The Houston Rockets' free agency run did not exactly go as planned. The team planned on signing one of the marquee stars in this year's market. Carmelo Anthony was a priority along with LeBron James and Chris Bosh. No one ended up signing and the Rockets were forced into Plan C of Trevor Ariza. Losing Chandler Parsons certainly did not help either. Still searching for a big star to add to the roster, are some of the current players unhappy with the direction of the offseason?
According to Bill Ingram of Basketball Insiders, there is growing concern that Dwight Howard is not happy with the Houston Rockets and their lack of ability to bring a marquee star to the team. The center believed the pairing of he and James Harden would be enough to persuade big tars to join, but it apparently has done the opposite so far this offseason. Ingram writes that while Howard handled free agency well last summer, the drama that he created in both Orlando and Los Angeles is still fresh in people's minds and some are worried the same will happen to the Rockets.
Howard is desperate for a title and so far he continues to come up short. The Magic reached the Eastern Conference Finals back in 2010 before losing to the Boston Celtics. Howard has not advanced past the first round since. Houston is trying to not let that happen again, but why did their free agency pursuits fall short? Grantland's Zach Lowe writes that the pairing of Harden and Howard is not ideal for players looking to take things serious. He writes, "There is an undercurrent around the league that Harden and Howard don't represent the most appealing duo of teammates for any star who has lived within ultraserious professionalism."
Houston is doing all they can to try and get one more player to the roster. They are currently being linked to trades for both Rajon Rondo and Kevin Love. However, the Rockets might lack the assets to bring in either star. The Boston Celtics and Minnesota Timberwolves are looking for players of the caliber of Andrew Wiggins or Klay Thompson. Houston does not have that, especially after letting Chandler Parsons sign with the Dallas Mavericks.
Harden and Howard cannot win a title with just the two of them. They need that third player to make up for Howard's poor mid-range shot and Harden's lack of defense. So far, nothing the Rockets do is working and a trade might be the only option.
