Hopefully Thomas Robinson invested in U-Haul stock. He can't seem to find a home since getting drafted third overall by Sacramento (which appeared to be in the process of moving to Seattle) last June. After Robinson was acquired by the Houston Rockets before the trade deadline, he was expected to provide a physicality that the Rockets finesse lineup sorely lacked. That promise never came to fruition as he never became an instrumental part of Houston's rotation. According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, this summer the Rockets plan on making Robinson an NBA vagabond.
In order to provide a max offer to Dwight Howard, the Rockets seek to dump Robinson's $3.5 million salary in a trade with an NBA franchise in need of a traditional back-to-the basket scoring power forward. That's tough luck for Robinson.
Without the salary of Robinson and others, the Rockets will have the space to offer Howard a maximum deal starting at approximately $20.5 million a season.
Houston is competing mainly with Dallas – and possibly Golden State – to lure Howard once free agency commences on July 1. Howard has become increasingly intrigued with the Rockets as a possible destination, sources said. Houston's supporting cast, including James Harden and Chandler Parsons, is one of the reasons.
The Rockets are targeting teams with the cap space to absorb Robinson's contract. The Rockets are trying to cobble together a package that could include assets such as a trade exception, a draft pick or non-guaranteed contracts that they can be unloaded, sources said.
