The Rockets want to pursue big-name stars again, but it’ll be much harder this time

Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey always finds ways to get in the picture for top free agents, and this year is no exception. The Rockets are dangling key rotation players like Patrick Beverley, Ryan Anderson, and Lou Williams in an attempt to create enough salary-cap space to get in the ballpark for top free agents, according to ESPN’s Marc Stein.

The Rockets are hoping to get into the room with four of the top free agents in this year’s class: Chris Paul, Paul Millsap, Kyle Lowry, and Blake Griffin. To do that, they need to trim significant salary in order to clear enough cap space to offer them a maximum contract.

Hence the desire to move Beverley, Anderson, and Williams, who combine to make just over $32 million next season. Eric Gordon, who will make $12.9 million next year, is another player that theoretically could be moved to clear space.

Houston often leaves all doors open in an attempt to surround James Harden with another superstar. But this will be far more difficult a task than in previous years. Here’s why.

If we assume a $101 million cap as projected, the Rockets will need to have just over $30 million in cap space to sign Griffin and more than $35 million to snag Paul, Lowry, or Millsap with a maximum contract.

The Rockets ... do not have that space. They currently owe just over $90 million to 10 players, which only would give them $11 million in space. They need to cut about $20 million to get in the ballpark for Griffin and $25 million plus to sign any of the other three, and that’s being optimistic.

Moving Anderson would go a long way toward getting the Rockets close, but that will be a difficult contract to trade. Anderson will make $19.6 million next season and has two more years beyond that left on a four-year, $80 million contract signed last summer. Anderson was a key part of the Rockets’ revival, but it’s hard to envision a team with $20 million in open cap space this summer deciding they want to take on his contract.

Even in the remote situation where the Rockets are able to find a taker for Anderson, they’d still need to offload Williams and/or Beverley. Williams could be useful for a team with one year and $7 million left, while Beverley is an asset making $5.3 million next year and a non-guaranteed $5 million in 2018-19. But Beverley is also a perfect fit with Harden and a key part of Houston’s culture. Would the Rockets really want to move him?

The Rockets could sneak into the picture by dealing one of those three in a sign-and-trade, which the Hawks are reportedly open to with Millsap. But that would limit some of Houston’s flexibility to fill its roster out, and it requires the Hawks to want Beverley, Williams, and/or Anderson as they enter a rebuild.

As SB Nation’s Tim Cato outlined, the Rockets decided to focus their offseason energy on finding the right pieces to surround Harden rather than jamming multiple stars together who might not fit. That strategy worked beautifully to the tune of a 55-win season and an inspiring Harden run for MVP.

However, it also resulted in Houston handing out a massive contract to Anderson and a sizable four-year commitment to Gordon. Those two players, while critical to Mike D’Antoni’s style of play, received contracts totaling $153 million over the next four years. As long as they are soaking up more than 30 percent of the cap, it will always be difficult for Morey to create enough flexibility to get into the ballpark for stars.

It’s possible for Morey and the Rockets to wedge their way in anyway, because we should never doubt his wizardry with the salary cap. But this will be a lot harder for him than it has been in previous years.