The Houston Rockets have been wavering a lot about whether or not they want to trade Dwight Howard. Howard has seemingly been on and off the trade block every other week this season. Now that the Rockets sit on the outside looking in at the Western Conference playoff picture they have started to actively shop their star center, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports.
The Rockets are on a three-game losing streak and may be starting to realize that this time they aren't a title contender despite the fact that they were in the Western Conference Finals less than a year ago. Howard has an option for next season worth about $23 million which he is expected to decline, so he will likely be an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The Rockets have said that Howard is a big part of the team's plans in the present and the future, according to Calvin Watkins of ESPN, but they may be having a change of heart. Howard is now 30 years old and is nowhere near as dominant as he used to be, so the Rockets may not be willing to offer him another max contract this summer that will pay nearly $30 million annually. If the Rockets don't plan to re-sign Howard this offseason, then trading him now makes a lot of sense so they can at least get something for him.
The question now becomes what Howard's market is like and who actually has the assets to swing a deal. The type of team that would be interested in Howard is likely one that has a chance to contend this season considering it is no guarantee that he will re-sign this offseason. Bobby Marks of The Vertical believes the Boston Celtics make the most sense because they won't have to break up their core to acquire the eight-time All-Star.
The hypothetical trade Marks proposed has the Celtics trading two 2016 first-round picks (they currently have three), David Lee (who isn't even in the rotation) and Jonas Jerebko for Howard and Montrezl Harrell. Celtics President of Basketball Operations Danny Ainge has made it clear that he wants to add a star player and believes they are one go-to scorer away from taking that next step. The Celtics have the third best record in the Eastern Conference at the All-Star break but aren't exactly viewed as title contenders. One more star player might put them in the conversation.
Whether Howard is the guy that can put them over the top remains to be seen, but the Celtics have had interest in Howard for a while now. This hypothetical trade has the Celtics not giving up anything that will help them this year and would be a clear sign they are going for it this year. Yes, they would be giving up two draft picks for a guy that could bolt this summer, but the Celtics have a ton of assets, and at some point they have to use them to make a big move. The only question is whether Howard is the guy they should go all-in for.
