NBA Free Agency rumors: Houston Rockets have ‘big plans’ for summer
As NBA free agency approaches, the Rockets are looking to be buyers. ESPN reports that Houston has big plans to go after free agents.
Houston finished the season losing in the second round to the San Antonio Spurs — probably not how they wanted to finish it. In their first season under new head coach Mike D’Antoni, the Rockets won 55 games and were an offensive juggernaut. Centered around James Harden, the offense was a 3-point shooting machine. Their defense, on the other hand, could use some improvements. GM Daryl Morey always looks to improve their roster and that’s what Houston is looking at this summer.
According to reports from ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Houston Rockets are looking to be sellers before free agency to open up some cap space .
Free Agency Scuttle: Houston is making Ryan Anderson/Lou Williams/Patrick Beverley available via trade to create summer spending flexibility
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 21, 2017
Two starters, Patrick Beverley and Ryan Anderson, are being made available for trade, while the newly-acquired Lou Williams will also be on the block. Anderson is set to make $19.6 million next year and there are elevators in his salary for the next few years. Williams comes in with a cap hit of $7 million. Beverley is a little less expensive, as he’s only set to make $5.5 million.
So why are the Rockets trying to dump all this salary for key contributors? According to Stein, Morey has big plans for free agency, wanting to add some of the top of the line players this summer. The Rockets like all of those players, but have plans to change their team up and want to start by signing some of these players.
Chris Paul, Blake Griffin, Paul Millsap and Kyle Lowry ... four free agents Houston, according to league sources, plans to pursue in July,
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) June 21, 2017
These are four huge names for the Houston Rockets. Blake Griffin and Chris Paul are unrestricted free agents from the Clippers, who are looking for maximum salary contracts. Paul Millsap and Kyle Lowry might be available for a little cheaper. Lowry could be returning home to Houston, where he had a brief stint, before starring in Toronto.
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It looks like the Rockets are trying to add some more star power and potentially more defensive players to try and help that end of the floor. Morey and the Rockets have large plans for the summer, let’s see if they’re able to execute.