With losing comes frustration and the Houston Rockets are beginning to learn that the hard way. The team has gone from starting slow on the season to being inconsistent at best. Currently trying to keep their heads above water in the overly-competitive Western Conference, the Rockets are starting to fall apart with rumors. Now the recent talk is that Dwight Howard is unhappy with the franchise and could seek a trade before leaving in free agency.
According to a report from SheridanHoops.com, Howard is unhappy that he continues to take a backseat to James Harden both on the court and in the media. As the Rockets continue to lose, Howard is now aiming to be moved from the franchise sooner rather than later. Howard does have the ability to opt out of his current contract at the end of the year which would make him trade bait for teams, but are the Rockets ready to really begin selling the farm after a slow start to the year?
According to Howard via the Houston Chronicle, the rumors that he is unhappy are false and "lies." According to the Chronicle, everyone is unhappy right now in Houston because the team continues to underachieve. It is not just an issue with the center.
"I haven't said anything to anybody about anything," Howard said, via the Houston Chronicle. "People make up lies and rumors. That's never been my focus. I'm trying to get these guys to play better and get myself to play better. People are going to say what they got to say to get a story out. People are always going to come up with some rumor and lies. That's what it is. I can't focus on that. And I don't want my teammates to focus on that."
The losing has gotten the Rockets linked to a number of trade deals. ESPN's Marc Stein reports the Rockets are interested in acquiring Markieff Morris from the Phoenix Suns while also getting linked to deals for Brandon Jennings. However, they are not ready to commit to anything yet as the team is reluctant to trade away Terrence Jones or Ty Lawson. Jones is quickly developing as a reliable presence off the bench and he should begin to be viewed as a building block not a trade asset. However, ESPN.com is reporting that the team is having discussions around Jones to see what kind of offers they can get for the young star, but the front office officials favor no deal getting done.
Lawson has improved his chemistry with Harden and he and Patrick Beverley are forming a solid tandem. Lawson told the media that he has heard to trade talk, but denies it being true.
"They're pretty honest here and they would come up to me and tell me that," Lawson said, via RealGM.com. "When that story came out, they came up to me and told me like there is no truth to it. I'm just playing here every day, go day by day, working hard and if things happen, things happen."