Sources: Houston has started contacting teams about trading Dwight Howard

Remember, Morey will only trade for expiring contracts/draft picks/young prospects on cheap/rookie deals since we're commited to chasing Durant this coming offseason. Must maintain cap flexibility. He will only take on large and lengthy deals in exchange for Dwight if we're getting a star in return. Doubt this happens since no team would take that gamble on Howard at this point of his career plus we all know he's bound to become a free agent this summer.

 

Dwight has played his last game as a Rocket.

DD

 

I hope your sources ar correct.

 

Can you give us additional details Daryl?

 

Except that in your scenario, Dwight stays, and quite likely leaves in the offseason, and we get only the capspace. Which might not be a bad thing, but we'll be left with an unmotivated Dwight for the last third of the season.

 

Unmotivated?!?! This is a CONTRACT YEAR for Dwight. Every pundit is calling his alleged max contract demands ridiculous. He will very much be motivated to maximize his market value this summer for what will likely be his last big payday.

 

No he will be motivated to increase his chance to get a big contract.If he plays like crap his chance for a 4 or 5 year contract will be gone.

 

LOL. When do you think 90% of trades happen? Its not that team's including the Rockets don't do their due diligence to vet out every trade to ensure its the best possible move. However ALL NBA trade deadline trades are finalized and agreed upon at pretty much the very last minute. Morey is no different. Sorry you have to wait till Thursday for a deal to get your kicks off.

 

I think the odds are that:

1. Dwight is traded.
2. Other players are traded or released.
3. Morey retains enough cap space to sign a free agent to a max contract.
4. A new coach is hired after the draft.

Pretty safe assumptions, I think.

 

-A Dwight Howard trade is pretty hard to accomplish because of many factors. I think its far from a guarantee. Even if Morey has MULTIPLE deals on the table for Dwight, there is still a very good chance those teams are still working on other deals that could blow the trade up. I'd say the most plugged in sources would probably at best but a Dwight deal at 50/50.

-reg #2 - Well.... yeah of course. I would be shocked if Morey did absolutely nothing. If anything a small deal like moving KJ, or Jones for a 2nd rounder, or a more useful player like a Brandon Bass would be something I would suspect. I'm sure Morey has been heavily shopping Brewer & Lawson for weeks, and Ariza might even be out there. I think anyone with any knowledge of the Rockets would be shocked if they did nothing.

-#3 - This is key from what we hear about their pursuit of Durant, and it leads me to believe a Dwight & to a certain extent a Lawson deal to be that much less likely. That's alot of salary to move without getting anything back, and there isn't readily available David Lee contract's out there to make these deals work.

-#4 - unless the Rockets pull off a miracle trade, and acquire another star that forces them to try and win it all now, what's the point of FORCING a coaching hire now when all of the really good coaches ARE WAITING till the summer when they will have the ability to pick their team. No top level coach will accept this crappy late season offer to take a team in shambles to try and get in the playoffs when they can start fresh with a powerhouse franchise in June, negotiate GM/power abilities/security, build their staff on their own time, put in sets, and get staff organized to execute over Summer to implement in training camp, and work with front office over summer to draft & build their roster the way they want it.

Point being - You aren't getting a great coach in March. You get a great coach & set him/her up for success in June. JBB likely stays.

 

It's probably the best time to make trades. I assume teams get desperate and start making rash decisions.

 

Said Mr. Hindsight

 

lol. this is hilarious coming from someone trying to tell an NBA coach what he should and should not do.

 

See last year's Phoenix, Boston, Philly, Milwaukee point guard shuffle trade. I think what happened was there was two separate trades going on, and someone (probably Hinkie) decided to double up on the trade, and it ended up going in a crazy weird direction at the last minute. Hinkie ended up getting the Lakers pick out of it. If you are a well prepared GM you can really do well among the chaos.

 

Wouldn't Bosh getting hurt make the need for a Star(esque) front court player more dire if the mandate is to win now for Miami? I guess they might reevaluate that mandate if Bosh is done or sidelined for a long time.

 

Read his post again. He said a new coach after the draft.

Most reasonable posters already get the point you're making.

 

Nope. I'd say it puts them in lotto mode waiting for Bosh next season. Put Wade in mothballs and try again next season with Whiteside and Winslow.

 

I'll bite.

This is the worst chemistry the Rockets have had on a team in over two decades. This team has been so bad with so many GOOD players.

Morey has never had to deal in the middle of the season while his team is essentially in shambles, broken and not functioning. This trade deadline isn't about saving the season, it's about saving the future. If he wanted to just add a few pieces he wouldn't trade the second best player on the team.

Big changes are coming.

 

My bad. You'd be surprised though in other threads were people totally think its a good idea to fire JBB right now.