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Will Dwight Howard make his way from the Los Angeles Lakers to the Houston Rockets or Dallas Mavericks? Free agency does not begin until July 1, but a report has surfaced that Howard does have interest in taking his talents to Texas. Ken Berger of CBS Sports reports that Howard is "intrigued" with the Rockets and Mavericks:
With six weeks to go before Howard becomes an unrestricted free agent, the team that is said to intrigue him the most is the Houston Rockets, according to multiple people briefed on internal conversations surrounding Howard's free-agent decision.
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The Mavericks represent another franchise that intrigues Howard, and Dallas is a minor transaction or two away from having enough room to sign Howard outright as an unrestricted free agent. Howard plans to explore all such options, and a person briefed on his plans told CBSSports.com that there are "several" teams the free-agent center is "going to take a hard look at."
It's no surprise that Howard has already been linked to the Mavericks and Rockets specifically. They represent the handful of teams that have the cap space to make an effort to sign Howard and have always been expected to make a run at the big man.
Of course, it was just over a week ago that the Atlanta Hawks were reported as having interest in bringing Stan Van Gundy on as their new coach with the notion that Howard's old coach could help lure him to his home town. Teams are clearly preparing to make their pitch to Howard.
The Lakers will be able to offer Howard the most guaranteed money this Summer (which will be repeated often during his free agency), but much of that comes from the extra year L.A. can tack on to his contract. Expect a long, drawn out free agency period for Howard, who appears ready to listen to multiple teams around the league before making his decision.
For once, however, he can make his decision as a free agent.
- Drew
- Follow this author on Twitter @DrewGarrisonSBN