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HOUSTON ROCKETS: STATE OF THE FRANCHISE

State of the Franchise

Projected Cap Space (before luxury tax): $17.8 million

Background: It all started when Houston finalized the trade for then SG James Harden with the Oklahoma City Thunder. Harden had just come off a phenomenal year off the bench for the Thunder, going on to win the Sixth Man of the Year award. Houston landed the superstar in exchange for SG Kevin Martin, rookie SG Jeremy Lamb and a few draft picks. Then, in 2013, General Manager Daryl Morey managed to lure superstar C Dwight Howard away from the Los Angeles Lakers. This past offseason, they tried to make another splash in free agency. They traded the hefty expiring contracts of PG Jeremy Lin and C Omer Asik, and chose not to match an offer sheet from the Dallas Mavericks for restricted free agent SF Chandler Parsons. After initially missing out on SF Carmelo Anthony (NYK), Houston had a great chance to sign star big man Chris Bosh (MIA). They offered him a 4 year/$88 million max deal, but he chose to stay in Miami. After that horrible miss, Morey tried to salvage the offseason by signing SF Trevor Ariza to a 4 year/$32 million deal. Lin and Asik were replaced by young defensive studs PG Patrick Beverley and PF Terrence Jones, respectively. Houston is currently a major title contender in the Western Conference, and looks to bring home the Larry O’Brien trophy for the first time since Hall of Fame C Hakeem Olajuwon did so in 1994.

Current Financial State: With Harden and Howard being the only major financial commitments, the Rockets are in a good state financially. Although they are currently at $74 million, dangerously close to the luxury tax line, they are shedding about $15 million this offseason in the expiring contracts of veterans SG Jason Terry and the amnesty of PF Luis Scola (IND). Although Ariza is being paid a little more than the team would like, Beverley and Jones are still on their cheap rookie deals. With only $59 million on the books for next season, Houston is in shape to make another big splash in free agency.

Targets: With money to spend, Daryl Morey will look to add another star to his already impressive duo of Harden and Howard.  One star they are likely to target is PG Rajon Rondo. His current team, the Dallas Mavericks, are in a good situation right now, so Morey has to hope his young, competitive team will be enough to attract Rondo to Houston. The Rockets will need to go a couple million dollars over the luxury tax to be able to sign Rondo while retaining PF Josh Smith in free agency, but owner Leslie Alexander should be willing to pay up for this championship caliber team. They would have to decline PF Kosta Papanikolaou's $5 million team option to be able to sign Rondo to a reasonable 4 year/$60 million deal and Josh Smith to a contract worth roughly $5 million per year. A starting five of Rondo, Harden, Ariza, Smith, and Howard could make Houston instant favorites for the title.

The Fit: Rondo meshes really well with Houston's roster. His defensive abilities can be used to cover for Harden's apparent deficiency on that side of the ball. Rondo's ball-handling skills along with his playmaking ability and craftiness could really boost the already explosive Houston offense. Rondo's fit is undeniable and Houston should definitely pursue him. 
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