Dwight Howard reportedly has chosen to sign with the Houston Rockets as a free agent, but you have to figure the team has more in the works. As good as James Harden is, and as nice of a young player as Chandler Parsons is, the Rockets still need another top-level player to compete with Oklahoma City and San Antonio, among other Western Conference teams. Even Howard reportedly asked the Rockets about their plans to add a third star player when he met with them. That third player may be Josh Smith.
Zach Klein of WSB in Atlanta says the Rockets will try to talk with the Atlanta Hawks about a potential sign-and-trade deal for Smith. ESPN’s Brian Windhorst adds the Hawks would be open to a sign-and-trade deal for Smith.
Windhorst also reports that Omer Asik, who signed a three-year, $25.1 million deal with Houston last season, does not want to back up Howard at center. Instead, he would prefer a trade.
Several reporters have suggested the Rockets could deal Asik to the Hawks for Smith in a sign-and-trade, but Atlanta and Asik would have to be interested in such a deal for that to happen.
As Eye on Basketball previously noted, Howard and Smith are friends from their AAU days in Atlanta.
We don’t know what moves Houston will make, but we can be certain that adding Howard is not all they plan to do.
