Stephen A. Smith Says Rockets Players Are Freezing Dwight Howard Out

Stephen A. Smith thinks Dwight Howard is on his way out in Houston. He also believes that Howard’s Rockets teammates are sending him the message that they don’t want him around anymore. As evidence he points to the fact that Howard hasn’t hit double digits in field goal attempts in 13 games. To Stephen A. that proves his teammates don’t care to get the big man the ball.

It’s a fair argument. Howard is making $22.359 million this year and is supposed to be part of the team’s “big two” with James Harden. Yet Howard has largely been a bystander over the past few weeks. He hasn’t broken the 20-point barrier in 15 games, and hasn’t reached double digits in scoring in seven of the team’s last 13 contests. That’s pretty insane for a 30-year-old center who is supposed to be a major part of the team’s offense.

The Rockets have dropped seven of their last 10 games and trail the Utah Jazz by 1.5 games for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. We know there has been a ton of friction between Howard and his teammates (as there has been at both of his previous career stops), so it wouldn’t be surprising if they were freezing him out.

Howard has worn out his welcome wherever he’s been and it’s not hard to believe that he’s done it again. Will he be back in Houston next season? He holds a $23.282 million player option for 2016-17 but few believe he’ll opt in. Honestly, given his declining numbers (13.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, PER of just 18.85) and attitude issues I’m not sure he could get a max deal on the open market.

It’s becoming more and more clear the Rockets don’t want him around.