Dwight Howard is playing some of his best basketball of the season for the Houston Rockets as he has posted double-doubles in seven of his last eight games. Howard, though, was never a sure bet to finish this season in Houston because the Rockets were heavily shopping him.
The Rockets received a few offers for Howard prior to the deadline, including one from the Charlotte Hornets but couldn't find a deal to their liking. Houston's asking price for Howard was likely too high for many teams that have concerns about Howard, and they never lowered it enough for a trade to happen.
Based on many reports Howard was never close to being traded, but that may not be the case. Howard revealed to Milwaukee Bucks' part-time play-by-play announcer Gus Johnson that he was almost traded to the Bucks. It is unclear what the exact deal would have been, but the talks ended when Howard would not agree to pick up his option for next season worth more than $23 million.
Howard is expected to decline that option and become an unrestricted free agent after this season is over. It is highly unlikely that Howard returns to the Rockets because of his lack of on-court chemistry with star guard James Harden so he will likely sign elsewhere. The Bucks should be among the teams with interest in signing Howard, but that may be dependent on them finding a new home for current center Greg Monroe whom they made available for trades earlier this season.
Howard's free agency should be interesting to follow because he will turn 31 next season and he expects to get a max contract this summer. Some team might give Howard the max, but there are plenty of teams that are concerned about his health and diminishing skills, so he might not be in as much demand as you would have thought before the season. That is reflected in the types of offers Houston was receiving for him before the trade deadline.
Howard is still a double-double machine so he will make plenty of money on his next deal, but it is fair to wonder if the concerns cause him to take less than a max contract. The Bucks' willingness to trade for him shows that they should be in the mix; it is now just a matter of how many other teams are interested and what kind of contract they are willing to shell out for Howard.
