NBA Trade Rumors: Houston Rockets Looking for a Sign-and-Trade Deal for Carmelo Anthony

The Houston Rockets are expected to pursue New York Knicks superstar Carmelo Anthony, who will become an unrestricted free agent this summer.

According to the New York Post, the Rockets inquired about Anthony before the deadline, but talks did not materialize. But despite failing in their first attempt, the Rockets are not ready to give up.

However, the Rockets will not have enough cap space this summer to sign Anthony outright, which means that they may try and convince the Knicks to agree to a sign-and-trade deal for the All-Star forward.

"According to a league source, the Rockets will make a bid for Anthony this summer, even though they probably won't have cap space and would have to orchestrate a creative sign-and-trade. The source said Houston asked the Knicks about Anthony before February's trade deadline," reported Marc Berman of the New York Post.

Rockets general manager Daryl Morey is known for pursuing players with high efficiency ratings, which is not the type of player Anthony is, but Morey is reportedly itching to form a superstar trio of Anthony, Dwight Howard, and James Harden.

"Even though Rockets president Daryl Morey is the pioneer of advanced statistics and Anthony has never fared well in some efficiency categories, Morey's old-school instincts believe he could form a terrific Big 3 with Dwight Howard and James Harden," the New York Post added.

Knicks Could Acquire Omer Asik, Jeremy Lin in Trade

According to the report, the Rockets could create cap space to sign Anthony if they can find a taker for Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik in the offseason.

Another option is trading Lin and Asik along with draft picks to the Knicks in exchange for Anthony. The Knicks could be amenable to such a deal, especially if Phil Jackson is not planning to build around Anthony.

"The only way the Rockets can get under the cap is by dealing the expiring contracts of Jeremy Lin, who is entering the poison-pill year of $15 million, and Asik, also scheduled to make $15 million," NY Post reported. "But even if the Rockets don't, a desperate Knicks team could take on Lin or Asik and draft picks if Phil Jackson doesn't believe in building around Anthony."

Trading for Lin and Asik will also put the Knicks in a better financial situation in the summer of 2015, putting the team in a good position to sign big name free agents like Kevin Love and Rajon Rondo.