The Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to take on Jeremy Lin's $15 million contract if the Houston Rockets are able to sign a major player like Chris Bosh, and it is believed that Bosh will take the max deal of $88 million offered by Houston if LeBron James decides to leave the Miami Heat. Some expect James to make his decision before traveling to Brazil for the World Cup game this weekend.
Jeremy Lin has been a solid player for the Houston Rockets; however, his pricey contract weighs heavily on a team that desires to recruit another major player. Houston has made max offers to Carmelo Anthony and to Chris Bosh recently, in hopes of forming a Big Three talent with Rockets stars James Harden and Dwight Howard. If a major talent were signed, the Rockets would likely trade Lin in an effort to clear some cap space.
A few NBA stars would likely be effected by LeBron James' decision to leave the Miami Heat. James' representatives have met with the Cavaliers, the Mavericks, the Suns, the Rockets, and the Lakers to discuss potential trades, and the NBA star also had a conversation with Heat president Pat Riley Wednesday about their future after losing the NBA finals to the San Antonio Spurs this year. While no decision has been announced as of yet, James and his agent are reportedly not inclined to have any further team meetings.
Chris Bosh has made his desires to remain with James known, and he will likely stay in Miami if James does as well - even though it would mean that he'd receive a pay cut. If James leaves Miami, Bosh would likely accept the Houston Rockets' max offer of $88 million. In that case, the Philadelphia 76ers have agreed to trade for Lin, along with at least one future first-round draft pick from the Rockets. In return, the Rockets would free up $8.37 million of cap space due to Lin for the 2014-15 season, enabling them to sign Chris Bosh.
The Rockets had made a similar offer to Carmelo Anthony, but he is expected to sign with either the Lakers or the Knicks. To make things more complicated, Rockets star Chandler Parsons signed a three-year contract with the Dallas Mavericks Wednesday, and Houston has three days to match the offer if they desire to keep him. They would need to sign Chris Bosh first, however, as matching Parsons' offer would decrease the salary cap and jeopardize Bosh's deal. The Rockets have reportedly reached out to Luol Deng as a potential replacement for Parsons as well.
ESPN analyst Marc Stein reports that because LeBron James wants to go to the World Cup game in Brazil this weekend, he may decide on whether or not to stay with the Miami Heat in the next couple of days. The placement of Chris Bosh, Jeremy Lin, and Chandler Parsons seems to be on hold until then.
