The Houston Rockets are one of the teams that has been mentioned as having a legitimate chance to sign LeBron James this summer, but that may be a moot point if they choose not to even make an offer.
Appearing on SI’s Open Floor podcast this week, NBA reporter Lee Jenkins said he was met with some confusion when he recently asked members of the Rockets organization about making a run at LeBron.
“I asked a couple people in Houston about it, and there was sort of a look of, ‘Why would we break this up right now?'” Jenkins said, as transcribed by SLAM. “Because they know everything they would have to give up. They know how many moves they would have to make. And would they be able to preserve the same level of shooting, the same level of defense?
“And this is people inside the organization. How much would they have to sacrifice of what they built as far as the way they play? Would they’d have to play significantly differently?”
The Rockets were the best team in basketball during the regular season, though the way they perform in the postseason from this point forward should say a lot about where they stand with LeBron. If the Utah Jazz somehow get the best of them, they might be more inclined to pursue James. But if they reach the Western Conference Finals or make an even deeper run, you can understand why they might want to stick with what works.
Unless LeBron was willing to take less money to sign with the Rockets, they would undoubtedly have to undergo a significant roster shakeup to add him. Plus, it’s hard to imagine James Harden and LeBron having to share the ball. Given what Harden recently said about his team, it would not be a surprise if he encouraged the Rockets to steer clear of LeBron.
