After it emerged last week that the Rockets, who’ve slumped to No. 9 in the West at 27-28, had abandoned their plans to keep Howard beyond the deadline and began making calls to gauge the market for him, Howard told ESPN: “I have not asked the Rockets to trade me, nor have I talked about right trades”.
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Shortly thereafter, The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported the Hornets have shown “no interest in cashing assets” to acquire Howard. However, combine that pick with some other compelling assets, and the Hornets would be staring at a major gamble. Howard is on the books for $22 million this season, while Whiteside is making south of a million bucks. The Heat would be forced to include multiple other players-most likely Luol Deng, Chris Andersen and Josh McRoberts-to make the contracts work.
Detroit Searching for a Jennings Replacement? . Anderson is a great trade chip who they can use to convince the Rockets that they are worthy of the deal.
Dwight Howard is very clearly on the block, but Daryl Morey is having a hard time finding a deal to fit his liking.
I’m positive that we wouldn’t be able get Jefferson and Batum in the deal – unless some serious finagling was done – but one of those guys is definitely possible.
Interestingly, he also mentioned that the Heat are also interested in Mike Conley, who will be an unrestricted free agent after this season.
Kidd-Gilchrist (who is under contract for four more years after this season) has a lot of upside left in him despite the injuries, while Lin has been on the Rockets’ radar for quite some time.
While that certainly isn’t actionable information, it will not slow down the rumor mill with regard to Howard and, from a Hawks perspective, Al Horford. “If Detroit wants to solidify its place in the Eastern Conference playoff race, it can’t afford to rely on Blake for the rest of the season”. With a new and consistent dominant force playing down-low, Howard can bring the same presence that Hassan Whiteside has been bringing to the paint this whole season.
The trade deadline is Thursday at 3 p.m. ET.
A famous Atlanta native would reportedly like to return “home” if traded.
However, Spears’ report came on the heels of a piece from Stein and Brian Windhorst that noted Carter-Williams “is undeniably gettable”. He is also shooting 61.2 percent from the field thus far.
According to Synergy Sports play-type data provided to NBA.com, MCW is in the 37th percentile when it comes to efficiency as a pick-and-roll ball-handler. That will put a damper on his trade value, but they’d have to get something for him.
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The good news for Heat fans, is that Howard has steadily maintained his 18 points and 13 rebounds a game average throughout the last 4 years of his career.
