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Maybe the Houston Rockets won't be in the running for Cleveland Cavaliers superstar LeBron James after all.

Appearing on The Athletic's TK Show (h/t NBC Sports' Dan Feldman), ESPN.com's Chris Haynes said he's been led to believe the Rockets are not a legitimate landing spot should James opt out of the final year of his contract and become an unrestricted free agent.

"Houston has been linked a lot," he said. "I've been told that that's not a realistic option."

The Rockets have been considered one of James' possible destinations for some time, and the New York Times' Marc Stein reported last month that point guard Chris Paul had "already begun his recruitment of James to Houston."

But financially, James' fit with the Rockets has never made sense.

ESPN.com's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Saturday that the Rockets will likely have to shell out a max contract to keep Paul in tow (h/t ClutchPoints.com), and general manager Daryl Morey has already indicated the floor general will be back next season.

"He's been there before at those moments and got injured sometimes," Morey said following the Rockets' loss to the Golden State Warriors in the Western Conference Finals, according to the Houston Chronicle's Jonathan Feigen. "Yeah, he took it hard. But you know what, he'll be back. He'll be back 100 percent and we're ready to go."

There's also the matter of keep center Clint Capela, who will be a restricted free agent on July 1.



"Gotta sign Chris, want to keep Clint," Rockets owner Tilman Fertitta said May 29, per KPRC's Lainie Fritz.

If the Rockets shell out lucrative deals to bring those two back, it's hard to see a viable path to signing James at his max price point.