NBA Rumors: Houston Rockets will only deal Jeremy Lin if they get Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James

In a move that we all saw coming eventually on Wednesday night, the Houston Rockets sent big man Omer Asik to the New Orleans Pelicans via trade in which they got back a 2015 first round pick. For some time, and especially with the free agent aspirations the Rockets have this summer, this was expected; the team was either going to move Asik, Jeremy Lin or both.

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Well, now, with Asik gone, that just leaves the question of what the’y’re going to do with Lin.

According to Rotoworld, the team now will only part with their point guard if they can land either LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony once the free agency period opens up on July 1.

"However, several web sources have indicated tonight that the Rockets will only deal Lin if one of the big names agrees to terms with Houston. Therefore, if LeBron or Melo aren’t going to Houston, there’s a very good chance Lin will be back with the Rockets next season."

With Dwight Howard in the middle, it made a lot of sense that they were willing to part with Asik before they were with Lin. Dating back to last year when they brought Howard in from Los Angeles, Asik expressed his desire to depart from Houston.

But before anyone Lin supporters in Houston get their hopes up too high about him staying, the moving of Asik cleared up just enough cap space to leave a lasting impression on either LeBron or Melo.