Dwight Howard Expected to Leave Houston, Charlotte A Favorite To Land Dwight

[2k15]

http://espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2016/story/_/id/15388607/houston-rockets-face-dysfunctional-end-season

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Before the Houston Rockets lost Game 2 of their first-round playoff series against the Golden State Warriors, James Harden arrived at Oracle Arena in a black SUV with his bodyguard, marketing rep and four friends.

He chose not to ride in either of Houston's two team buses, something he has done all season because he likes to be certain he arrives at a specific time before every game, despite how it might look to observers.

When Harden walked through the arena's metal detectors, he held out his toiletry bag for a security guard and, instead of placing his cellphone into a customary plastic box, he handed it to his own security guard. He didn't wait for his bag to be checked. Harden instead strolled toward the locker room with the knowledge that someone would get his bag and bring his phone to him.

It was such a diva-like arrival to a playoff game, and rather odd given how badly the Rockets need togetherness in a trying season that has seen them underachieve and face criticism that they are not on the same page.

And now with Game 5 coming Wednesday night back at Oracle, the Rockets face elimination against the defending champions. And despite having rallied last season from a 3-1 deficit to beat the Los Angeles Clippers in the West semifinals, such a rally appears doubtful based on the poor chemistry and inconsistency displayed of late. Though don't tell that to the Rockets.

"If you don't believe you can win, stay in Houston," Dwight Howard said. "Don't get on the plane."

Maybe so, but during this series, the Rockets have argued with one another on the court and on the bench. After the Game 4 loss in Houston, players could be heard yelling from outside the locker room.

It's no big surprise since this has often been a season of dysfunction. It starts with Harden and Howard, the team's two stars. They have tried to be friends -- Harden picked up Howard's tab for dinner in New York on his birthday. During dinner in Phoenix at the All-Star break, the two discussed their on-court issues.

But ultimately, the chemistry between the two hasn't been there. One team source said: "It's cordially bad."

Howard feels he's a star and should be respected in the locker room. Howard, known to be playful with media members, was distant over the last two months of the regular season. He was largely frozen out of the offense despite coaches and players saying he needs the ball.

In Game 4 against the Warriors, Howard took only five shots in the first half, and in the third quarter turned invisible. He scored his first fourth-quarter points during the series with 8:11 left. Asked why he didn't get more touches, Howard said: "You have to ask the appropriate people."

One of those appropriate people is Harden, a shooting guard, who handles the ball more than anybody else on the team. Harden has repeatedly said he wants to get Howard the ball, even playfully referring to him as "big fella."

But Howard's stature on the team is in question. There is a perception that several players are not happy with Howard based on a February team meeting, after which one person close to the Rockets said, "If you want the ball, you need to speak up about it. He lost players' respect."

One player offered a different view, saying he didn't mind if Howard spoke up or not. "We just need to play basketball," the player said.

Former Rockets coach Kevin McHale said last week on a Sirius XM Radio show hosted by Rick Mahorn and Jonathan Hood that Howard isn't the same player that he once was. "Throw it down to him occasionally," McHale said. "But if you throw it down to him on a steady diet, the poor guy just can't get down low and move anymore. I think that [his] back bothered him, his hips are tight from that and he just wasn't the same player."

Harden, who has the ear of Rockets owner Leslie Alexander and general manager Daryl Morey, is a mixture of many things. He's aloof, has a dry sense of humor and a passion for winning. His frustration over losing bothers him greatly.

While Howard is irked by not getting the ball as often as he would like, it is Harden who is dismayed by the center. He wishes Howard would demand the ball and not goof around so much. Howard's personality -- bubbly, friendly, warm -- often can rub guarded people such as Harden the wrong way. Howard jokes with fans during games and easily becomes frustrated with referees.

After picking up a fifth foul in Game 1, Josh Smith, who played AAU ball with Howard while growing up in Atlanta, pointed to his head. He was asking Howard to mentally stay in the game.

Howard can do wonderful things off the court. He hosted a blood drive for TNT announcer Craig Sager, who is battling cancer. But Howard can look uninterested during games.

In the Rockets' Game 2 loss to the Warriors, Howard was jogging up the floor and not making a strong effort to reach spots on the floor for post plays. After the game, Rockets interim coach JB Bickerstaff was asked if Howard looked disinterested.

"No, I don't think he was disinterested," Bickerstaff said. "I thought he was good on the glass. I thought he was running."

Howard is frustrated because he believes Harden doesn't respect him enough. Howard texts former teammates asking what can be done to solve the problems. That same poor dynamic between Harden and Howard, and the inconsistent play of others has hurt Bickerstaff, who took over 11 games into the season when Alexander fired McHale.

"The team was not responding to Kevin," Morey said at the time of the firing. "There is no time in the West."

With the Rockets' struggles, it makes it difficult for Alexander to give the job to Bickerstaff full time. The players respect Bickerstaff and his staff. But while communication between staff and players is good, things have gone awry on the court.

When asked before the series about the job Bickerstaff has done, Alexander told ESPN: "He's got a winning record, which is good from where he started from."

The Rockets will have a comprehensive list of coaches to view whenever the season ends. Bickerstaff, who remains in good standing with management, will be part of that conversation. Alexander and Morey believe that Harden will play a role in helping to hire a coach and potentially sign free agents.

Howard is not expected to have a role. It's expected that he will become a free agent and seek a new team. Orlando, Milwaukee, Portland and Charlotte are the favorites.

What's left for the Rockets is Harden, a star who needs to find a willing partner whom he respects to help him achieve his goal of winning a championship.

Unless the Rockets turn things around immediately, this will go down as a season of disappointment. It will lead to more questions than answers about the future of a franchise that was so bright just a year ago, when it reached the Western Conference finals.

[JDR720]

if we pay 30 million to Dwight.....

[chabber]

Do not want. Please stay far far away from our locker room Dwight!!

[Braggins]

Hes basically an injury prone and washed up version of Whiteside. Most of us would agree that even Whiteside would be an iffy acquisition. Maxing Dwight would be disastrous to the franchise.

[countryboi]

Do not want....he is a loser, over paid and injury prone. what more could charlotte ask for? oh yea he hates to run the pick and run. GOODY

[LofJ]

The only reason we're listed is because we made an effort to swap expiring contracts with Houston but weren't willing to pay a premium on top of that.

If we weren't willing to do that then what makes you guys think we're going to pay Dwight 20 million plus in free agency when we have a ton of other guys to pay?

[Roy Tarpley]

I think the Dwight hate is a bit excessive but he's certainly not worth $30m/year at this point.

He has to recognize that if he wants to win, he can't be the #1 or even #2 player, and that he needs to take an acceptable salary (e.g., $16m/year). Or he can get $30m/year from some crappy franchise and languish in mediocrity.

[fatlever]

I think people are just speculating because we half-assed chased him at trade deadline and because if his prior relationship with Clifford.

[yosemiteben]

Hes basically an injury prone and washed up version of Whiteside. Most of us would agree that even Whiteside would be an iffy acquisition. Maxing Dwight would be disastrous to the franchise.

Yup. Do I want Whiteside? Not sure, but I'll take him 100 times out of 100 over Dwight as a FA acquisition.

Things get more interesting if we can flip Big Al in a S&T though.

[MasterIchiro]

I think I remember the Heat showing interest in a Dwight-Whiteside swap at the deadline. It would be perfect if we brought back the hometown kid and left the washed up Heat with the washed up version of him.

[KungFuJoe]

Oh HELL no. Howard is a pouting, childish cancer. He belongs in Houston.

[JDR720]

The only reason we're listed is because we made an effort to swap expiring contracts with Houston but weren't willing to pay a premium on top of that.

If we weren't willing to do that then what makes you guys think we're going to pay Dwight 20 million plus in free agency when we have a ton of other guys to pay?

we didn't pay the premium because its too risky to trade that stuff for a free agent. if we wanted to trade for him its pretty likely we wanted to resign him, you dont trade for max players (or try to) and let him walk after 30 games.

[LofJ]

The only reason we're listed is because we made an effort to swap expiring contracts with Houston but weren't willing to pay a premium on top of that.

If we weren't willing to do that then what makes you guys think we're going to pay Dwight 20 million plus in free agency when we have a ton of other guys to pay?

we didn't pay the premium because its too risky to trade that stuff for a free agent. if we wanted to trade for him its pretty likely we wanted to resign him, you dont trade for max players (or try to) and let him walk after 30 games.

That depends on what you paid to trade for them. We paid a premium for Batum as a pending free agent, we weren't willing to do that for Dwight.

[JDR720]

The only reason we're listed is because we made an effort to swap expiring contracts with Houston but weren't willing to pay a premium on top of that.

If we weren't willing to do that then what makes you guys think we're going to pay Dwight 20 million plus in free agency when we have a ton of other guys to pay?

we didn't pay the premium because its too risky to trade that stuff for a free agent. if we wanted to trade for him its pretty likely we wanted to resign him, you dont trade for max players (or try to) and let him walk after 30 games.

That depends on what you paid to trade for them. We paid a premium for Batum as a pending free agent, we weren't willing to do that for Dwight.

a little less than half a season vs an entire season.

would've had to trade a lot more for dwight too, he makes double what batum makes.

[LofJ]

we didn't pay the premium because its too risky to trade that stuff for a free agent. if we wanted to trade for him its pretty likely we wanted to resign him, you dont trade for max players (or try to) and let him walk after 30 games.

That depends on what you paid to trade for them. We paid a premium for Batum as a pending free agent, we weren't willing to do that for Dwight.

a little less than half a season vs an entire season.

would've had to trade a lot more for dwight too, he makes double what batum makes.

We probably offered them Jefferson and Hawes/Lamb.

[yosemiteben]

The only reason we're listed is because we made an effort to swap expiring contracts with Houston but weren't willing to pay a premium on top of that.

If we weren't willing to do that then what makes you guys think we're going to pay Dwight 20 million plus in free agency when we have a ton of other guys to pay?

we didn't pay the premium because its too risky to trade that stuff for a free agent. if we wanted to trade for him its pretty likely we wanted to resign him, you dont trade for max players (or try to) and let him walk after 30 games.

You do if you're only trading stuff that is also walking or that you don't mind losing.

[dznutzz]

i don't think dwight and jlin got along during his houston days so chances are if dwight is in then jlin is out. the plus side is he took less money to go to the rockets so he may take another big pay cut for the hornets

[renmei]

I don't think Lin has any beef with Dwight, he was in Lin's "How to Fit Into the NBA" video. Pretty sure it was harden.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izB8P8oyhJk

[rallydurham]

Howard is not gonna end up in charlotte that ship has sailed.

At this point I can't imagine many teams being willing to give him $30 million. He's still very good but he's aging and a huge injury risk on the downside of his career.

He was not the problem in houston, but they have capela to replicate a lot of what he does. The problem was the rest of the roster is awful. Jones, brewer, beasley, terry, smith, motiejunas are all washed up.

He's a good pairing with nowitzki in dallas. I bet he ends up there.

[MPM]

I think we're now seeing the payoff of stacking a team with high character, hard working players with a strong desire to win. Howard seems like a good enough guy off the court, but he doesn't tick a lot of boxes for us.