Dwight Howard was the center piece of the trade deadline, but ultimately a deal was not complete and the Houston Rockets retained him. That does not change the fact that Howard has the opportunity to opt out of his contract in favor of free agency this upcoming summer while the Rockets can make a run at another super star. With Kevin Durant in mind, will Howard get the chance to stay in Houston?
According to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle, the Rockets like Howard and would consider keeping him around, but the team also intends on chasing Kevin Durant which could hurt the contract offered to the center. Feigen writes that the Rockets would like to pair Durant and James Harden together like they used to be with the Oklahoma City Thunder. That might be enticing to Durant, but it would leave Howard hanging. General manager Daryl Morey told the Houston Chronicle that the Rockets still like Howard regardless of the rumors.
"Dwight's a great player," Morey said, via the Houston Chronicle. "He wants to be in Houston. We want him to be in Houston. I was disappointed some things got out rumor-wise, but all those things were myself doing diligence. That's part of my job."
Morey is right when he says Howard wants to be in Houston. Despite the struggles of the Rockets this season, the center has maintained the stance that he wants to remain with the team and see through the season. While he would not comment about his intentions for free agency, Howard stressed that he never requested to leave Houston and would consider staying put.
"I have not asked the Rockets to trade me, nor have I talked about right trades. I want to win. I want this situation to work. I chose this team. And I'm not running because we have been faced with some adversity," Howard said, via ESPN's Marc Stein.
Howard has a $23.3 million player option for the 2016-17 that he intends to opt out of and test the market. According to Yahoo Sports' Chris Mannix, the chances Howard gets offered that again are slim. If a team is going to sign him to a new contract, they will look to offer a little less money with potentially more years on it. Mannix reported that Howard's contract was an issue in trade talks as teams wanted confirmation that Howard would not opt out of that final year in order to make the deal worth it. For now he stays in Houston, but that could change in the summer.
