Houston Rockets Would Be Wise Not to Target Dwight Howard


 

Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports

As we approach the 2013 NBA Finals, many teams are already in preparation for what they plan to do when the season comes to a close. The Houston Rockets have been rumored to be interested in Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard, but for a few reasons, that may not be the best plan of attack.

First off, they have already poured quite a bit of money into center Omer Asik. Do people forget about this? The young big man is owed roughly $20 million in the next two years, and signing Howard would essentially move Asik back to the role the Chicago Bulls did not want to fork over that kind of dough for – a backup.

Unless Houston somehow trades Asik this offseason, that’s a lot of money to be paying a backup center. Of course, the Rockets already used an amnesty on former forward Luis Scola so that would not be an option.

Secondly, do the Rockets really want to deal with that kind of headache? If Kobe Bryant, of all people, cannot get the respect of Howard, just who do you think can? Bryant has been on record saying that he had tried everything he could last year to try and make it work between those two in efforts to create better chemistry. But, it just didn’t happen.

At one point, Bryant’s sentiments toward Howard felt a bit like he had given up.

So, does Houston honestly want to try and ink Howard this offseason? I don’t see it working out well for them if it happened. It doesn’t make complete sense, and I doubt Howard is happy in Houston. If Los Angeles didn’t appease him, what will?

Ryan Heckman is a Senior NBA writer for www.RantSports.com also contributing to the NFL. Follow him on Twitter, “Like” him on Facebook, or add him to your network on Google.

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