NBA Rumors: 3 Players that could join the Houston Rockets this summer

The Houston Rockets entered the 18-19 season with the confidence that they could finally beat the Golden State Warriors and advance to the NBA Finals. However, Steph Curry and company once again proved a step too far for Mike D'Antoni's men, marking the fourth time in five years that the Rockets have been eliminated by Golden State.

The Rockets have since made the majority of their roster available, and the likes of Chris Paul and Clint Capela are likely to leave this summer. Incomings are also possible, and here are three players currently being linked with a move to Houston.

#3 Bradley Beal

Bradley Beal enjoyed a strong season with the Wizards

Bradley Beal is entering the prime years of his career, although he is currently stuck on a Washington Wizards franchise that is facing an impending rebuild. Due to this, the Wizards may cash in on Beal's value this summer, and Dan Favale of Bleacher Report believes a trade could be built around Clint Capela.

Bradley Beal needs to pop up on the Rockets’ radar if the Wizards start taking offers. Clint Capela, 25, is under contract for another four years at a not-unreasonable $72.2 million, and Washington doesn’t yet have its center of the future. Working in other salary filler won’t be easy if Nene retires, but Capela, Clark and two first-rounders is a legitimate starting point. Beal is worth the cost. He’ll be 26 when next season tips off, with two more years left on his deal, and his arrival would allow the Rockets to lean further into their heavy-playmaking model while softening the blow of Chris Paul’s decline.

During the 18-19 season, Beal averaged 25.6 points, 5.5 assists and 5.0 rebounds per game.

#2 Al Horford

Al Horford has stated his desire to play on a contending team next season

Al Horford was among the Boston Celtics' best performers during the 18-19 season, although the 33-year-old has expressed his desire to play on a contending team next season. Without Kyrie Irving, the Celtics may struggle to compete in the immediate future, and Chris Forsberg of Yahoo Sports believes the Rockets could be an option for Horford.

Al Horford might be more intrigued by win-now possibilities than sticking around to see if Boston's 2018 playoff core - albeit with a now-healthy Gordon Hayward - could find that old Kyrie-less magic. He might alert Boston that he'd prefer to play for a more surefire contender, but is willing to help the team recoup assets in that process.

Horford could either opt into the $30.1 million final year of his contract and be dealt to Houston in a deal that could bring back, say, Clint Capela and assets. Or Horford could opt out and the teams could try to find a workable sign-and-trade in which Horford still gets longer-term security and a chance to chase a ring.

Horford has spent three seasons with the Celtics, and during the 18-19 season, he averaged 13.6 points and 6.7 rebounds per game.

#1 Reggie Bullock

Reggie Bullock finished the 18/19 season with the Lakers

Reggie Bullock joined the Los Angeles Lakers ahead of the February trade deadline, although he failed to make much of an impact as the Lakers missed out on the playoffs. But, Bleacher Report believes that the impending free agent could offer value to the Rockets.

With so many non-Bird free agents hitting the open market, the Rockets probably won't be allocating their best resource to a singular player. Whatever version of the MLE they're peddling likely needs to be split among two or three rotation pieces. Reggie Bullock is on the higher end of the Rockets' possibilities. While he isn't a tireless stopper, he's a quality one-on-one defender when going up against smaller wings and guards.

Before his underwhelming spell with the Lakers, Bullock was among the Detroit Pistons' best performers, averaging 12.1 points per game and shooting at 38% from three-point range.