The Houston Rockets were unable to find a trade partner for center Dwight Howard at Thursday's trade deadline so he will finish the year out in Houston. The Rockets will likely not re-sign Howard this offseason when he is expected to become a free agent so his next team is a mystery. Howard's time with the Rockets has not gone as planned and his relationship with James Harden hasn't been great. The two star players even tried to get each other traded back in 2014, according to Fran Blinebury of NBA.com.
This report should not come as much of a surprise to anyone who has followed Howard throughout his career as stories like this always seem to come up involving him. Howard and Harden reportedly have a fine relationship off the court but on the court they don't seem to fit very well. Earlier this season Howard was unhappy playing second fiddle to Harden, according to Chris Sheridan of Sheridan Hoops, but that was apparently not the start of the issues.
Howard joined the Rockets in the 2013-14 season and in that first year they lost to the Blazers in the first round of the playoffs. After that series loss Howard and Harden reportedly started "sending out messages and maneuvering to get the other one traded." After just one season with the team this was quite the gutsy move by Howard as Harden was clearly the face of their franchise but it ended up not working out for either side.
The year after they reportedly tried to get each other traded the Rockets finished in second place in the Western Conference during the regular season and made the Western Conference Finals. Howard was hurt for much of the year but the success made it seem like they might be able to make it work. This year, however, has gone terrible as the Rockets sit on the outside of the playoff picture and questions regarding the Harden-Howard combo have been raised again.
While Howard has been involved in a lot of these types of stories this one may not fully be on him as Harden is a tough guy to play with. Harden often holds on to the ball for entire possessions and dominates the ball so another star like Howard is going to feel like he's not getting enough touches. Howard has reportedly felt ignored at times in Houston which is what led to him trying to get Harden out of there.
The good news for both sides in this is that Howard will likely be on his way out after this season is over. Howard is expected to ask for a max contract this offseason but the Rockets do not want to pay him nearly $30 million a year. The idea of Howard and Harden playing together was much better than the reality of it, much like the Rockets bringing in Ty Lawson this year. The two of them will likely get their wishes for next season and not play together but the Rockets may have a bigger problem to think about here and that is other players' willingness to play alongside Harden.
