Competition is stiff for the few who could be difference-makers
The Rockets will go free-agent shopping tonight with money to spend and needs to fill. The hard part will be breaking through the thick pack of teams competing for relatively few stars.
With the summer’s longanticipated free-agent frenzy to begin at 11 p.m., when teams can officially begin talks with players, the Rockets have established a clear wish list. They will seek a star-level player regardless of position, frontcourt shooting and center depth if Dwight Howard leaves as a free agent.
There has been little indication Oklahoma City’s Kevin Durant, who would check two of those boxes, will give the Rockets an audience. After his meeting with the Thunder, Durant is expected to sit down with Golden
State, San Antonio, Miami, Boston and Los Angeles Clippers.
With LeBron James indicating before Cleveland’s championship parade that he will not be going anywhere and DeMar DeRozan considered likely to remain with Toronto, the next-best free agents could be Atlanta’s Al Horford and Miami’s Hassan Whiteside, with the Rockets expected to try to make their pitch to both.
Landing either will be as tough as any superstar pursuit in recent seasons. Horford has seemed most hopeful he will remain in Atlanta. Whiteside has shown no similar determination to stay with his team, saying loyalty is not a consideration. He is expected to be targeted by Dallas, Portland and the Los Angeles Lakers, among others.
With John Lucas on board as the head of their player development program, the Rockets could have an extra selling point for Whiteside. Lucas worked extensively with Whiteside in helping him become a force who could land a four-year, $94 million contract.
Howard mulls options
New Orleans forward Ryan Anderson, a frequent Rockets target in trade talks, is considered the top shooter among free-agent centers or power forwards.
If the Rockets lose Howard, they can assess center depth in the free-agent class, including Toronto’s Bismack Biyombo, Golden State’s Festus Ezeli and Indiana’s Ian Mahinmi.
The Rockets have not given up hope they could bring Howard back, if perhaps not with a contract that measures up to his previous deal. As of Wednesday, the Rockets had not set up a meeting with Howard’s representatives, according to a person familiar with his plans.
Speaking on Jason Terry’s weekly radio show on Sirius XM, Howard offered no signs he is planning to return to Houston, saying he hopes to return to playing “my way.” He was not more specific regarding how many shots he gets but did say he was “accustomed” to the “style of basketball” he played in Orlando.
“I don’t know right now where I will be,” said Howard, who opted against picking up the final season of his Rockets contract, worth $23.3 million. “I haven’t counted any team out. I will go into free agency open-minded. The best thing to do is take the emotions out of it. I look forward to being in a position to be who I am, be free, and help a team win.”
ESPN reported Howard will meet with Atlanta and Boston. Portland also is expected to be interested. Howard is expected to seek a team “prepared to win,” according to an individual familiar with his thinking. A max contract for Howard would be worth $132 million over four years, but he isn’t expected to command that.
He would be a more accomplished, though much pricier, rim protector and rebounder than most of the other options to join Clint Capela as centers on the Rockets’ roster. If Howard departs, the Rockets could have as much as roughly $46 million in cap space.
They likely will account for some of that spending money, at least temporarily, by making qualifying offers to Terrence Jones and Donatas Motiejunas worth about $3.5 and $3.4 million, respectively, on Thursday. Either offer can be renounced if the Rockets need the cap room, but they are expected to work to keep Motiejunas, believing his skills fit well with Mike D’Antoni’s offense and that he’s ready to make the strides expected last year before recovery from back surgery limited him.
‘Very optimistic’
Motiejunas on Wednesday tweeted “it was a pleasure to have dinner and talk with new Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni!” D’Antoni was a coaching legend with Benetton Treviso, Motiejunas’ team when the Rockets acquired him in a 2011 draft deal. Motiejunas was “very optimistic about the situation in Houston,” a person familiar with his thinking said.
The process is not expected to be quick. Though players may sign beginning July 7 after the NBA moratorium on deals is lifted, most agreements are expected to come more slowly after the initial rush of big-name deals is complete. That’s because so many teams will have cap room, and agents could hold off on agreements with more money available than ever before.
The salary-cap spike will flood the market with more cash than stars, making the Rockets’ shopping as complicated as it will be challenging.