Rockets Reconstruct Trade Offer For Howard
11:35am: Jonathan Feigen of the Houston Chronicle tweets that he doesn't believe last year's rookies (Morris, Parsons) and this year's three draftees (Lamb, White, Jones) are all a part of the Rockets' offer, but that many of them could be involved.
7:43am: In an effort to convince the Magic to deal Dwight Howard directly to Houston, the Rockets are in the process of reconstructing their trade proposal for the star center, according to an ESPN.com report by Marc Stein and Chad Ford. Stein and Ford write that the Rockets are looking to clear the necessary cap space to absorb at least three additional contracts in addition to Howard's, from a group that includes Hedo Turkoglu, Chris Duhon, Glen Davis, and Jason Richardson.
Dwight Howard Rumors: Thursday
While reports yesterday suggested that the Magic had suspended Dwight Howard trade talks while they search for a new head coach, it appears the team is still willing to listen to new offers. However, those offers likely won't be coming from the Nets for a while. After Brooklyn agreed to re-sign Brook Lopez to a four-year, maximum-salary contract, it took the team's top trade chip from the trade block until at least January 15th, at which point he's eligible to be traded again. Who knows if Howard will still be in Orlando by that point, but here's the latest on the Magic's star center:
- Although Howard remains Houston's number one priority, Alex Kennedy of HoopsWorld tweeted earlier that acquiring Andrew Bynum in a three-way deal with Orlando and the Lakers is the designated back up plan.
- Interestingly enough, ESPN's Marc Stein retweeted a follower who recognized that the Rockets' official Twitter account decided to follow Dwight Howard, Chris Duhon, Glen Davis, and Jason Richardson as of tonight.
- John Denton of NBA.com says that according to GM Rob Hennigan, there is nothing imminent in Howard trade talks.
Earlier updates:
Odds & Ends: Lin, Cole, Davis
As was expected after he underwent knee surgery, Jeremy Lin doubts he will be available for first round action should the Knicks make the playoffs, according to ESPNNY.com's Ian Begley. The original timetable for Lin's return was six weeks, and he'll resume running activities next week.
- The Miami Herald's Joseph Goodman takes a look at Heat guard Norris Cole's recent struggles. Goodman expects that when Mike Miller returns from injury, that Cole's quickly fading minutes may be reduced to nothing.
- On the flip side, Josh Robbins of the Orlando Sentinel examines the stellar play of Glen Davis, who's really come on as of late thanks to a few injuries on Orlando's front line.