Considering all the hype for the NBA Playoff Conference finals, two teams are generating a lot of hype are the Houston Rockets of the West and the Cleveland Cavaliers of the East. With the Cavaliers winning over the Atlanta Hawks with a sweep, they will be tough contenders at the NBA Finals. As for the Houston Rockets, it is possible for them to pull it off and face those Cavaliers. Even though West and East have yet to play against each other, there are a lot of NBA Trade Rumors going on for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets.
Things are looking good for the Cleveland Cavaliers as it is possible for LeBron James to make his fifth straight appearance to the NBA finals, bringing his hometown team back home as the champs. According to Sports World Report, there will be a lot of contract issues that have to be addressed this off-season as "several key pieces will either be restricted free agents or have player options".
Since the Cavaliers cannot give max contracts to everyone, it means either players must wait for a deal or take a pay cut. Two big players who have got attention about this issue are Kevin Love and Tristan Thompson. Thompson is a restricted free agent, which means that he could easily go to any team willing to give him that max deal. As for Love, he has player option, but there could be a hint that he is on his way out.
Lebron James speaks very highly about Thompson, believing that "he'll be here for a long time". Should Thompson get the max deal, the Love will need to wait or go elsewhere. The Cavaliers have been considering others such as JR Smith, Iman Shumpert, and Timofey Mozgov, which means that Love could not bet getting any love for a max deal and might have to go elsewhere. So who would replace him? Perhaps Tyson Chandler, Al Jefferson, and Larry Sanders are some good names to drop to replace the forward, but we will see.
As for the Rockets, Josh Smith has been a real surprise during the playoffs, and this places the forward in a great position for the postseason when he becomes a free agent again. When head coach Kevin McHale chose Smith over [Terrance] Jones, it really started the comeback against the Los Angeles Clippers. According to separate article at Sports World Report, it sounds as if Houston wants to keep Josh Smith on, which is to the surprise of no one.
Then there are rumors that Rajon Rondo could be a priority pick for the Rockets in the offseason. Should Rondo be picked up, there might not be able to swing what it would take to bring back Josh Smith.
It is apparent that the big deals will go to players like Dwight Howard, James Harden, Trevor Ariza, and Terrence Jones. So with that type of lineup, are we looking at a Rajon Rondo or Josh Smith team? As for now, the Rockets had better get there games going on if they want to beat the Warriors a few times, or it will be all over.
Eventually, the NBA Finals will be upon us, and we'll see if the Rockets will make it. In the meantime, the trade rumors for the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Houston Rockets will heat up, and we'll also see what will develop.
