While the Houston Rockets might think they have Dwight Howard in the bag, but the All-Star still has a few requests before making anything official. The Rockets were the first to meet with the most sought after free agent in the NBA world. The two parties went to a dinner that included (but not limited to) head coach Kevin McHale, general manager Daryl Morey, James Harden, Chandler Parsons, Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. While Houston gave Howard their sales pitch, Howard gave them his.
The Houston Chronicle reports that Howard asked multiple questions over the dinner, specifically geared towards other planned free agent moves. Howard wants to win a championship sooner rather than later. He wants the Rockets to sign another top free agent to play alongside himself and Harden. Parsons apparently is not enough to woo Howard to Houston.
Howard wants a Miami-like Big 3 in Houston if he is going to play there. Neither he nor Harden are at the level of LeBron James and even he proved that one or even two players cannot win a championship by themselves. Now, his request odd is Howard played in Los Angeles with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. That is a Big 3 and yet the Lakers still struggled most of the season.
If Houston could sign someone like Josh Smith, pairing him alongside Howard and Harden could be favorable to the Rockets. Smith is likely going to wait on making a move until he knows what Howard is doing. The two would certainly not be against teaming up.
In order to make room for another max contract, Houston will have to make another trade. They are reportedly putting Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin on the blocks to clear more cap space. Both players have two more years remaining on backloaded contracts signed last offseason. It is a bit surprising that Houston would consider dumping Lin, but they are desperate for Howard.
The Howard free agency circus is only just beginning. While Houston thinks they have Howard in the bag, it is not a done deal. Howard still has meetings with the Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors and even the Los Angeles Lakers. Nothing will be certain until July 10 when the All-Star makes his decision, but anything is possible.
