Rockets deny interest in deal to land Boozer News Miami Heat

Despite their rumored involvement in a recent three-team deal that failed to materialize, the Houston Rockets apparently have no true interest in acquiring Utah Jazz forward Carlos Boozer. ESPN.com reported Thursday afternoon that unidentified sources within the Rockets' organization denied the team made any efforts to trade for Boozer. These same sources also denied interest in bringing Boozer to Houston.

This comes on the heels of a trade rumor that arose earlier in the week, which had the Rockets participating in a three-team trade with the Jazz and the Chicago Bulls that would have sent Boozer to Chicago and Kyrylo Fesenko to Houston and brought Shane Battier and Carl Landry to Utah. ESPN confirmed that Miami's interest in prying Boozer away from Utah, however, is high and he ultimately could factor into their plans for this season. The Heat are currently trying to entice free-agent forward Lamar Odom away from the Los Angeles Lakers to return for a second stint with the team. If Miami can bring in Odom at small forward, the Heat could try to trade for Boozer in order to pair the two together in the frontcourt. Earlier reports indicated that the Heat offered Udonis Haslem and Dorrell Wright to the Jazz , but that offer was quickly rejected. It is believed Utah is most interested in obtaining Michael Beasley ? the former No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft ? if the team ends up dealing Boozer to Miami. Such a deal would hinge on whether the Heat were willing to trade away such a high lottery pick after just one season and how Miami would structure a trade deal. With their recent re-signing of backup center Jamaal Magloire, the Heat currently have four centers under contract and are reported to be looking to trade at least one of them. The most likely trade prospect is Mark Blount, who is owed $7.9 million in the final year of his contract. But the Jazz would likely balk at any proposed trade including Blount since Utah is looking to shed salary and obtain a player of comparable value if the team decides to trade Boozer to Miami. e-mail: jcoon@desnews.com