Houston Rockets believe they can contend for a title this year
The Houston Rockets entered the offseason with the grand plans. They hoped to land a max free agent to be their third star. They made a run at New York Knicks’ forward Carmelo Anthony and Miami Heat big man Chris Bosh but each player chose to re-sign with their teams.
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To make room to sign a max player, the Rockets dealt point guard Jeremy Lin to the Los Angeles Lakers and sent center Omer Asik to the New Orleans Pelicans. They also chose not to match the offer sheet the Dallas Mavericks signed forward Chandler Parsons to. They did, however, agree to a four-year deal with Washington Wizards’ swingman Trevor Ariza and traded for guard Jason Terry.
According to Chuck Myron of Hoops Rumors, the Houston Rockets believe they can contend for a championship this year.
"Well, I think the Rockets believe they can contend this year (I disagree), and so they’re willing to take a chance on a guy who played a prominent role on a championship team not too long ago. He hasn’t been on a team in the title mix since he left Dallas, so Houston’s probably banking on rejuvenation by added motivation."
When you have two stars like the Rockets do in center Dwight Howard and James Harden, you will be in any game, but it is hard to see the Rockets being much better next season with all of the talent and depth they lost this offseason. They may have to make another move or a big splash in a trade to truly become a contender and although they have obvious interest in a couple of restricted free agents, Detroit Pistons’ big man Greg Monroe and Phoenix Suns’ guard Eric Bledsoe, they probably don’t have the assets to get their hands on either player.
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