TUESDAY, 10:01am: While Howard is the Rockets' top trade target, the team could pursue Josh Smith or other big-name players if a deal can't be consummated with the Magic, tweets ESPN.com's Marc Stein.
MONDAY, 8:05am: Chad Ford and Marc Stein of ESPN.com reported last night that the Rockets have engaged in trade discussions with teams in the top 10 in the draft, including the Kings (No. 5) and the Raptors (No. 8). In their initial report, Ford and Stein suggested Andre Drummond had caught the Rockets' eye, and was the target in any deal. However, a rival GM told the ESPN scribes that he believes Houston's real goal is to land Dwight Howard.
According to the GM, the Rockets are trying to acquire not just one but two top-10 picks, in the hopes of pursuing the Magic superstar, who they'd be willing to trade for even without a long-term guarantee. If Houston was able to land the fifth and eighth overall picks, it's believed that a package centered around those picks would "seriously pique the interest" of new Magic GM Rob Hennigan.
Tom Ziller of SBNation.com explores the trade rumors, speculating that an offer of just Kyle Lowry should be enough to land the Raptors' No. 8 pick, while a combination of the Rockets' two first-rounders (Nos. 14 and 16) and a player could interest the Kings. The ESPN report cited Moe Harkless and John Henson as a couple of draft prospects who have drawn interest from Sacramento — both prospects are probably a reach at No. 5, but I'm not sure they'll slip to No. 14.
As Ford and Stein write, trading Howard on or before draft night would be a huge commitment for Henningan, who has only been on the job a few days. He may prefer to take a more measured approach, after working under Sam Presti in Oklahoma City, but the new Magic GM doesn't seem to be shy about making changes right away. According to the Orlando Sentinel, Hennigan has already parted ways with longtime assistant GM Dave Twardzik and six scouts.
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They will try to land Howard and then sign Williams.
I’m pretty sure D-Will said the Nets or the Mavs….
he goes wherever d12 goes
Not true at all…
If not DWill, then Nash. Besides, who the hell knows what Dwill is thinking. I remember Lebron saying Cleveland or New York was the only two places before Bosh/Wade had the “Sit Down” and decided to head to Miami. Point is, the allure of a championship and potentially the best Big little combo since Malone and Stockton, can sway alot.
a number 1 and number 2 pick… plus kevin martin & kyle lowry, ( really don’t wanna lose kyle) should be plenty to workout some kind of deal to get Dwight Howard…..( and Hedo Turkolu If they wanna get rid of him too)
with the hardworking core that we have on the rockets now… can you say 3 nba finals in a 5 or 6 year time spand
you might think thats enough, but its not. We arent talking about talks that could be looked into for a while, but getting the Magic to pull the trigger before draft day, which is an extremely short time frame, in which any doubts would kill such a rush judgement, which is why the Rockets are right to believe that 2 top ten picks will secure it.
If they don’t swing the deal, then they could pick someone they believe the Magic would like and possibly the Magic would trade later on, but expecting the Magic to take an individual unknown pick (who knows exactly who would be available at the pick, thus it is an unknown pick) and some overpaid role players for the best center in the league, and need to pull the trigger as if the deal was too hot to pass up, I think they would rather sit and see other offers than be rushed.
That’s absurd but, would not surprise me. Thats about par for the coarse. Typically trading away the talent they have been able to build from no names and rookies from the crumbs of the NBA. If they do aquire Howard it will strip the team’s talent and for what a 1 yr contract?