The Houston Rockets might be losing an important element of their success last season as two Western Conference squads, namely the Los Angeles Clippers and Sacramento Kings, have express interest in landing free agent forward Josh Smith.
ESPN's Marc Stein tweeted about the Clippers' active pursuit of Smith who was traded to the Rockets last season and gelled seamlessly with the team.
The Clippers already acquired guard Lance Stephenson and veteran forward Paul Pierce this free agency and just re-signed center DeAndre Jordan following a drama-filled saga with the Dallas Mavericks.
If they can lure Smith from Houston, he will help solve the Clippers' problem with depth, according to Bleacher Report.
During the 2014-15 season, the starters and sixth man Jamal Crawford are the ones who got a huge chunk of minutes for the Clippers.
Crawford is the only player on the bench really playing heavy minutes for the squad.
Also interested in the 11-year veteran are the Kings, who have added a number of key free agents this offseason.
Despite the rift between head coach George Karl and All-Star big man DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings have already added championship-winning guards Rajon Rondo and Marco Belinelli and veteran center Kosta Koufos.
Jason Jones of the Sacramento Bee reported the Kings' desire to land Smith through a couple of tweets. "With players able to sign contracts, the Kings have a "very strong" interest in free agent forward Josh Smith," Jones first tweeted.
He followed it with another tweet: "That from league sources familiar with the Kings' plans. No deal imminent, but Kings would love to add Josh Smith."
In the report by NBC Sports, Marc Spears of Yahoo Sports also shared the Kings' interest in signing Smith through Twitter. "Kings remain interested in Rockets free agent F Josh Smith, a source said. Smith & new Kings PG Rajon Rondo were Oak Hill Academy teammates," Spears tweeted.
Smith spent his first nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks before playing for the Detroit Pistons. Last season, Detroit traded him to the Rockets, and he was a perfect fit as he helped the team reach the Western Conference Finals but lost to the Golden State Warriors.
Smith averaged 12 points, six rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 blocks in 55 regular season games with Houston last season. In the playoffs, he had a better offensive output, averaging 13.5 points with 5.6 rebounds, 2.7 assists and one block per outing.
