The Houston Rockets have been perhaps the most disappointing team in the NBA this season, posting a 12-13 record after making the Western Conference Finals last year.
According to Chris Sheriden of Sheriden Hoops, center Dwight Howard is fed up with playing "second-fiddle" to James Harden, and since the team is struggling, both sides are looking to move on. Sheriden suggests that the Miami Heat may decide to make a move for the big man in a trade centered around their own big guy Hassan Whiteside:
First of all, unless the Heat renounce their rights to Dwyane Wade, NBA salary cap rules will preclude them from offering Whiteside his full market value. Miami would be able to offer between $8-9 million, which is at least half of what the kid can get on the open market. On a full max deal, Whiteside would be looking at a $90 million payday, and nobody walks away from a $90 million payday.
So he’s a goner, one way or another. And the Heat know it.
The solution? Trade him while you can still trade him for something of value. And no place would be a better fit for Howard than Miami, with its geriatric roster built around Wade and Chris Bosh. If you are Riley, and your two best players are in their 30s, why not add a third 30-something and take a swing at Cleveland with that?
Miami is rumored to be looking into a potential trade for Kings big man DeMarcus Cousins (they're offering Whiteside and Winslow as the centerpieces of that deal), but Howard is much more available and wouldn't be as pricey to acquire.
Howard has taken an even larger step back in Houston this year as he ranks just sixth on the team in shot attempts. Though he is in the last guaranteed year of his contract, Howard has a player-option worth $23 million for next season.
That's probably more than a 30-year-old Howard could get on the open market, and Miami would use that season with Howard to make one last run at Cleveland with Wade and Bosh in tow.
Follow our Houston Rockets news page for all the latest Rockets news!
Back to the Houston Rockets Newsfeed