Rockets Trade Rumors: Top priority is moving Dwight Howard
The top priority of the Rockets before the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline is trying to move Dwight Howard
The Houston Rockets have been actively shopping Dwight Howard around the rest of the league leading up to the 2016 NBA Trade Deadline, but there haven’t been any takers as deadline day has arrived. With just hours remaining until the 3 p.m. ET trade deadline, though, the Rockets are reportedly still pushing hard to find a destination for Howard.
According to ESPN’s Marc Stein, the top priority of the Rockets before the deadline is to move Howard, but added that nothing of note or consequence has materialized just yet:
Rockets' priority, of course, remains dealing Dwight Howard by 3 PM today ... but no frontrunner has yet emerged as far as trade partners
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 18, 2016
Stein also added in regards to Dwight that the Miami Heat have considered the possibility of trading for Howard, but that there isn’t much to learn from the situation right now thanks to the proverbial poker face of Pat Riley:
Miami, like Charlotte, has indeed weighed the prospect of a Dwight deal but Pat Riley, as ever, is a challenging read at trade deadline time
— Marc Stein (@TheSteinLine) February 18, 2016
Howard is a bit of tough sell for a number of reasons and that’s becoming increasingly clear to everyone around the NBA, including the Rockets. For starters, teams would have to match the $22.2 million that he’s due this season and weight the possibility that Dwight opts in for $23 million next season. Throw in the fact that public opinion on Howard isn’t exactly at its highest right now and things are quite dicey in regards to a trade.
However, if a team is really looking to make a splash at the deadline and also needs frontcourt help, Howard is a player that could fill that void if they have the cap flexibility to make it work. Time is running out, but blockbuster deals can come out of thin air come the NBA Trade Deadline.