Stromile Swift, a free-agent power forward who arrived in Houston on Wednesday for meetings with Rockets officials today, sounded interested in jumping to the Rockets, Jonathan Feigan of the Houston Chronicle is reporting. But with the Rockets over the salary cap and unable to offer more than the mid-level exception ? which is expected to start at about $5 million for the first season of a contract ? Swift said he would have to consider the difference in his asking price and the Rockets' projected offer.
"A lot of times people say the dollars aren't important, but they really are," Swift said. "For me, I'm going to try to wait it out and weigh my options and see what's the best situation for me."
Swift, 25, said his goal was to find "a city where I'm comfortable and happy, get a long with the players and come to a winning situation."
"Just looking from the outside, I can see the chemistry. They have a good team, a good coaching staff," he said. "For me, I think that's something I want to be a part of, a winning team, and hopefully I can come in and add on to what they built here and try to help them try to bring home a championship.
"It would be a great opportunity for me to come in and play with guys of that caliber and just learn on the way while having fun."