Dwight Howard was close to becoming a Rocket

[elcheato]

The rebuilding Houston Rockets remain in the hunt for a superstar and are prepared to make a lucrative trade offer for one, with Orlando Magic All-Star center Dwight Howard at or near the top of their wishlist, reports ClutchFans.net. Indeed, Houston was close to landing Howard from the Magic at the 2012 NBA trading deadline: ClutchFans reports Daryl Morey, Houston's General Manager, "was the last one standing in the Howard chase." Further, in the lead-up to the March 15th deadline, Rockets management "believed they were going to land Howard later that day."

Orlando elected not to trade Howard, but only because he agreed to waive the Early Termination Option in his contract. The ETO would have enabled him to become a free agent on July 1st, 2012, but after waiving it, he won't enter free agency until one year later. Had Howard not waived his ETO, ClutchFans reports, he would have indeed become a Houston Rocket.

Rest of the article: http://www.orlandopinstripedpost.com/2012/5/16/3025489/dwight-howard-nba-trade-rumors-houston-rockets-2012-deadline-orlando-magic

 

[Pugz]

would have been interesting to see happen. i doubt dwight would stay though.

 

[bosoxlover12]

would have been interesting to see happen. i doubt dwight would stay though.

thats why Dwight opted back in to his contract. He didnt want to play for Houston. So he decided to stay with the Magic to try to win a title (which they didnt), and if not, he'd force a trade to NJ/LA/other preferred destination with more than a few days and plenty of more leverage

 

[cruzg24]

Man it wouldve been so weird seeing Dwight on the Rockets. I dont think Dwight wouldve resigned with them anyways so it wouldve been an epic mistake.

 

[Mexi]

what was the deal?

 

[Pugz]

doesnt say but id assume picks, capspace and any players the magic wanted

 

[jonathanlambert33]

What you think they would have wanted?

Dragic or Lowry?

Martin or Scola?

Young guys?

 

[BwareDWare94]

For what? A half a season and maybe a WCF appearance, only to be followed by Howard leaving and being out of draft picks and without probably 3-4 of the pieces we've assembled.

 

[elcheato]

The pieces the Rockets have assembled have turned them into an incredibly mediocre team who are pretty much stuck competing for the 8th seed for the foreseeable future. They're exactly what teams try not to become.

 

[Mexi]

they almost got away with it too

Pau and Nene or Marc was right there

 

[BwareDWare94]

The pieces the Rockets have assembled have turned them into an incredibly mediocre team who are pretty much stuck competing for the 8th seed for the foreseeable future. They're exactly what teams try not to become.

They just need a big defensive post player. Camby is too old, Dalembert is too inconsistent. If we can find a guy who's 6'10 or taller who can play good defense and give us a consistent 10-12 a game, this team would be pretty damn good. We've got a top 10 PG, one of the best young small forwards in the league who plays tenacious defense and had his shot down at the end of the season, and one of the best scoring power forwards in the game.

What we basically need to do is A-commit to Lowry or Dragic. Either is a top 10 PG when starting, B-Resign Courtney Lee (he played fantastic in a starting role) and C-find a starting center. Our bench is pretty good as is.

Houston has been one piece away from contending since Yao went down for good. With him, they were always a 4-5 seed with potential to be higher, but he always got hurt.