Houston Rockets Daily Rocket Science: Countdown to Free Agency

The Houston Rockets are in count down mode to free agency as midnight July 1st is less than 48 hours away.

The NBA is less than 48 hours away from its most anticipated free agency class in league history. Just about every big name possible is out on the market, and with the rumors that Dwyane Wade will likely entertain offers from other teams. This is going to be one bazaar summer.

As expected, the Houston Rockets are going to be one of the most aggressive teams trying to upgrade their roster this July. With so many great talents on the market, Houston Press writer Sean Pendergast put together his top 10 free agents the Rockets should pursue.

"To say this is a crucial offseason for the Rockets is merely making the same annual proclamation, because when you have an All-NBA talent in his prime like James Harden, every offseason is crucial. The Rockets buried a season’s worth of valuable daylight on Harden’s career going 41-41 last season. Owner Les Alexander, despite putting on a good face about “making the playoffs” at head coach Mike D’Antoni’s introductory press conference, likely won’t tolerate another finish hovering around .500 in 2016-17."

Among the players Pendergast named are Ryan Anderson, Nicolas Batum, and of course Al Horford. Although there are not many big name players on Pendergast’s list, he tended to focus on players who can contribute to Houston’s needs.

With Dwight Howard on the move, Pendergast felt that size and defense are what Daryl Morey should focus on. Speaking of Howard.

Despite entertaining a decision to resign in Houston, Howard has set up meeting with the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks. With his continuous decline over the past two years, Howard Beck of Bleacher Report ponders  which team is willing to pay $31 million to dismantle their team?

"His fall comes down to a basic skepticism: No one is convinced Dwight Howard gets it. For that matter, it’s not even clear that Dwight Howard knows what he wants. He forced a trade from Orlando in 2012, just three years after leading the Magic to the NBA Finals. He left the Lakers, one of the league’s premier franchises, after only one season, turning his back on three future Hall of Famers. Now Howard is set to leave the Rockets, abandoning a tense partnership with All-Star James Harden, just a year after making the Western Conference Finals. Assuming he signs elsewhere, Howard would be joining his fourth team in six seasons."

If I was the Celtics or Hawks general manager Howard would be an afterthought. Although he is still a good player, Howard brings a lot of baggage to the team. In the words of Beck, “His fourth team in six seasons, that kind of instability tends to raise red flags.”

As Houston continue their search for a new big, the Rockets are close to solving their point guard problems.

Since the hiring of Mike D’Antoni, there have been multiple reporters about a potential reunion with Jeremy Lin. Now with the rumors heating up every day, The Dream Shake’s Eric Spyropoulos believes that Lin is the perfect fit for the Rockets.

"With that aside, let’s take a look at Lin’s game (which we are all familiar with) and how it could fit with the Rockets. Lin is an offensive minded, attacking point guard. We all knew that already. During his season with the Hornets, Lin turned in to a go-to scorer off the bench, averaging 11.7 points per game, 3 assists per game, and 3 rebounds per game. Lin had a couple explosive games last season and showed flashes of his “Linsanity” days."

Lin came to prominence in New York during the ‘Linsanity’ era.  Buried deep on the bench it was Mike D’Antoni who tagged him to take over his high tempo offense.

As D’Antoni vowed to recreate the exchttps://spacecityscoop.com/2016/06/29/review-of-top-30-picks-in-the-2016-nba-draft-with-video-highlights/iting and high-pace offense he possessed with the Phoenix Suns, he once said that his New York Knicks was the last team who successfully executed his plan.  At the head of that Knicks team was Jeremy Lin. Who D’Antoni credits for his success in the Big Apple.

Lin maybe not the Rockets first choice, but a return in the system that created Linsanity would not hurt.

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