Report: Heat have character concerns about trading for Dwight Howard
The Houston Rockets finished second in the Western Conference last season, and the expectations internally were for the team to be right back at that level again in 2015-16.
But things haven't worked out anywhere close to the way they were planned. A slow start (and some locker-room issues) caused head coach Kevin McHale to get fired after just 11 games, and Houston has been unable to show any signs of competing with the league's elite while sitting at just ninth place in the Western Conference standings.
All of that means that a major roster shakeup before Thursday's trade deadline is a very real possibility, and since Dwight Howard will be an unrestricted free agent this summer, he becomes the most likely of the team's stars to end up in a new destination.
Miami is reportedly among the teams thinking about making a deal, but (via ESPN's Zach Lowe) Howard's character may cause the Heat to ultimately reconsider.
You could build a bunch of deals in which Miami sends out some combination of Dragic, Whiteside and Luol Deng for Howard, but there are factors working against it. Miami is over the tax and more likely to dump money. Houston is hard-capped, and can barely add a dime without violating league rules. Miami has questions about Howard's character and fit, sources say, and the Heat have been sniffing around cheaper 3-and-D wings -- including Randy Foye in Denver.
Howard's child-like personality has always been a point of contention, but the Heat have one of the more rock-solid organizations in the league, and have made it work for stretches with questionable character guys before. Hassan Whiteside, Chris "Birdman" Andersen and Michael Beasley were all kept (mostly) under control in Miami, and Howard is more of an on-court force than anyone like that who the team was willing to deal with in the past.
Howard will be looking for a max contract in free agency this summer, which will likely be north of $30 million per year once the salary cap spikes and the new figure is set. Deciding whether or not it's a good idea to commit to spending that on Howard (even over a couple of years) is likely a far bigger factor here than any so-called character issues that may be perceived.
