Jeremy Lin Offseason News: Rockets Could Trade 'Linsanity' to Knicks for Carmelo Anthony
The Houston Rockets are considered as one of the most likely landing spots for Carmelo Anthony this offseason as reports indicated that the team is preparing to move assets like Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik to make a room for the New York Knicks superstar.
Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders reported that the Rockets will make a strong push to acquire Anthony this offseason, and sources indicated that Houston will be willing to part ways with any player aside from Dwight Howard and James Harden.
One possible scenario is packaging Lin and Asik with their first-round pick this year and a promising prospect like Terrence Jones in hopes of convincing the Knicks to agree to a sign-and-trade deal for Anthony.
"Houston would trade almost anything not named Dwight Howard and James Harden to get at Anthony and they would go all in on a contract too," Kyler wrote. "There has been talk that Houston has offered up Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin in a "give away" trade that could include their draft pick in the first round or a roster player like Terrence Jones."
The Rockets could also offer Lin, Asik, and other players in their roster to other teams in hopes of getting their salary off their books, which will give them a shot at signing Anthony as a free agent by offering a four-year maximum deal.
Lin, who averaged 12.5 points to go along with 4.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game this season, is set to earn $14.9 million next season, although only $8.3 million of it will affect Houston's cap next season --similar to Asik.
"If the Rockets can find a taker for those contracts they'd go from a best-case $56.9 million in salary commitments to $40.2 million, which means $22.7 million in cap space. That's more than enough for Houston to get into the game in a serious way for Anthony," Kyler noted.
Anthony has yet to talk about his plans this offseason, but the Rockets are expected to be one of his preferred destinations, knowing that teaming up with Howard and Harden will give him a good shot at winning his first NBA championship.