The "Dwightmare" that is the Dwight Howard free agency saga finally will come to an end Friday as the most sought out free agent this offseason plans to make a decision between five likely suitors, with one becoming a surprise top candidate for Howard's attention.
It has long be speculated that his decision would ultimately come down to the Los Angeles Lakers and the Houston Rockets, but recently the Golden State Warriors have taken an aggressive approach and have seemingly knocked the Lakers out of contention and now the decision seems to be drawn down between the Warriors and the Rockets.
Sources say the Warriors got Howard's attention during this week thanks to their pitch, which featured owner Joe Lacob, coach Mark Jackson, general manager Bob Myers and special Warriors consultant Jerry West.
However, the Warriors only hope to land Howard rest on how fast they could remove three huge expiring contracts from their roster in Andrew Bogut ($14 million), Richard Jefferson ($11 million) and Andris Biedrins ($9 million).
However, Golden State's hopes of acquiring Howard rest on the Lakers should they choose to agree to a sign-and-trade.
As for the Rockets they've recently traded Thomas Robinson to the Portland Trailblazers for two future second-round picks and the rights to European players Kostas Papanikolaou and Marko Todorovic, all in order to have enough cap space to offer Howard a max contract deal.
Houston also waived the contracts of veterans Aaron Brooks and Carlos Delfino earlier on Sunday to clear more space in their salary-cap.
Prior to the Warriors stepping up their efforts in the Howard sweepstakes, the Rockets held a 60% chance of signing Howard, compared to the Lakers 40%, according to analyst of the situation.
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