NBA: Playoffs-Portland Trail Blazers at Houston Rockets
NBA: Playoffs-Portland Trail Blazers at Houston Rockets Reuters

The Houston Rockets are letting the market dictate the value of soon to-be restricted free agent Chandler Parsons.

As reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports, the Texas powerhouse will decline the fourth-year option on starting small forward Parsons. The Rockets have a $960,000 cap hold on the fourth and final year of Parsons' contract and matching said hold would allow the swingman to become a free agent by next seasons' end. The said decision will make Parsons a restricted free agent this off season, essentially starting a bidding war which the Rockets can match themselves. Initial estimates dictate that the marksman will command an annual salary of around $8 to $10 million.

The said move of the Rockets front office comes as it positions itself as a free agent destination for a third superstar such as Carmelo Anthony, LeBron James, Texas native Chris Bosh and Dallas Maverick's Dirk Nowitzki. They have also set their eyes on disgruntled Minnesotta all-star Kevin Love who can be obtained via a trade which presumably may include Parsons and other enticing players and picks in a package.

The Houston Rockets have an interesting position given that their rebuild has not gone through the bottoming out process and building through the draft. Instead, they signed center Dwight Howard in free agency and lucked into trading for James Harden with Oklahoma City Thunder. The two-time world champion Rockets also have to consider the final year of the contracts of key players Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik in their chase for improving from the first round exit they suffered in the hands of the Portland Trailblazers during the first round of the 2014 playoffs.

While it is unclear if the move to decline the fourth year option on Parsons would ultimately yield a positive effect on the roster, the Rockets are clearly playing their cards to net another superstar to flank with the Howard-Harden combination. If the said gamble plays out, remains to be seen in the forthcoming offseason.