The Houston Rockets are still believed to be eying a trade for Phoenix Suns guard Goran Dragic and could now have a legitimate chance of landing him. Suns general manager Ryan McDonough admitted his roster is unbalanced, and with Dragic expected to become an unrestricted free agent in July, Phoenix reportedly is now amendable to trading Dragic before the Feb. 19 deadline.
It's no secret Houston would jump at the chance to bring back Dragic. The 1-spot is Houston's biggest deficiency, and acquiring the 28-year-old point guard would be a huge backcourt-upgrade for the playoff-bound Rockets. The good news for the Rockets is Phoenix reportedly has changed their tune about trading Dragic, whom they were originally believed to be unwilling to move.
"Hearing Suns want a first-rounder for Goran Dragic and, rest assured, they'll get it. Rockets got to be tempted," Gery Woelfel of the Racine Journal Times tweeted Wednesday night.
Houston traded their 2015 first-round pick, along with Jeremy Lin, to the Los Angeles Lakers, but they still have the New Orleans Pelicans' first-rounder (top-3 protected) from July's Omer Asik trade.
According to Basketball Insiders' Alex Kennedy, it's also possible Houston tries to involve a third team in any potential deal.
"I'm sure (Rockets general manager) Daryl Morey will try to look at three-team deals for Dragic, because Houston loves the point guard's game and really wants to add him," Kennedy wrote Wednesday.
Dragic does have some power over where he goes, however. Because he can opt out of his contract after the season, he could essentially veto any trade he doesn't like by informing the team he will leave in July. Few teams, if any, would be willing to give up a first-round pick to rent a player for half of a season.
Although the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers have been linked to Dragic, Houston does have one advantage: they're going to be playing in the postseason.
