Dwight Howard Rumors: Houston Rockets Talking Deal With Miami Heat For Hassan Whiteside

This week’s NBA trade deadline is bringing a flurry of rumors, and Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard remains a central figure in trade speculation. There are only a few teams that could conceivably make a trade work for Howard, and the latest hot rumor has the Miami Heat perhaps willing to part with their own big man in a deal.

Dwight Howard could be moved by Thursday’s trade deadline. Miami is talking with Houston about a deal that would include Hassan Whiteside.

— Frank Isola (@FisolaNYDN) February 15, 2016

The first hurdle to a deal with Howard and Whiteside as the central figures is the salaries of the two guys, which don’t nearly match up and the Heat would have to include other players to make up the difference. The other big obstacle is the likelihood Howard opts out of his contract after the season, and unless they seriously think they can win the Eastern Conference, Miami may not want to take on a possible rental player.

Howard may be moved by Thursday even though the Houston Chronicle has passed along information that suggests a deal is unlikely. It’s hard to pin down a lot of slam-dunk, no-doubt potential landing spots for the Rockets center, though I did include Miami in my own list. But unless the Heat are willing to part with a couple of other important players in addition to Whiteside, it’s unlikely Howard will be taking his talents to South Beach before he possibly becomes a free agent this summer.