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If the Rockets move Dwight Howard, should Boston make a deal?

Chuck - Red's Army December 17, 2015 Rumors 33 Comments

The Rockets are still playing like crap and there’s speculation Daryl Morey might dump his soft, clownish big man Dwight Howard. The 30-year-old Howard is reportedly unhappy with his role on the team and he can opt-out of his contract after this season. Maybe Houston wants to get something before Howard bolts.

ESPN Insider Kevin Pelton finds a few trade scenarios, one which involves the Celtics:

Package: David Lee, Tyler Zeller, future first-round pick (See in ESPN trade machine)

Lee wouldn’t have much value to the Rockets, who might just buy him out. Besides offering some flexibility with the hard cap Houston is working under this year after using its non-taxpayer mid-level exception, this trade is all about getting one of Boston’s huge stockpile of picks to flip in another trade. That could work out like when the Rockets traded Kyle Lowry to the Toronto Raptors for a lottery pick that ended up being a key part of the James Harden deal months later.

I’ve never liked Howard’s attitude and always thought his offensive game should be better. But to be honest, this scenario doesn’t make my skin crawl. Maybe because he can still be a monster rebounder and shot blocker. That future 1st round pick is the key. Forget those Brooklyn picks. Maybe Boston’s own 1st rounder or one we have coming from Memphis or Dallas?

Any deal with Dwight hinges on his next contract. I’m sure Danny Ainge would be aware of Howard’s demands.

There are a lot of variable. Would he be willing to work as hard as Brad Stevens wants him to? Could Howard help the Celtics land another big name free agent?

Curious what you guys think.

mailepors

please no. culture killer
- Curt Hays
  
  He is responsible for the firing of Stan Van Gundy and most likely Kevin McHale.
  
  Instead of hiring Dwight, go recruit McHale.
Curt Hays

Dwight Howard has missed games every season since 2010.

Since leaving Orlando, his stats have only decreased.

He SHOULD be in his prime right now, and he couldn’t even hit his prime under the tutelage of Kevin McHale. Is Brad Stevens going to make the difference?
- Curt Hays
  
  One could make the argument that the absence of SVG is his biggest weakness. So it is POSSIBLE that Brad can fix him. He hasn’t had a point guard (other than Jeremy Lin) since leaving Orlando.
  - Dave
    
    Brad’s offense utilizes the 3 a lot so it would work to Dwight’s advantage if he came here.
    
    Plus he would only have to worry about playing like Dwight, like DJ’s role in LA except he would obviously get a few more touches in the post.
    
    But yea for the right price like the Lee, Zeller, and a future first rounder (not from Brooklyn) then it should be done.
    - Curt Hays
      
      To be honest, and maybe it’s old-fashioned like Chuck said, I don’t know why teams don’t utilize post-ups far more. Kevin Love is one of the best post up guys I’ve ever seen, and he flat out embarrassed the Celtics in the post.
      
      IF Dwight would do a job in the paint, and I’m not saying he would, and IF Brad would actually use him, then it’d be cool.
      
      But then you have the hack-a-Dwight problem.
      - Dave
        
        Agreed, I’m old fashion too in the sense that I’m a big fan of post play and how big men play hence one of the main reasons why KG is my fav player.
        
        I think teams would resort more to the hack-a-Dwight if they were in close games with us. With our defence already being fantastic, Dwight would add to that along with his rebounding, I don’t really see teams using that tactic against us that much.
        
        If they do Brad is more than capable of finding ways to accommodate for. But yea whether Dwight comes here or not, no loss for us.
Jim Eisenman

Dwight Howard is a cancer to any team. He has a bad attitude and smiles when he cheapshots other players. He never likes his role except when you give him the ball posted up on every possession. He can’t shoot free throws. Why else would Houston dump him for a draft choice, a guy they don’t want and a talented young second tier player with a good attitude? I say stay away!!!!
Astarot

I’d take a chance without BKN pick. Sure the key question, is he opting out or not I’d say I’d rather have him opting out cuz I wouldn’t want him destroy Cs cap space. But what if he’s playing great for Cs and then opt-out? Would Ainge offer him what he wants How much would it impact their drafting strategy? There’s a lot of questions.
Thatguy

No.

Nooooo.
Leitos

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo
CFH

My first instinct was to say no, but if we aren’t talking about a Brooklyn pick, that’s a bargain basement price for the clown. Low risk, high reward? Maybe?
KWAPT

Um..
- Curt Hays
  
  omfg, I’m reposting the shit out of this.
NE_Celt

I dont see how he makes an improvement. There are more downsides then up. He doesnt space the floor because he cant shoot. He can block and rebound, but Sully can hold his own rebounding and Johnson can block; and both have better shooting.
And then there are the rumors and stories of how he doesn’t take the game seriously and is a big jokester, and is not a good presence in the locker room. Toss in the injuries here and there, the conflicts he has had with his coaches…thats a long enough list of flaws and issues that would make me want to stay away…just not enough upside for a team we want to keep moving forward, NOT BACK!
RedsLoveChild

From the neck down, who wouldn`t want Howard?
From the neck up, who could possibly want Howard?

You don`t want Howard controlling the locker room of a young team that lacks players who could stand up to him.
- Rod Shaftwell
  
  Wait so do we or do we not want his neck?
  - RedsLoveChild
    
    Oh, his neck is good….what sits atop it is not so good.
forever_green

Couple of real mature players in the rumors Cousins & Howard.
Adam Stark

We need good locker room guys. Maybe Danny can pry Marc Gasol away. Or even get Beal, Barns or Drummond on poison pill contracts like Houston did with James harden. I’d give up all our 2016 picks for Beal or Drummond on a 5 year deal.
zippittyay

I could stomach Dwight Howard only slightly easier than could I DMC
- Jason Whetzell
  
  DMC is a competitive stud with a chip on his shoulder (like Rondo) Howard is a loser.
Cleangreen

Howard will never win a Championship and since that’s our goal, I don’t want him. Dude is a clown.
BillRussell

I’ve had similar feelings towards Howard, never thought he cared.
BUT- i feel the roller coaster he’s been on recently; going through different teams, getting eaten by the media, then having relative success in Houston only to be marginalized by James Harden, has made him care- he still has the ability to dominate- i would absolutely give him a shot and i think with our team and coach we cld make some magic happen
MJ

It’s one of those, “Depends on what we give up” type deals if this actually does get discussed. I’m no Dwight Howard fan, but the guy would hypothetically be the rim protector that this team needs and I think he’d mesh very well with Amir on defense. Ask yourself, “Would a lineup of Smart-Bradley-Crowder-Johnson-Howard be one of the best defensive lineups in the league?” No matter how you feel about Howard, the answer is undoubtedly yes. The reason why I’m guessing quite a few Celtics fans are opposed is because of Howard’s issues both with personality and injuries, which I fully acknowledge. He’s damaged goods, and committing to him long term is not something I’m in favor of.

To be frank, I’m not making a deal like this primarily because Howard would fill a need but because he would be cheap. Considering Lee by all accounts has made the Celtics worse (And this is coming from someone who loved the Lee deal) and Zeller is expendable at this point (Also like him) AND the Celtics have picks they can give away without losing any sleep (Minnesota’s 1st pick that’s likely going to be 2 2nds and/or Boston’s protected 1st this year), a deal like that would be a steal of a deal for a still impactful Dwight Howard. Danny is a master at moves like these so why not?

Also, Dwight can’t be relied in crunchtime because of his free throw issues, which is fine because the Celtics could have Sully be the back-up 5 and provide decent minutes there along with Johnson. The Celtics have the big rotation to help ease Howard slowly. If Howard is on the market, I say go for him as long as the price is right.
KGino

Top 5 star players I would never want on the Celtics — Dwight Howard, Wade, Melo, Deron Williams, Lebron
- forever_green
  
  I agree with Wade, Lebron, DWill, the other two I’m on the fence about. Howard being the one I least hate.
  Why no Kobe on your list?
  - KGino
    
    Howard and Melo just aren’t winners. Neither will win a ship in their career, at least until they’re older and become the 6-7-8-9th guy on a team. Even then I doubt it.
    
    No Kobe because Kobe is over. In my mind, he’s already retired
Jester00

Not mad at it, wouldn’t shout ” we goin sizzler” eather.
- forever_green
  
  It’s more like “let’s hit up a Subway” occasion.
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Jason Whetzell

I’d go from enjoying the Celtics to not enjoying the Celtics.

Some things aren’t worth winning a few more games.
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