Report: The Rockets Are Shopping Dwight Howard

Not really a Woj bomb because it’s kind of obvious—the Rockets are a mess, interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff says they’re a “broken team,” Jason Terry says they don’t like each other—but Yahoo reports that Houston has started calling around the league to find a trade partner for Dwight Howard.

Howard, 30, is expected to opt out of his contract after three seasons with the Rockets and seek a max extension, and right now it’s far from clear if the Rockets have any interest in offering it. He’ll get that deal somewhere, because even for all of Howard’s flaws, the very concept of a maximum salary turns even sub-elite-tier players into bargains.

Howard doesn’t have any kind of no-trade clause, so it’s conceivable that someone could land him as a rental. More likely is that any team who makes a move would believe it can re-sign him this summer.

He could probably use a change of scenery, and let’s face it: Houston needs some kind of change. Jason Terry could not have put things any more clearly after last night’s loss.

If the Rockets’ issues were not clear enough, Jason Terry announced them with a shout as he cut through the media room on the way to the visitor’s locker room, declaring “No chemistry with that group; ... horrible.”

“If you look at it, the chemistry is not like you would like it,” Terry said. “Hopefully, the break will be what we need to away from each other. I’ve seen worse.

“Genuinely, do we like to play with each other? That’s as simple as I can get it. If you can’t get five guys on the court at one time to function as a unit, you’re not going to have success.”

I would not put money on Howard being the glue to hold the room together.