Twitter / James Harden
The NBA trade rumors heat up and so far the biggest name on the block comes from the Houston Rockets.
Dwight Howard has been the subject of trade rumors as he has reportedly been made available by the Rockets, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports who cited "league sources" when he declared that Howard will indeed exercise the player option in his contract.
The report also stated that because of the "uncertainty" on both parties, Howard's agent Dan Fegan is now working with the Houston Rockets to facilitate a trade.
It is not a surprise for Dwight Howard to opt out considering the opportunity presented by the spike in the salary cap about to take effect in the off-season. It's a matter of making a move at the best possible time to get the most amount of money. From the Rockets' side, if they are thinking twice about paying Howard, then that means they are all in on their franchise player, James Harden.
According to ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton, that might be a mistake as most of the issues that besieged the Rockets should be attributed to Harden, not Howard.
It has led to head coach Kevin McHale getting fired and his replacement, JB Bickerstaff to say that the team is "broken."
"We're a broken team, and we all need to use this break to figure out how we're going to impact change. If we don't want to impact change, then we need to be made aware of that, too, and we'll go in a different direction," Bickerstaff admitted.
"We can't continue to go out and play this way. It's easy to see it's a fragmented bunch. You can't win that way."
Pelton noted Harden's disappearing defensive effort which could prove disastrous as most of the league's top scorers now play at the perimeter. The team's defensive rating if Howard is on the floor without Harden is 18th. When both Howard and Harden on the floor, it drops to 27th. Even worse, when Harden is on the floor without Howard, the Rockets are dead last (30th).
If the Rockets trade Howard, this is the picture of what their defense will be. Their status as a contender has already been compromised, and while casual fans view Harden as a superstar (he is playing in the All-Star games as he still gets the numbers), his team performance does not reflect the presence of an MVP candidate.
Thus, Pelton believes it should be Harden, not Howard that should be traded. They could solve their big dilemma if they send him to the Lakers.
"If Houston believes D'Angelo Russell has superstar potential, the Lakers would have to consider giving him up to get Harden, an L.A. native," Pelton said.
As the Lakers do not have immediate draft picks, it's possible the Rockets may ask for another young talent, possibly Julius Randle to fill their other position of need.
For the Lakers, their strategy has been to acquire a star and use that star and the allure of Tinseltown to attract other stars. If they have Harden, it would be easier to lure other free agents including Harden's former teammate and close friend, Kevin Durant.
Despite all the issues, the Lakers would be expected to pounce on this possible deal. For the Rockets, they would have a young, promising point guard and keep their defensive anchor. This is all speculation from an ESPN 'expert' and it's possible the teams' decision makers don't see it the same way.
