Rockets might have "deal in place" for Omer Asik

When the Houston Rockets signed Dwight Howard I'm pretty sure Rockets coach Kevin McHale envisioned a twin towers lineup when he wanted to play big.

It was only a dream because Omer Asik begged to be traded and general manager Daryl Morey has been trying to find a place for him ever since.

Morey has taken his time to find the right deal and now it seems like the might have one in place.

USA Today's Sam Amick has reported that there may be a trade on the horizon involving the Philadelphia 76ers and the Rockets that could go down by next Thursday.

Asik might be the player involved on the Houston side but the speculation on the Philly side might be that Thaddeus Young or Spencer Hawes could be moved to Houston. Amick says that Morey is holding off on pulling the trigger to see if he can get a better.

Right now this is just all speculation but where there's smoke, there's fire and Morey is never afraid to deal if he can find a good partner.

Howard says his poor conditioning led to losses

Dwight Howard hasn't been a big hit with the Los Angeles Lakers so far. The team has been in disarray for most of the year and hasn't clicked at all. The Lakers are in danger of missing the playoffs and Kobe Bryant isn't happy with the losing.

Being new in town, Howard has received his fair share of blame. Howard has now accepted some of the responsibility for the Lakers poor season. Howard told Ramona Shelbourne of ESPNLosAngeles.com that his lack of conditioning costs the Lakers some games this season.

"You've got to have energy and I want to bring that energy every night," Howard said in a revealing interview Saturday afternoon. "That's my job. They count on me to be that guy. I just know how much more effective I will be when I'm in better shape. And, unfortunately, it's cost us a lot of games."

"I knew that would be a process. The better shape I'm in, the more active I can be and the more I'm able to do on the floor," he said. "But it was a struggle at first because I just didn't have it in the tank, especially on defense."

That can't sit well with Braynt. He made a big deal out of Shaquille O'Neal delaying surgery on his toe and being out of shape when he came to camp.

It's true that Dwight has had back surgery and didn't have a full training camp/preseason to get ready but his poor attitude hasn't helped the team either.

As much as I liked the trade of Howard to the Lakers,I said he was too big of a goof to mesh well with Bryant who takes this game ultra serious.  

I'll give Howard some credit for taking some of the blame for the Lakers' woes and not pointing fingers elsewhere.

Dwight Howard isn't a winning player

There aren't many NBA players that are considered winning players. There are a select few in the league and you can probably count them on one hand. Kobe Bryant, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Durant, and no matter what anyone says LeBron James.

Dwight Howard is not one of them. It's not because he hasn't won any championships. It's because of the act he's pulling with the Orlando Magic franchise. He's literally trying to hold the Magic hostage and trying to get coach Stan Van Gundy fired. That all depends on who you ask. Van Gundy and reporters say that Howard has asked for Van Gundy to be canned. Howard denies this rumor.


"I know he has," Van Gundy told reporters after the team's morning shootaround ahead of Thursday night's matchup with the New York Knicks. "That's just the way it is. Again, I've been dealing with that all year. It's not anything real bothersome. You go out and do your job."


It's just like Howard to deny the statement. Just like he wanted to be traded, but later was all in and staying with the Magic. The problem with his trade request is that he wanted to pick his destination. I've always maintained that the franchise should be holding all the cards especially when it comes to trades. No player should be able to hold a team hostage like what Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, and Dwight Howard have done recently. Players would hate me if I were a general manager because I'm trading you for the best deal I get, not where you want to go.

About the Van Gundy rumors which Howard denies, it's no secret that Howard would rather have Van Gundy out of town rather than him staying in Orlando. It's a fact of life in professional sports. When the star player doesn't like the coach, usually the coach leaves town and it's not voluntary. Howard has been pretty critical of Van Gundy's coaching style the past few years and now he's playing a game of him or me.

"Whatever happens at the end of the season is not under my control," Howard told reporters. "I am a player for the Magic. I am not the GM. I am not (owner) Rich DeVos I am not (Magic CEO) Alex Martins. So that's not my job. So you guys should stop ... every other week ... trying to find something, because there's nothing.


"I haven't said anything to anybody about anything. Our main concern is winning. So all the other stuff should stop."

In a way Dwight is still immature. He says all the right things and talks about winning, but he isn't about winning. Which means he's not a winning player. If you want photo ops, commercials, and want to sell jerseys then Dwight is your guy. But if you want to win championships, you should go elsewhere.

I'm not saying he's a bad player, but he's what a friend of mine calls a "square button player". Anyone with a playstation should be familiar with that analogy. He just doesn't have the on court demeanor of a winner.

McGrady Thinks Howard And Williams Will Land In Dallas

Dwight Howard is still waiting to be traded and Deron Williams wants help in New Jersey. The two parties recently had dinner together. It could've been to get an idea of where each other wanted to play at next season.

There is one person who thinks that they will end up playing together. Tracy McGrady. You see, McGrady can predict the future and in his future he sees that Howard and Williams will go and team up with Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas. I bet Mark Cuban would love for that to be true. I'd rather have McGrady tell me tomorrow's winning lottery number.

It could happen, since the Mavs jettisoned some contributors from last year's championship team and acquired some cap space. Enough to land the two biggest fish in next year's free agent class.

"D-Will is from Dallas," McGrady said. "You've got Dirk Nowitzki there. They're going to have [cap space] there. That looks sweet. Dirk. D-Will. And then you get Dwight Howard. That's it, right there."


McGrady added: "Dwight's going to find a sweeter spot for him next year with him being a free agent, with D-Will being a free agent, and Dallas already having an established star there. ... Yup, Dallas."


A dream scenario for Mavs fans and a possible nightmare for opponents. I think it won't happen and look for the Los Angeles Lakers to be a player for either one.




  

   

Clippers To Pursue Dwight Howard?

The NBA lockout still has to undergo some minor details (vote and ratify) before it's officially over. The news has started to pick up regarding who'll get released, traded, or signing elsewhere.

Orlando Magic big man Dwight Howard has been dodging questions about his future whereabouts, but that won't stop the rumor mill from ramping up. Reports say that the Los Angeles Clippers will possibly make a push for Howard. Interesting since Donald Sterling does own the Clippers. But I guess the possibility of playing with Blake Griffin might trump Sterling's incompetence. Think about the tandem of Howard and Griffin playing side by side. That might actually get some players to think about playing in Clipperland.

Of course the Clippers will have some heavy competition for Howard and Howard most of this, especially since the tentative labor agreement permits extend-and-trade deals and also allows sign-and-trade deals for all taxpaying teams during the first two seasons of the CBA.

I don't think it'll happen, but the Clippers might have the most attractive young trade chips to pull it off. 


     

Dwight Howard Will Never Play For The Heat

Everyone knows Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard is a big kid and everyone knows it. Howard recently attended the Comic Con in San Diego and let out some of his inner child. There is one thing Howard doesn't kid about and that's his NBA future.

Howard wants to win a ring in the worse way, even though from the outside looking in some may not know it. He'll be a free agent after the 2012 season and he really doesn't care to discuss it. There is one team that won't be on his destination list though. The Miami Heat.

When the Dwayne Wade, Chris Bosh, and LeBron James formed the "Big Three" in South Beach, Howard knew that basketball supremacy in the state of Florida left the Magic Kingdom. Howard has gone on to mock James' hairline, the chalk toss, and "The Decision" just to name a few examples.

When asked about who he's thinking of playing for it was no laughing matter regarding the Heat.

What about the Lakers? "That's everybody's question," he told the "Kick" audience. "I am wearing purple … but that's Rock's outfit."



The Heat? "Never."

Now the Heat would be the quickest way of getting to his goal of being an NBA champion, but he wants to blaze his own trail and be a leader of a team and not a follower.

Report Says Warriors Offered Monta Ellis For Dwight Howard

According to a report/tweet from Jonathan Givony from DraftExpress the Golden State Warriors mad a play for the Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard, offereing up Monta Ellis, Ekpe Udoh, and Andris Biendris. A pretty good package but not one that's going to land Howard.

If this is indeed true, teams thinking about lining up to trade for the big man will have to give up plenty in order to land him. So Laker fans don't get too enthusiastic about the big guy coming to Los Angeles.

Also, if the Warriors weren't going to trade Ellis, why were they alledgedly offering him in a package. it looks like Golden State is still intent on unloading Ellis no matter what their front office is saying.