Jeremy Lin on verge of being traded to Lakers, according to report

The point guard appears to be on his way to Los Angeles to open up the cap room the Rockets need to sign Chris Bosh.

by Ricky O'Donnell

Jul 11, 2014, 5:58 PM UTC

Andrew Richardson-USA TODAY Sports

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Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.

In an attempt to open up max cap space for free agent forward Chris Bosh, the Houston Rockets are on the verge of trading point guard Jeremy Lin to the Los Angeles Lakers, according to Marc Stein of ESPN and Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski. The return package is believed to be cash and rights to some overseas players, according to Wojnarowski, but no salary back. The Lakers are expected to receive a future Rockets first round pick and other draft assets in return for taking on Lin’s contract. The first round pick Houston is sending to the Lakers is reportedly their own 2015 first round pick, according to David Aldridge of NBA.com.

Update: Bosh, Miami finalizing 5-year contract

This is just one of the many dominoes expected to fall following LeBron James’ decision to join the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Rockets have been aggressively targeting Bosh since it became a possibility that James may spurn the Heat. The timing of James’ decision works out perfectly for Houston, as now the Rockets will have the ability to sign Bosh and match the max offer sheet the Dallas Mavericks gave to forward Chandler Parsons. Houston is expected to match the offer sheet to Parsons, according to Ken Berger of CBS Sports.

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Bosh would form a terrific frontcourt with Dwight Howard in Houston. With Parsons on the wing and star shooting guard James Harden handling the perimeter scoring load, the Rockets would appear to be set for a big improvement on an already impressive 54-win campaign last season. Houston was eliminated in the first round of the playoffs by the Portland Trail Blazers.

Bosh averaged 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game in Miami last season.

Lin, meanwhile, will have the chance to return to a team that will give him a larger role after he was beat out by Patrick Beverley for the starting job last season.