Rockets Want Both Josh Smith & Dwight Howard

The Rockets' Monday meeting with free agent Josh Smith in Los Angeles included a discussion about a possible partnership between him and childhood friend Dwight Howard, two sources with knowledge of the situation told Sam Amick of USA Today.  Smith has been known on the Rockets' radar, for some time, but he's not just being looked at as a Plan B if Howard goes elsewhere.  

Combining Howard and Smith with James Harden would give the Rockets a formidable Big Three.  In fact, Howard and his reps asked the Rockets in their meeting this week if they could find a way to sign another player to a max deal, according to Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle.

The Rockets would have to clear some serious hurdles to get a deal done but they could conceivably try and work a sign-and-trade with the Hawks to help make things easier.  Center Omer Asik and point guard Jeremy Lin will each earn $8.3MM in each of the next two seasons and could be moved to help free up space.  Both players are reportedly being shopped around the league.

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