How can the Houston Rockets Trade for Paul George?

The star player of the Indiana Pacers might be tough acquire in a regular trade.

All-Star forward Paul George is on the outs in Indiana. This fact has long been known, so the team is trying their hardest to get the best possible deal for him. Many teams are interested, of course, including the Houston Rockets. There is only one problem that the Rockets have: they no longer have the assets required to trade for such a big name. So, what can the team do to still get Paul George? Daryl Morey and the rest of the front office must get creative.

Rockets have been turned down

Some news came out yesterday that the Rockets offered the Pacers a trade but were turned down. The details of the trade are unknown, but it likely involved Eric Gordon and/or Ryan Anderson. What is known, however, is that the Rockets likely need to involve a third team to finish the deal.

Rockets offer is "unacceptable" to the Pacers and they're working on bolstering offer looking for a third team.

— Clevis Murray (@ClevisMurray) June 28, 2017

A third team is necessary

The Rockets are running low on assets to trade. Yesterday, the team traded Patrick Beverley, Sam Dekker, Lou Williams, Montrezl Harrell, and more for Chris Paul. These players were expendable this summer, but using them all on one trade is rough. Now the Rockets must dig deep into their bag of tricks if they want to pull off this trade. A third team is probably necessary to get Paul George. Here is how the trade could work:

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The Rockets and Pacers would include a team with a ton of cap space, such as the 76ers. The Rockets need to get rid of Ryan Anderson’s contract, so they could send him to Philly. Houston would also probably have to send a player to Indiana to make this deal work, such as Ariza, Gordon, or Capela. The Sixers have first round picks stashed up for a few years, so they would send one or so to the Pacers along with maybe a young player, who Indiana will need during their rebuild. The Pacers would then send Paul George to Houston, seeing as they have their assets and first round pick.

While this trade is very rough and likely not how it would go down, it is still a good illustration to see why the Rockets need to find a third team. Houston will need to give up a ton to get this deal done. We will see what Daryl Morey does in the near future.