Within a time span of just about 36 hours, it was reported that Dwight was unhappy playing for the Houston Rockets and was demanding a trade and then that he was just unhappy about losing and never requested a trade.
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There have been many rumors lately which link the Houston Rockets’ center Dwight Howard to the Miami Heat.
However, Dan Feldman of NBC Sports also said that the Rockets should consider trading Howard before the deadline. A long, unusual day ended amid a jarring gap between great expectations and harsh reality.
Besides for another two paragraphs about Howard’s usage, or lack thereof, Chris Sheridan just tries to move Howard to the Miami Heat. People are going to say what they got to say to get a story out. “People make up lies and rumors”, Howard told Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle. I haven’t said anything to any reporter or to anybody about being unhappy. Guess we would just have to wait and see how this rumor would come to be.
In 19 games played and started this season, Howard is averaging 13 points, 12 rebounds, 1.6 assists, 1.8 blocks, and 1.1 steals in 32.6 minutes of action per outing. Let people think whatever they want, but he’s not asking out of Houston.
So if the Rockets are going to trade him, it’s going to have to be for a big man who can step in immediately and be one of the best players on the team right off the bat. Cousins is under contract through 2017-18 at a reasonably fair total of $47.3 million over those three seasons.
That said, Whiteside has posted offensive career highs this season in points (25) and field goals made (12), and he ranks second in the league in field goal percentage (61.5). So for me, that’s all I can go on. Whiteside, on the other hand, is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason and is due for a monster pay raise likely at the max but the Heat won’t be able to afford that so Pat Riley might be looking to get something of value for him while he still can.
It should be noted that Howard previously had issues playing alongside another superstar.
Howard is unhappy like I am unhappy. Los Angeles Lakers fans added on to the hate when Howard had enough of Kobe Bryant and wanted to leave that stressful situation.
The Rockets haven’t gotten to that point yet, but a change in scenery may be the wake-up call that both parties desperately need.
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As for the Heat trading for Howard, he’s at least a replacement who can fill in for Whiteside even if it’s to a lesser extent defensively, while Dwight will also be more intrigued with a chance to get more attention offensively.
