Houston Rockets Will Make A Bid For Carmelo Anthony This Summer Per New York Post

Mar 12, 2014; Boston, MA, USA; New York Knicks forward Carmelo Anthony (7) talks with head coach Mike Woodson during the first quarter at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

We’re about 4 months away from the start of free agency, but for one of the biggest names in this upcoming summer’s class, rumors have swirled around him all season. The latest has the New York Knicks‘ forward Carmelo Anthony possibly being on the radar for the Houston Rockets.

According to Marc Berman of The New York Post, the Rockets are expected to make an offer for Anthony:

“According to a league source, the Rockets will make a bid for Carmelo Anthony this summer, even though they probably won’t have cap space and would have to orchestrate a creative sign-and-trade. The source said Houston asked the Knicks about Anthony before February’s trade deadline.

The Knicks have held discussions with the Rockets about power forward Omer Asik. Even though Rockets president Daryl Morey is the pioneer of advanced statistics and Anthony has never fared well in some efficiency categories, Morey’s old-school instincts believe he could form a terrific Big 3 with Dwight Howard and James Harden. Rockets management also believes Anthony has made advancements in the grit department the past two seasons.”

This comes at the hands of a USA Today report 2 weeks ago where Dwight Howard spoke to Anthony privately about his upcoming free agency.

“When I was in Orlando, a small market, and we were winning. I was very popular with a lot of different deals on the table. So it’s moreso about winning, and you’ve got to put yourself in a position to where you’re winning basketball games and you’re having fun doing it. Losing is not fun, and Melo wants to win.”

There’s no indication of whether or not Howard actually ‘recruited’ Anthony to consider the Rockets as a destination, but it wouldn’t be surprising if that was brought up somewhere in the conversation. A potential Big 3 consisting of those 2 plus James Harden may just be the trio that general manager Daryl Morey has been searching for.

But the Rockets will have to part ways most likely with both Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin in a potential sign-and-trade, as both are set to make $15 million next season, with a $8 million cap hit for each player. That could be a benefit for the Knicks in their rebuilding process with both players’ contracts expiring after next year.