The Houston Rockets have been rumored to be in trade discussions about Dwight Howard with essentially every team in the NBA of late.
Howard, who can opt out of his contract this summer and is said to be incredibly unhappy that he plays second fiddle to James Harden in Houston, has been expected by most NBA aficionados to be dealt unless something entirely unforeseen takes place.
Well, new reports suggest this is simply not the case. Whispers that are vociferous in nature now suggest the Rockets will do anything and everything they can in order to form a new ‘big-three’ in Houston consisting of Harden, Howard and the free agent to be, Oklahoma City Thunder SF Kevin Durant.
Report: Rockets don’t plan on trading Dwight Howard. Want to pursue Kevin Durant this summer https://t.co/S2AqLoeo6K pic.twitter.com/Nx8YMkTwXQ
— SI NBA (@si_nba) February 4, 2016
Whoa. I mean, that trio could wreak havoc on the NBA, and would undoubtedly give the Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs a run for their collective money in the Western Conference assuming adequate pieces were added around them. But is it realistic?
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein and Calvin Watkins, Durant’s close friendship with Harden, which developed when the two were teammates in Oklahoma City, could help make this scenario come to fruition.
The Rockets’ grand plan, sources said this week, remains making an all-out pursuit in free agency this summer for Oklahoma City Thunder star Kevin Durant. Rockets officials have long believed privately that they will have as good a chance as any team to lure Durant away from the Thunder in the offseason because of his strong relationship with former teammate James Harden and the room Houston has to pay Durant max-contract money while also re-signing Howard.
Sources said Howard, for his part, does not want to be traded and hopes he can indeed finish the season in Houston before entering into his own negotiations with the Rockets.
Trading Howard only makes sense if he’s truly unhappy in Houston, which, contrary to popular belief, might not be the case. While Howard isn’t the most loved player in the league among his peers, there’s no questioning his abilities when healthy, and the Rockets have far more appeal to potential free agents with him than without.
