Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher reports the Rockets are doing everything they can to trade Dwight Howard and suggests that Brooklyn might be a good place for Houston to dump him, noting the 30-year-old did want to play in the borough.
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Even if you can keep Howard around, he’s going to ask for big money this summer.
The Bucks and Rockets did exchange some trade proposals, sources said, but Milwaukee made it clear that it wouldn’t go through with any deal for Howard unless he opted into the final season of his contract, which is scheduled to pay him $23.3 million in 2016-17.
The final reason that this trade needs to happen is because it would be a homecoming for Howard and that could be exactly what he needs to get back going in the dominant direction.
The Rockets have spoken to the Heat, Raptors, Hawks and the Hornets, according to ESPN.
This report comes just days before tomorrow’s trade deadline, before which many believe Howard will be shipped off to a new team. Golden State is the defending champion and playing better than they did a season ago and nobody made a move that in any way challenged them as the team to beat.
One new suitor could be the Heat, which could be facing more health concerns with Chris Bosh, who didn’t play in the All-Star Game and reportedly will miss time. He wants to test out the market this offseason and get a mega deal. That’s the hard truth of the matter, and everyone knows that.
The Houston Rockets have failed to live up to the preseason hype and expectations that they would be legitimate National Basketball Association championship contenders.
The Rockets took a similar approach with young power forward Donatas Motiejunas and managed to extricate a first-round pick from the Detroit Pistons for Motiejunas in the one trade they did complete on deadline day. A career 18 points-per-game scorer, his average has dropped each of the past two seasons and is 14.6 this season, his lowest since his rookie year. NBA.com’s Fran Blinebury pointed out that since the two came together during the 2012-2013 season, they have never seen eye-to-eye. The Miami Heat have been one of the more active teams in conversation as the fifth-placed team in the East is looking for more help to bolster their chances of making a deep playoff run. Despite several unsuccessful attempts to move Howard, Houston was unable to find a suitable deal, so Dwight will stay in H-town, at least until the end of the season.
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Both teams are in a battle for a playoff spot, although Charlotte aggressively is chasing what would be a rare berth while the Rockets may opt to retool because they’ve sunk to a middle-of-the-pack club in a top-heavy conference. Under then head coach Stan Van Gundy, Dwight Howard was an all-world defensive player and an MVP candidate at center for the Magic.
