According to Chris Broussard of ESPN, the Orlando Magic have had their fill of Dwight Howard’s media machinations and are demanding some sort of commitment to the team— lest he wants to be traded before Thursday’s trade deadline. While this will likely bring in a frenzied swarm of suitors for the defensive powerhouse (and anger the front office of Golden State that seemed to happen upon Andrew Bogut as a sort of second-place prize for the seemingly constantly tradeable Monta Ellis), Houston has had an in with the Magic brass given the Rockets’ possession of a long-term asset that Orlando actually likes in Kyle Lowry, who doesn’t come with the injury problems of Stephon Curry or Andrew Bynum, the salary implications of Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler or Luol Deng or the “not being that good” problems of Brook Lopez. Could Houston actually have a shot at renting the league’s best big thanks to an annoying speech by Superman II?
The timing of this ultimatum seems particularly averse to a Rockets move thanks to a bacterial infection that has Lowry chilling in a hospital bed watching NCAA games at the moment rather than eking out victories in Oklahoma City, but he’ll be back in action in less than a couple of weeks, making his trade value relatively unchanged. Still Lowry’s seen a big drop in all of his numbers since the beginning of the season, when the baby-faced bulldog routinely posted almost-triple-doubles and stood among the league leaders in PER. Those falls have shown up in places other than Lowry’s always shaky jumpshot, as well (February actually showcased Lowry posting up fantastic percentages from the field, 47% overall and 43% from the arc); instead, Lowry’s passing has been suspect, declining from the league leader in assists in mid-January to a measly 4.8 per game in the Rockets’ latest losing streak.
If a Dwight Howard rental legitimately becomes an option for Houston, even with a lousy Hedo Turkoglu kicker, disregard that entire last paragraph. All this talk of trading for a star and collecting assets would have its truest validation if Howard spent even half a season in Rockets red.
