of signing Anthony outright, but they are reportedly looking at the possibility of having a sign-and-trade deal with the Knicks this summer.
"According to a league source, the Rockets will make a bid for Anthony this summer, even though they probably won't have cap space and would have to orchestrate a creative sign-and-trade. The source said Houston asked the Knicks about Anthony before February's trade deadline," the NY Post reported.
The Rockets can actually create cap space to acquire Anthony by dealing Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik this summer, but finding a taker for the poison pill contracts of both players is highly unlikely.
But according to Berman, the Knicks could make a desperate move to acquire Lin and Asik in a sign-and-trade deal especially if incoming Knicks president Phil Jackson is not planning to build a championship team around the 29-year-old superstar.
"The only way the Rockets can get under the cap is by dealing the expiring contracts of Jeremy Lin, who is entering the poison-pill year of $15 million, and Asik, also scheduled to make $15 million," NY Post added. "But even if the Rockets don't, a desperate Knicks team could take on Lin or Asik and draft picks if Phil Jackson doesn't believe in building around Anthony."
Acquiring Lin and Asik could just be a one-year rental for Knicks, knowing that they are already setting their sights on signing a big-name free agent in the summer of 2015.
"The Knicks still would be set for 2015's free agency and Lin would be a drawing card during a season the Knicks may want to tank and fall into the lottery," NY Post noted.
Previous reports indicated that the Knicks are planning to make a big splash in 2015 with sources saying that Boston Celtics point Rajon Rondo and Minnesota Timberwolves superstar Kevin Love are on top of their wishlist.
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