NBA Rumors: Houston Rockets Sign JR Smith; James Harden, Jason Terry Offer Max Deal To SF

By Mitch de Leon
LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers
Cleveland Cavaliers Kyrie Irving, LeBron James, Kevin Love, JR Smith and Tristan Thompson arrive home to a welcome party in Cleveland, Ohio, U.S., June 20, 2016.  REUTERS/Aaron Josefczyk

The Houston Rockets remain one of the few NBA teams that did not effect massive changes in their roster in the NBA offseason. Aside from re-signing James Harden and releasing Dwight Howard, no huge update has been confirmed by the Jason Terry team. However, it looks like the Houston Rockets have a very good reason not to join the fray of signing lucrative deals with free agents. Reports claim that The Beard and his crew target Cleveland Cavaliers' JR Smith as their biggest acquisition this NBA offseason.

The Cleveland Cavaliers barely have a salary cap space this offseason due to superstars like LeBron James, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love in their payroll. Hence, a JR Smith trade is highly feasible as the NBA champions might not be able to afford his fee. Given the minimal acquisitions of the Houston Rockets, fans feel that the Cleveland Cavaliers star might end up playing alongside James Harden next NBA season.

Although the championship run with LeBron James had been phenomenal for JR Smith, the former New York Knicks star admitted that he is open to signing with a different team this offseason. While he is nervous to leave the Cleveland Cavaliers, the 2004 Round 1 NBA Draft pick of the New Orleans Pelicans is still looking into landing good deals with other basketball squads.

"I've thought about that situation (leaving Cleveland), and I've thought about it the other way, too, going back and winning again," shared JR Smith of his free agency season. The Cleveland Cavaliers star added, "Both are juggled in the air and I'm kind of nervous about that choice when it gets presented to me."

Meanwhile, fans feel that JR Smith could perfectly fit in the Houston Rockets roster. An NBA star familiar with the road to redemption, the 30-year-old could serve as an inspiration for James Harden. Ever since his move to the Houston Rockets, The Beard has been subjected to intense scrutiny and criticism by fans and sports analysts.

James Harden, who had been romantically linked to Khloe Kardashian and reportedly had a feud with Lamar Odom, faces backlash after every Houston Rockets game. Regardless if they win or lose, fans blame The Beard for everything that goes wrong with the team. Surprisingly, Kevin Durant rushed to the defense of his former Oklahoma City Thunder teammate.

"Nobody really appreciates what he does except for the players in our league," Kevin Durant said of James Harden. He added, "Everybody on the outside doesn't really appreciate what he brings. Anybody that can put up 29 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and not make the All-NBA team, that's like a sin to even think about not putting a guy like that on the All-NBA team."

Durant added, "As a player and someone that played with him and a fan of the game I was (angry) because somebody is right here in front of you and you can't appreciate him. If he were to retire tomorrow, we would have so many stories and videos about how great he is, but he's here right now doing it. Appreciate what he brings."

What do you think? Will JR Smith fit well with the Houston Rockets? Should he leave the Cleveland Cavaliers for a chance to play with James Harden?

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