LeBron James to the Rockets? Here's how it could happen this summer

If LeBron James' goal this offseason is to join the team that gives him the best chance of knocking off Golden State after back-to-back losses to the Warriors in the NBA Finals, his best hope may be joining the Houston Rockets -- who took the Warriors the distance in this year's conference finals.

Because Houston is already too close to the salary cap to sign James outright before even dealing with new contracts for free agents Chris Paul and Clint Capela, getting LeBron to Houston would almost certainly require a trade. Is such a scenario possible? Let's look at how it might happen.

Step 1: James opts in for 2018-19

If LeBron wants to play for the Rockets, it would probably be necessary for…