The NBA Season 2019-20 looks more promising than ever to the Houston Rockets. The Golden State Warriors, the Rockets' perennial nemesis, are hampered by injuries and therefore one less problem. Then team management has insisted James Harden are Chris Paul are staying so what's left to do is hunt for the missing link - a third All-Star player.
Reports said the Rockets front office intends to pursue, and aggressively at that, Jimmy Butler of the Philadelphia 76ers. According to Bleacher Report, Butler has already opted out of his contract and is open to consider offers.
But before focusing on Butler, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey had to address the wild rumors that Harden and Paul are feuding and the irreconcilable differences between the two are beyond repair. Divorce would be the only solution available, and Morey is at a loss on how to go about the mess.
It turned out there was no spat at all. Morey himself has stated that Paul and Harden may have some misunderstanding, but it never reached the point that the Rockets' backcourt star had demanded a trade. For his part, Harden was rumored to have issued an ultimatum to Morey, and he must pick between Paul and the 2018 MVP.
All these things, according to Morey, were nothing but speculations. In a report, NBC Sports said the two stars will still play with Houston next season no question about it, and the assurance came directly from the team's GM.
"We've spent a lot of time putting together two superstars ... Going backward from that doesn't make a lot of sense to us," Morey was reported by NBC as saying.
And as if to hint his next move, the Houston GM said: "We're trying to add a third ... We're going after one of these top free agents, and because of that, it's probably gonna have to be a trade. It has to be through sign-and-trade."
But how exactly Morey will maneuver for the Rockets to land somebody like Butler when his team is restricted by salary cap? It seems that the more realistic scenario is to work on luring in Butler and seriously consider parting ways with Paul.
For Morey to acquire Butler and keep Harden at the same time, he will need to put together a trade package that the Sixers would find hard to refuse. Houston has to make clear they are willing to let go of Paul and ship out with him Clint Capela and Eric Gordon, per the suggestion included in the Bleacher Report.
In the process, Morey unloading Paul would translate to the Rockets being freed up from Paul's existing contract worth $124 million. The team is then provided more rooms to negotiate with Butler or even consider other big free agents on the market.
