Howard’s Future in Houston Uncertain as Rockets Look at Trades

Meanwhile, Howard confirmed his agent’s comments, saying that “I have not asked the Rockets to trade me”. It’s not like Howard hasn’t already been linked to reports he wanted to leave anyway.

For three seasons with Harden and Howard, the Rockets have lacked leadership on the court and are not seen by opponents as a team that works hard.

There have been rumors about a potential Howard trade for a while, and now it appears his agent is involved trying to find a suitable home, according to Wojnarowski.

Howard chose Houston in July 2013, when he spurned the Lakers, whom he played with in 2012-13 after eight seasons in Orlando. Nothing has gone according to plan since then.

Ben McLemore and Omri Casspi of the Sacramento Kings have also been involved in the latest trade rumors. He’s also the only player you can get significant return for at this point outside of James Harden, which is why their only real recourse in order to shake things up is to move him.

Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard. The team fell out of a spot in the 2016 NBA Playoffs and there was obvious discord in the locker room following the game.

One is the current struggles that the Rockets are undergoing in what has been an erratic season thus far.

With that in consideration, Houston allegedly feels “uncertain” about Howard’s long-term commitment to the franchise, which has “pushed” Rockets general manager Daryl Morey to try and search for possible interested trade partners before next week’s February 18 deadline. This is the first time since Howard’s rookie season that he has not attempted at least 10 shots per game. As the team slips down the Western Conference standings, change seems necessary-and moving Howard might be the first big domino to fall for a team that was in the Western Conference Finals just a year ago. That has reportedly bogged down some negotiations. Time and again the Rockets denied any rumblings regarding Howard including the recent whispers surrounding one of the teams who hold multiple options with draft picks and movable parts (the Boston Celtics).