NBA Trade Rumors: Bulls, Hornets, Hawks, Magic, Or Pistons Could Land Dwight Howard

The Dwight Howard sweepstakes are currently in full force, but it’s not really a matter of who is going to win him. In this case, it’s who can offer up the most and give the right price to the Houston Rockets to get them to trade him away. Some NBA trade rumors have already started circulating, but now there are other teams jumping into things including the Chicago Bulls, Charlotte Hornets, Atlanta Hawks, Detroit Pistons, and Orlando Magic.

A number of teams just don’t have the money free to trade for Howard or they couldn’t meet the asking price for him. The Houston Rockets are rumored to have put a pretty high cost in order to acquire him, but there are some teams that could make it work.

According to the Boston Globe, the Boston Celtics are one of the teams with the means and need to trade for Dwight Howard, but they likely won’t make the move. The Celtics are being overly cautious in trades for players that could soon become free agents, and that’s Howard.

He’s currently in the third year of a four-year deal he signed with the Rockets a few years ago, but does have an opt-out clause that he could take advantage of this summer. M Live states that the Detroit Pistons also know Howard is out there, but may not bite on any moves before the NBA trade deadline of Feb. 18.

Some teams though? They may very well take a shot at acquiring Dwight Howard and trying to get him to re-sign with the team so he doesn’t become an unrestricted free agent.

Yahoo Sports is reporting that the rumor of the Chicago Bulls going after Howard has come back around just as it did earlier this season. The Bulls are in the luxury tax and would get even more of it by taking on additional salary, but it may be worth it.

The proposed trade would be as such:

• Rockets get Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, and 2016 first-round draft pick
• Bulls get Dwight Howard

The Charlotte Hornets have won seven of 10, including three in a row, and have the eighth playoff spot going into the All-Star break. Charlotte could also put together a pretty good package in order to make a trade happen for Dwight Howard.

• Rockets get Marvin Williams, Al Jefferson, and 2016 first-round draft pick (protected)
• Hornets get Dwight Howard

As reported by the IB Times a couple of weeks ago, the Atlanta Hawks are interested in trading away Jeff Teague, and this could work in a possible deal with the Houston Rockets. One rumor going around is that the Rockets could ask the Hawks for both Teague and Al Horford, and that it’s possible as the Hawks have been asking “borderline ridiculous” prices for the two.

The Dream Shake states that there is the potential for the Orlando Magic to jump into the fray since there has been interest in moving Victor Oladipo. Houston has been discussing possible trade destinations with Howard and his agent, and it is unlikely that he would want to head back to Orlando.

Throughout this season, lots of NBA trade rumors have swirled about Dwight Howard departing the Rockets. At different points of the year, Howard was attached to the possibility of being traded to the L.A. Lakers or even the New York Knicks.

The Houston Rockets don’t have a lot of time left to trade away Dwight Howard if they’re going to get it done this season. The NBA trade deadline is quickly approaching and there are options such as the Hawks, Magic, Pistons, Celtics, Hornets, and Bulls, but if it’s going to happen, the asking price may need to come down a little.

[Image by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images]