Houston Rockets are positioning themselves to acquire LeBron James this summer

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The better route would involve some creativity from Morey. He needs to convince the Cavaliers to trade James to Houston.

This isn't unprecedented. When the 14-time All-Star chose to join the Miami Heat in 2010, the Cavaliers agreed to sign and trade him to South Beach for draft considerations.

NBA rules have since changed. A sign-and-trade would lock the Rockets into a hard cap, projected to be $129 million for 2018-19. Houston would also have to trade out enough salary to take on James' salary, which leads back to players like Anderson, Gordon and/or Tucker.

The foursome of Harden, Paul, James and Capela would put the Rockets near that hard cap, limiting the team's ability to flesh out the remainder of the roster.

There's an even better tack, similar to the one Morey took this past summer to acquire Paul from the Los Angeles Clippers. Instead of opting out of his final year at $24.6 million, the veteran point guard opted into his contract, contingent on the Clippers trading him to Houston.

But would Cleveland take on Anderson? That's a tough sell for a team entering a rebuilding process without James. They might not have interest in Gordon and/or Tucker. Both may be good fits for contending franchises but probably not ideal pieces for the Cavs.

Morey may need help from a third or fourth team.

To take on James' current $33.3 million contract, the Rockets would need to send out $26.5 million in salary. Or, once the 2018-19 year begins on July 1, Houston would need to trade away $28.4 million to acquire James at $35.6 million.

Anderson's contract would help the Rockets near that number quickly, but then he's the more challenging piece to move.

Instead, Morey may find it easier to deal Gordon and Tucker to teams looking for quality veterans.

Without Anderson, the Rockets won't be able to come up with enough salary to acquire James in trade before July, even if they combine the salaries of Nene, Chinanu Onuaku, Zhou Qi, Gordon and Tucker.

After June, the fivesome still only collectively earn $28 million next season—just short of the number needed to acquire James (without Anderson).

The Rockets have two options to bridge the gap.

They can sign and trade one of their own free agents (Tarik Black, Brandan Wright, Gerald Green, Joe Johnson, etc.), but that would give the incoming team a hard cap for next season. That probably wouldn't be an issue for a team like the Chicago Bulls, who project to be flush with cap room this summer, but it could impact a playoff team looking to bring on players like Gordon and/or Tucker.

The other solution would be to sign a player to a two-year minimum deal before the end of the current season. That extra salary for 2018-19 would mathematically push the Rockets over the edge in a James trade, sans Anderson.

One more wrinkle: The Rockets don't have a roster spot available. They'd have to cut someone before their playoff run in preparation for a potential trade for James after the season.

Whatever path they take, the Rockets have enough flexibility to pursue James this summer and pay Paul, Capela and even Ariza to return.

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