2 reasons why Kyrie Irving to the Rockets rumors shouldn't be a surprise

As the Houston Rockets aspire to ascend into relevance and postseason contention, they've identified the need for an established point guard. The Rockets' brass would certainly prefer that void to be filled by James Harden, but even Harden is no shoe-in, as the Rockets don't have Joel Embiid on their roster.

On Sunday, long-time NBA insider Marc Stein reported that the Rockets could shift their focus to Kyrie Irving of the Dallas Mavericks, in the event that they miss out on Uno.

"The Mavericks remain the league's only known team with definitive interest in signing the mercurial Irving next month, but league sources say that the Rockets have been increasingly cited as a team that could (stress: could) join the bidding if Harden elects to stay with the 76ers.

I have also heard that the Rockets, in the event that they are unable to lure Harden away from Philadelphia and back to Houston, plan to weigh a run at Dallas' Kyrie Irving."

Irving would usually not be the type of player that would be coveted by this version of the Rockets' brass, but these types of rumors linking Irving to the Rockets should come as no surprise this time around, for several reasons.