Dwight Howard is available for trade.
Maybe.
We think.
We’re not really sure.
The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Thursday that the Houston Rockets were acquiescing to a request/demand/general wonderment by Howard’s agents and dangling him in trades around the league. Both Howard and his agent denied such a request exists, per ESPN.com’s Marc Stein, which makes for some good theatre. But one thing seems certain: The Rockets, for whatever reason, are shopping Howard. And according to ESPN.com’s Zach Lowe, their attempts to move him led them, at least momentarily, to Toronto:
Among teams HOU has contacted re Dwight, per league sources: Toronto. Raps have shown no interest. @WojVerticalNBA reported Dwight feelers
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) February 11, 2016
What does this tell us?
Raptors general manager Masai Ujiri is smart.
Toronto is uniquely loaded with the assets to pull off a blockbuster. Jonas Valanciunas’ steal of an extension doesn’t kick in until next season, Terrence Ross’ extension is equally digestible and, in addition to owning all of their own first-rounders, the Raptors have a 2016 pick coming in from the New York Knicks and a 2017 selection coming from the Los Angeles Clippers. If they want to chase a star, they can chase a star.
But Dwight Howard isn’t an upgrade for them. He is a better defender than Valanciunas, but he’s also seven years older. The Raptors have also finagled a top-10 defense with their current personnel. There’s no reason for them to open up their stable of assets unless its for a younger two-way player who won’t have the opportunity to explore free agency almost immediately after arriving.
And Howard doesn’t fulfill that description.
