The Houston Rockets have constructed one of the league’s most explosive offenses that may be a serious threat to dethrone the Golden State Warriors this season.
General manager Darryl Morey may take that a step further next summer as he has plans of pursuing four-time league MVP LeBron James in free agency if he elects to hit the open market, according to Zach Lowe of ESPN.
They are underdogs, maybe big ones, but Morey has long promised that he will go for it if he thinks Houston has even a 5 percent chance of winning a ring. He will hunt likely LeBron this summer, per league sources, and hopes to sign Paul to another long-term deal. With Clint Capela and Trevor Ariza headed toward free agency, just bringing this group back could vault Houston well into the luxury tax. Tilman Fertitta, the team’s new owner, has said he would pay the tax to preserve a contender.
In order for the Rockets to have any sort of legitimate chance of landing James, it will first require them to lock up All-Star point guard Chris Paul to a long-term deal. Paul is currently in the final year of his deal and is set to become an unrestricted free agent next summer.
It has become well known that both Paul and James do have interest in playing together if things were to line up in that manner at some point down the road. This opportunity could come next summer if Houston can prove to be a serious challenger to the Warriors this season.
All of this may ultimately ride on how the Rockets play out this year behind what type of success they have in the playoffs. There is still plenty of time from now until next summer, but it’s clear that there is another team that could be in the mix if James is available in free agency.
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