There are plenty of teams calling themselves contenders going after the recently-turned-free-agent Marcus Camby, but trendiness is an important factor, even for veterans like Camby, which might turn him in the direction of the Houston Rockets, thought to be the leading team in the race to sign the big man.

Are the Rockets the number one team in the West? Nothing is certain until we see the teams in action during the regular season, but it’s fair to say at least two teams should be put ahead of them. But what can you do, all the hype is going their way at the moment. Dwight Howard signing with a team that already looked young and on the rise last season, the Rockets are the new “it” team in the NBA, as long as they don’t mess it up.

And there’s also the words coming out of Camby’s agent, Rick Kaplan, who shouldn’t be taken too seriously as agents don’t always come across as the most truthful of individuals, but some of the things he says do make a lot of sense.

If Marcus becomes a free agent as we expect Sunday the Rockets are a leading contender for where he’ll end up next season. He had a very positive experience there. He’d be a great fit with the organization. It’s his adopted home town. It’s premature right now.We’ll see what happens in the next few days.

Adopted hometown? Camby played only 19 games for the Rockets in the 2011-2012 season after being traded there, becoming a free agent at the end of the season. Last year, it didn’t look like such a certainty, until Harden arrived via a trade, that the Rockets are going to be a very interesting place for a title-hunting veteran like Camby. A year later? Despite all of the interest in him, Houston suddenly look like the best option available.

More importantly? There won’t be too much pressure on Camby to play much. Omer Asik is the number one replacement for Dwight Howard, which means Camby won’t have too much of a burden on his aging body, which allowed him to play only 24 games last season for the Knicks.

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