The NBA Free Agency rumors are heating up as more teams end their season and the latest casualty is the Houston Rockets.
The Rockets managed to make it into the playoffs and went straight into a collision course with the nearly invincible Golden State Warriors. They also managed to avoid a sweep as they snatched a one-point win over a Steph Curry-less Warriors on a James Harden game-winner that the NBA said should not have counted.
As they look ahead towards next season, the first order of business is Dwight Howard. Should the former prized center be retained as the Rockets' superstar alongside Harden?
According to ESPN Insider, Howard should, and is probably gone from the Rockets.
Tom Haberstroh had a direct response on whether Dwight "will and should return." He also offered insights on where he would end up.
"I don't see that happening, which seemed like an impossibility when he joined in 2013," Haberstroh said. "I suspect Howard will end up in Dallas where he can team up with Dirk Nowitzki, be pampered by Mark Cuban and take part in the fountain of youth there. After ranking ninth on the roster in usage rate, my guess is Howard feels as if the Houston thing has run its course."
David Thorpe mentioned that "it does not seem as if he and Harden are destined for great things together. Their games should flow well, but I think their personalities get in the way."
Thorpe also said he hopes that Howard can join a team that knows how to win and believes that D12 can revive his career in that set-up. Ironically, he gave an analogy that cited how Tyson Chandler was in a bad situation in Charlotte but ended up becoming the defensive anchor for a champion team-the 2011 Dallas Mavericks.
It would not be much of a surprise. Mark Cuban is pursuing a star center who can provide the defense alongside Dirk Nowitzki, who is likely to play out the last year of his contract. To this end, "center-whisperer" Chandler Parsons, who recruited Howard to Houston and even DeAndre Jordan to Dallas last season, has already called for a Howard-Parsons reunion.
In a separate ESPN interview, Parsons stated: "Yeah, for sure," Parsons said when asked about bringing Howard to Dallas. "I think he can still dominate the game. I think he can still be a great player in this league. And I think he's going to leave Houston. So why not come here?"
Parsons, a free agent, cautiously said that he still does not know where he is signing but the buzz around the league is that he is already re-signing with the Mavericks.