Phillip Murray
Ding Ding! It’s that time people! No I’m not talking about Wall Street, the NBA trade deadline is finally upon us. Every team in the NBA is considering the best options for their teams such as making a run in the playoffs, trying to retool for the future and also expiring contracts. In Charlotte, there has been one name circling around the rumor mill and that is Houston Rocket Center Dwight Howard.
There are reports of a confirmed trade offer from the Houston Rockets for Howard. The Hornets offered Al Jefferson and Spencer Hawes, but the Rockets rejected that trade.. Shocker!!!. Charlotte is going to have to realize that if they want a All Star like Dwight they’re going to have to dig deep in their pockets or include another team in the package deal. Dwight definitely wants to be traded per Marc Stein, Howard’s agent Dan Fegan is working hard to get a deal done for Dwight. Ever since the 2014 playoffs where Houston lost to Portland there has been discord between Howard and teammate James Harden. The Houston experiment is apparently over.
Despite all the bad press that has come along with the most recent Dwight Howard trade rumors, he is still having a very good statistical season. Through 44 games with the Rockets this year,Howard is averaging 14.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks, and a steal per game. Those are really good numbers in just 32.3 minutes a night. Any team acquiring him before the NBA trade deadline would be getting a huge boost in the low post.
There are some negatives that come along with Howard, beginning with his poor free throw shooting and mental lapses on defense. At the free throw line, Howard is averaging just 53.2 percent this season. That’s below his career percentage of 57.1 and shows that he hasn’t figured things out at the line. He does shoot 61.2 percent from the field, though, so it is a give-and-take situation with the big man. The offensive numbers could also be increased on a team where he becomes a primary option.
The Hornets have a stockpile of promising frontline players like Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, Cody Zeller and Frank Kaminsky along with the expiring contracts of Batum and Al Jefferson. In short, they have the assets to pull off the deal. Houston has also made it very clear they would want to bring Jeremy Lin since he would fit well with Harden coming off the bench. Lin is in the first year of his 2 year 4.3 million contract. So far he is making that deal seem like a great bargain considering he is averaging 12 pts 3 rebounds and 3 assists. If the Hornets want to make a legit push in the East and contend they may have to offer Lin in the package. The only issue is is that you’re trading a future prospect who could be a long term player for a possible rental in Howard. Charlotte currently is sitting at the 8 spot and being the team hasn’t been to the playoffs 9 of the last 11 seasons, it’s quite obvious something has to be done. What ever the decision…time is running out. The deadline is over in at 3pm.
