The Boston Celtics are currently the fourth best team in the Eastern Conference with their 28-22 record. Even with their success so far this season the Celtics still plan to be very active around the trade deadline, which is coming up in about two weeks. President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge has made it clear he wants a star/go-to scorer to really round out the team, and he is willing to make a big trade to get that. Along those lines, the Celtics have engaged the Houston Rockets in trade talks involving Dwight Howard, according to Frank Isola of the New York Daily News.
It was expected that the Celtics' two biggest targets this trade deadline would be DeMarcus Cousins and Kevin Love. Now, though, neither of those players are expected to be available, so the Celtics will have to turn their attention elsewhere. The Rockets have said that they have no plans of trading Howard before the deadline, according to Steve Kyler of Basketball Insiders, but there are some people who think he can still be had.
Howard has a player option with Houston for next season worth about $23 million, but he is expected to decline it so he can go for one more big contract this summer. The Rockets are saying they see him as a big part of their future, but they may be second guessing whether he is worth a $30 million-a-year commitment. Because of that, the Rockets may be inclined to listen to offers for the center and get something for him instead of just letting him walk in free agency for nothing.
The Celtics have plenty of assets to make a deal work with Houston, it is just a matter of whether the Rockets are asking for too much or if a trade even makes any sense for Boston. Many people would agree that the Celtics need a star, or at least another guy they can get the ball to when they really need a basket, but Howard likely isn't that guy, at least not for them. Howard is 30 years old, has dealt with injury issues these past few seasons and has declining skills, so it likely isn't worth it for the Celtics to ship away assets for him.
Ainge is likely just doing his due diligence to see if he can pry Howard away for pennies on the dollar, which is a smart move. In the end, though, the Rockets will likely be asking for a lot in return for Howard, and that may cause talks to stall. Yes, the Celtics want another star, but they won't make a bad deal to get one, and trading a lot for Howard would be a bad deal.
