Aside from the Los Angeles Lakers, the Houston Rockets could be a possible destination for superstar LeBron James if they land Carmelo Anthony via trade from the New York Knicks. According to Chris Mannix of The Vertical, it will be hard for James not to join his close friends Anthony and Chris Paul. After all, they planned on playing on one team at some point in their respective careers, together with Dwyane Wade of the Chicago Bulls.
Mannix insisted that if Anthony joins the Rockets, he and Paul will have one year to convince LeBron to form a super team with last year’s MVP runner-up James Harden.
Also, there is a possibility that Wade can join the Rockets when his contract with the Bulls expires after the 2017-18 season. Mannix said it’s too early at this point to say that James will leave the Cavaliers. However, if the Cavaliers season ends up in disaster, then expect James to pack his bags for the second time and join another team in 2018.
James frustrated over Cavs’ offseason moves
James is reportedly frustrated and concerned about the Cavaliers’ offseason moves that left them without a big name from the free-agent market. The Cavaliers had a chance of acquiring either Jimmy Butler or Paul George in the offseason but they missed on the opportunity.
The Cavaliers allowed general manager David Griffin to leave while he was close to getting Butler from the Bulls via trade.
The Bulls then agreed to a Draft Day trade with Minnesota, shipping Butler and No. 16 pick Justin Patton to the Timberwolves for Kris Dunn, Zach Lavine and 7th pick Lauri Markkanen. The Cavaliers almost got George via trade with the Indiana Pacers but the talks fizzled out at the last minute. The Pacers later traded George to the Oklahoma City Thunder for Victor Oladipo and Domantas Sabonis.
Cavs fail to sign big names from free-agent market
The Cavaliers kept three-point specialist Kyle Korver via a three-year, $22 million deal. They also signed veterans Jeff Green and Jose Calderon to one-year contracts worth $2.3 million and used their mid-level exception for 22-year-old Turkish forward Cedi Osman, who signed a three-year deal worth $8.3 million after playing five seasons in the Euroleague.
The Cavaliers opted to use the exception to sign Osman rather than acquire free agent sixth man Jamal Crawford, who met with James before he decided to sign a two-year, $8.9 million contract with the Wolves. The Cavaliers are also looking to sign former MVP Derrick Rose to a one-year contract worth $2.1 million.
