Can Houston Finally Unite the Banana Boat Crew?

As if the NBA offseason couldn’t get anymore exciting, there are now rumors coming from sources close to Carmelo Anthony that a trade sending him to the Houston Rockets could be finalized before Monday.  According to Melo’s camp, they are “cautiously optimistic” a trade with the Rockets will happen by Monday, the day Knicks media day begins (via Yahoo Sports). If this trade does in fact go through, this would be the second major trade the Rockets have completed this offseason, with the first being the blockbuster Chris Paul trade that sent Patrick Beverley, Lou Williams, Sam Dekker, Montrezl Harrell, Darrun Hilliard, DeAndre Liggins, Kyle Wiltjer, a 2018 protected first-round pick and cash considerations to the Clippers for the All-Star point guard.  While landing both Chris Paul and Carmelo Anthony will be costly for the Rockets (assuming Houston will have to give up NeNe, Eric Gordon, Ryan Anderson, Trevor Ariza, future first and second round picks, or some combination of these assets to land Melo), it could make the Houston franchise serious contenders against the superteam Warriors and the consistently dominant Spurs.  Of course, reuniting Carmelo and Mike D’Antoni might cause some internal conflicts as well, but having both Anthony and Paul on the same lineup at the same time could be the first of small, yet significant steps to accomplish one goal: bring LeBron James to Houston next year.  

For those who have been following the NBA offseason attentively, you will know that Dwyane Wade hasn’t officially returned to the Chicago Bulls.  With a Bulls roster that has essentially self-destructed over the last year, it’s obvious that Wade has been weighing his options for his near future in the NBA.  So far, Wade has stated that the Bulls, the Heat, and the Lakers are the three locations he would like to end up in the most for next season.  However, if Melo joins forces with CP3 in Houston could this influence Wade to join his friends in Texas?  Wade, who is nearing the end of his career, has accomplished every significant personal milestone thinkable, including setting records for nearly every statistical category in Heat franchise history.  Because of this, Wade stated before last season that needs to be paid, and after disappointing talks, or lack thereof, with Pat Riley, Wade decided to accept a 2 year, $47M contract with the Bulls.  Although, Wade could exercise his player option and decide to leave Chicago and head south to Houston.  Of course, signing with the Rockets would mean Wade would most likely not be getting close to $24M/year, however, if the trade with the Knicks does include Ryan Anderson, or a combination of PJ Tucker and Trevor Ariza, Houston could then afford to offer $15-20M/year for Dwyane, which is more than fair for a solid veteran about to enter his upper 30s.

This may seem like an idiotic move for the Rockets, but acquiring 3 of the 4 veterans who make up the iconic banana boat crew could be enough to steer LeBron away from the Lakers to sign with Houston.  Despite LeBron’s significant interest in wanting to relocate to Los Angeles, finally uniting Bron’s closest friends in the league on a team not only led by the greatest point guard in the league but also on the verge of knocking out the Warriors to head to the Finals to face a lesser Eastern Conference opponent could be enough to get Lebron to sign at least a 1 year deal with the Rockets.  Uniting the banana boat crew on one team is something the media and NBA fans have been dying to see and I’m sure Melo, CP3, Wade, and LeBron have been waiting for the opportunity as well.  

But signing LeBron does not come without first breaking the bank.  James has clearly shown that he must be the highest paid, or at least close to it, player in the NBA, and even with his friends filling up roster spots, the Rockets will still need to give James $30M/year at least to make it worth postponing LeBron’s inevitable relocation to the Lakers.  However, this could be possible.  In a similar way to how Boston had to move A LOT of pieces to make financial room for Gordon Hayward, the Rockets will need to do the same to find enough cash for LeBron.  This would first require trading away Ryan Anderson.  Position wise, you’d be replacing a solid power forward for the greatest power forward of all time, but even after dumping Anderson’s $20M/year contract, which runs through 2020, you would still need to free up at least $10M, not including the at least $15/year you would owe Dwyane Wade.  If I’m the Rockets I’m declaring NeNe and Eric Gordon as untouchables.  Mainly due to the fact that even though Eric Gordon is the 4th highest paid player on the roster, it’s because he is one of the greatest players off the bench in the league, and keeping him on the roster is essential.  Also, snagging NeNe from the Wizards for only $3.5M/year is a steal and locks down the Center position until 2020.  But to truly make enough room for LeBron at a 1 year, $30M contract and D-Wade at at least a 2 year, $30M contract, you would need to trade away or renounce the rights to PJ Tucker, Trevor Ariza, Tarik Black, Luc Mbah a Moute, Bobby Brown, Troy Williams, Shawn Long, Chinanu Onuaku, Tim Quarterman, and Isaiah Taylor (you could also include Clint Capela instead and keep two of the mentioned players earning $1.3M this season, but as the Warriors showcased in the 2017 NBA Finals, having a mediocre center off the bench can payoff).  Like the Celtics, the Rockets would be left with 3-4 players on the roster who wore a Houston jersey in the 2017 NBA Playoffs, but acquiring Melo, CP3, D-Wade, and LeBron over the span of 1 calendar year would be monumental for the franchise and would almost definitely lead to another banner for the Rockets.  Also, by adding the remaining pieces to the banana boat crew, the team payroll would jump from $119M to about $133M, which is identical to the Warriors payroll and still less than that of Cleveland ($138M), so technically Houston could offer even more to either D Wade or LeBron (but chances are it would go to LeBron).

While this all looks fantastic on paper, let’s be honest, LeBron James will be a Laker come this time next year.  Even with Melo on the Rockets, D-Wade will either return to Miami or follow LeBron to the Lakers as well, and the Rockets will be a solid 3rd seed in the West, if very lucky the 2nd seed, but will be stopped by Golden State and eventually Los Angeles, en route to the NBA Finals.  As heartbreaking as it can be to see Chris Paul continuously fail to achieve a Conference Finals appearance, it’s even worse to see Carmelo’s window of finally winning the elusive NBA title slowly start to close.  Melo is the most decorated NBA player in history, with his personal accolades from the NBA, NCAA, and USA Men’s Basketball all being enough to deem him one of the greatest to play the game.  However, the lack of an NBA Championship will always haunt him, in a similar fashion to how it haunted Kevin Durant.  Personally, I want LeBron to join forces with Carmelo, regardless of whether or not D-Wade and Chris Paul are alongside them, just so that James can help Anthony win his much needed first NBA Championship.  Who knows, maybe next week Carmelo will be calling Houston home and the slow process of getting LeBron to bring home title number 3 to Houston will begin.

Written by Erik Clark