作者:
gn1384181 (gn1384181)
2018-05-31 08:00:06消息來源：(網址或出處)
https://goo.gl/392ECK
內容：
In addition to the Rockets’ longstanding interest in free agent-to-be LeBron
James, another noteworthy longtime target of general manager Daryl Morey is
Paul George, two league sources told Rockets Wire.
Immediately after agreeing on a deal to bring Chris Paul to Houston last
June, Morey was reportedly aggressive in the pursuit of George, then with the
Indiana Pacers. Ultimately, George was traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder
to combine with Russell Westbrook and Carmelo Anthony. Many had that trio
pegged for Western Conference greatness, but the Thunder won 46 games and
lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Utah Jazz. With the offseason
approaching, the Rockets will once again be aggressive in free agency,
targeting James or George, both sources said. The sources spoke on the
condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to speak on the
record about George.
A max contract for James or George would likely come with a first-year salary
around $35 million, meaning Houston would have to make moves to open up more
cap space to make either deal happen. Houston currently is slated to have
$85.1 million on the books for next season, with the salary cap projected
around $101 million. That’s before factoring in Paul’s $35.5 million cap
hold, which counts against Houston’s total until he either signs a new
contract with the team or leaves for another team.
If George or James decide they want to play in Houston, the easiest way to
make it happen without the team sacrificing too much depth would be for
either player to pick up his player option for next season before the end of
June and engineer a trade. This is how Paul came to the Rockets last year,
foregoing his player option and pushing the Los Angeles Clippers to work out
a trade rather than losing him for nothing. Any deal for James or George
would have to include power forward Ryan Anderson for salary-matching
purposes, although it’s unlikely either Cleveland or Oklahoma City would
want to take back the two years and $41.6 million remaining on Anderson’s
deal.
Landing James or George is difficult for Houston, but not impossible. Morey
insisted Wednesday that he has a path to improving the team, and he’s been
known to think outside the box in years past.
Where James decides to go is a mystery the entire league is attempting to
solve, and there likely won’t be much clarity on his future until after the
end of the NBA Finals between the Cavaliers and the Warriors, which begins
Thursday. However, if the Rockets want any shot at landing Paul George, they
will have to fend off serious competition from the Los Angeles Lakers. Lakers
president Magic Johnson and general manager Rob Pelinka have made it known
that George is a priority for them, having even been fined for tampering
earlier this season.
ESPN駐休士頓記者Kelly Iko透露，有兩位消息人士告訴他，除了LeBron James外，Paul
George也是莫雷追求的長期目標。
隨著休賽期的臨近，火箭隊將對LeBron或Paul George發起猛烈追求，兩位消息人士均希望
匿名，因為他們沒有被授權在追求Paul George的議題上發言。
LeBron或Paul George的最大合約可能會來到第一年3500萬左右，這意味著火箭將不得不
採取措施，清理更多的薪資空間，以達成任何交易。火箭目前預計下賽季將擁有8510萬
的收入，薪資上限預計將達到1.01億左右。
如果Paul George或LeBron決定要去火箭打球，那麼在球隊沒有犧牲太多深度的情況下實現
這個目標的最簡單方法就是讓他們在6月底之前執行下個賽季的球員選項併進行交易。這就
是CP3去年來到火箭的方式，CP3執行了他的球員選項，並且讓快艇進行交易，而不是白白
讓快艇換空氣。任何與LeBron或Paul George有關的交易為了薪資匹配的目的都必須把Ryan
Anderson放在交易包裹內，儘管騎士或雷霆不太可能想要吃下Ryan Anderson兩年4160萬的
合約。
儘管空降LeBron或Paul George對火箭來說有難度，但並非不可能。莫雷週三時還堅稱，
他找到了一條改善球隊的途徑，莫雷在過去的幾年為人所熟知的就是他那跳脫框架式的
思考。
如果火箭想要得到Paul George，他們將不得不面對來自湖人的強烈競爭。湖人隊總裁
Magic Johnson和總管Rob Pelinka已經表明，招募Paul George是他們的首要任務，甚至
在本賽季早些時候還因為這件事而遭到聯盟罰款。
短評或心得：A計劃姆斯 B計劃PG