The Houston Rockets have struggled out of the gate this season and have been one of the more surprising stories around the NBA because of it.

With the Carmelo Anthony experiment being a failure, it appears as though the team has identified their top target on the trade market. According to Marc Stein of the New York Times, Houston is very interested in acquiring Los Angeles Lakers guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to try and improve the team's three-point shooting.

Houston has expressed exploratory interest in Cleveland's J.R. Smith, who has been sent home by the Cavaliers as they try to find a new home for him via trade. But the Lakers' Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is said to be the Rockets' top target in their search for help on the wing, with Smith somewhere further down the list.

Caldwell-Pope can veto any trade as what is known as a One-Year Bird, having signed a one-year contract in July with the same team that employed him last season. All indications are that Caldwell-Pope would agree to a trade that lands him in Houston if the Rockets can indeed construct one.

Stein also notes that while Caldwell-Pope may be the Rockets top target, there also could be several other teams that are looking to add the sharpshooting guard to their backcourt. The Philadelphia 76ers and New Orleans Pelicans have also been linked as teams that could potentially be interested in acquiring the services of the veteran.

The Rockets currently rank 24th in the NBA in three-point shooting percentage with just a 33.9 percent conversion rate. Meanwhile, opponents are shooting nearly 35 percent from beyond the arc when facing Houston.

While Caldwell-Pope is still not part of their roster, the rest of the Rockets will be in action on Wednesday night when they host the Wizards (8 p.m. ET -- Watch FuboTV with the NBA League Pass extension). 

Caldwell-Pope has seen heavy minutes throughout the season due to the injuries that have depleted the Lakers roster. Rajon Rondo and Brandon Ingram are currently out of the lineup and Caldwell-Pope has picked up a great deal of the slack off the bench at times as a result. 

On the season, the five-year veteran has put together averages of 9.1 points and 2.5 rebounds while shooting 34.9 percent from beyond the arc. Caldwell-Pope recently scored 25 points off the bench against the Washington Wizards and connected on nine of his 12 shots from the field. In the same game, the former first-round pick knocked down four of his six attempts from beyond the arc. Unfortunately, the success didn't translate over to Los Angeles' game against the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday when Caldwell-Pope recorded just six points.

As Stein reports, the Rockets are also interested in Cleveland Cavaliers guard J.R. Smith as a potential trade target. However, with Caldwell-Pope being billed as the top option, Smith looks to be a backup plan at this point.