The NBA season won’t be over for another
month, but most of the league has already begun planning the moves
they’ll be making in the offseason. Aside from the big names like Kevin
Durant and Al Horford that are set to hit free agency, there has been
speculation that some All-Stars still under contract could soon be on
the move.
Most notably, Dwight Howard could be playing
for a new team in the 2016-2017 NBA season. The Houston Rockets' center
still has one year left on his contract worth over $23 million, but he
has the ability to opt out and become a free agent.
"I haven't made any decision," Howard said on TNT Tuesday night. "My job is to get in the gym and work my butt off."
Howard might be acting publicly like he
doesn’t know what he’s going to do, but he’ll almost certainly opt out
of his deal when he gets the opportunity. Even though he’s coming off a
subpar year by his standards, Howard stands to m in the open market
because of the new salary cap. With the cap expected to jump from $72 million to $92 million, he could make $30 million per season as a free agent this summer.
Houston reached the Western Conference finals
in 2015, and they were expected to do big things this year. But the
Rockets ended up having one of the most disappointing seasons of any NBA
team, barely making the playoffs as the No.8 seed and being ousted in
five games in the first round. The big man appeared to have a difficult
time playing with James Harden, who dominated the ball with nearly 20
shots per game.
“I have to rely on my teammates in certain
aspects to get the ball," Howard said. "Now there have been times I have
been upset and I've taken myself out of the game in certain situations,
and that's on me.”
The Rockets reportedly came close to dealing
Howard at the trade deadline. He was at the center of trade rumors
involving the Milwaukee Bucks and Miami Heat, though nothing ever
materialized.
Considering Howard and Harden combined to form
a championship contender just a year ago, the Rockets could look to
keep the duo together. But if another team is prepared to offer Howard a
max contract, the 30-year-old could be headed for his fourth team in
six years.
Howard was the NBA’s best center for a few
years, and though he remains better than most, he no longer holds that
distinction. DeMarcus Cousins has never reached the playoffs, but it’d
be hard to find a better center in the league than the Sacramento Kings’
big man.
Cousins averaged 26.9 points, 11.5 rebounds
and 3.3 assists per game in the regular season. He’s far and away
Sacramento’s best player at just 25 years old, but his future with the
Kings has been tenuous for quite some time.
George Karl reportedly wanted to deal Cousins
this past year, though the coach was let go at the conclusion of the
season and a deal was never made. But Cousins was involved in trade
rumors even before Karl was hired, and there has been speculation for
the last few years that the Kings might be open to trading the former
No.5 overall pick.
Cousins’ gaudy numbers haven’t meant much for
the Kings in terms of winning. The team hasn’t reached the playoffs in a
decade, and their 33 wins this season was their most since they drafted
him in 2010. The All-Star has also had his share of behavioral issues,
getting suspended in March of this year for “conduct detrimental to the
team,” and receiving several suspensions over the past few years.
Kings’ management, however, has made it known that they have no plans of dealing Cousins in the offseason.
The New York Knicks have been in a similar
situation with Carmelo Anthony since he re-signed with the team two
years ago. New York has been one of the worst teams in the league, and
there’s been speculation that the Knicks might try to make a move. At
age 31 and with a salary of about $25million a year, he might not be the
most attractive trade option for teams.
Anthony has a no-trade clause in his contract, making a reportedly discussed deal between
the Knicks, Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers in February
extremely unlikely. Veteran NBA reporter Peter Vecsey recently stated that
Anthony could ask for a trade if the Knicks ultimately hire Kurt Rambis
to be their permanent head coach, but Anthony claims he wants to remain
in the Big Apple.
“You’ll be seeing me (playing) with the
Knicks, absolutely,” Anthony said Wednesday, speaking to Yahoo Finance
at the TechCrunch Disrupt Summit.
The Knicks were 32-50 last year, missing the playoffs for a third straight season.
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