Why Houston Rockets Must Go All-in on Dwight Howard Rental

The Houston Rockets have traded Chase Budinger to the Minnesota Timberwolves, according to multiple sources around the league, which could mean many things for the increasingly interesting Rockets.

With the NBA Draft just two days away, they have amassed three first-round picks, sitting at 14,16 and 18 after picking up the 18th pick from Minnesota.

What Houston will do with this is still very much up in the air, but it seems like it's amassed the picks with the hope for a potentially interesting trade come draft day.

The opinion around the league at this point is that Houston is going to try to package those three picks with Kyle Lowry for Sacramento's No. 5 pick and Toronto's No. 8 pick, giving the Rockets two top-10 picks to deal to Orlando for Dwight Howard (all referenced in the SI article linked above).

There are a lot of questions surrounding the wisdom of this potential deal, but at the same time it can't be a bad thing to add a superstar like Howard to your team for a year.

They Have the Pieces

Once the Houston Rockets flip Kyle Lowry and their three picks into the Nos. 5 and 8 picks respectively, they have an easy road to a Dwight Howard rental.

Throw Luis Scola in there and all you've got to do from there is match salaries (which may actually be the hardest part of this entire deal).

There's a few too many ifs and buts involved, but what would an NBA trade rumor be without as many of those as possible?

Stuck in the Middle of the Pack

The Houston Rockets have been stuck in the middle of the pack for the past three years and have been struggling to avoid the "bottoming out" scenario that so many teams go through to rebuild after losing a superstar.

This trade will give Houston its best chance at breaking free from the chains of mediocrity, as its slow acquisition of remarkably acceptable players has gotten it nowhere except a few wins away from the eighth playoff seed.

With Howard on the Rockets, they're going to make the playoffs this year, and if not, that might not be a bad thing either.

It Could Give Them a Reason to Bottom out

General manager Daryl Morey is an incredibly smart man, and this might just be the smartest thing he does if it actually pulls through.

Think about it: Three mid-round picks this year aren't going to transform this team into a playoff team, but if the Rockets transform those picks into two high picks with the addition of Kyle Lowry and in turn transform those into Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu's contract (which doesn't expire for another two years), they're in great shape no matter what happens.

If they win and become a top team in the Western Conference, then great, but if they lose, there's no worry there either.

There's no shame in acquiring Howard in June, realizing it's not going to work out by February and flipping him for Andrew Bynum or a Brook Lopez package that allows you to bottom out and get a good draft pick in a few years.

It's an interesting strategy at this point, but it seems better than letting their fans watch a 42-40 team miss the playoffs.

The Fans Need a Reason for Hope

The heyday of the Houston Rockets seems to be long past. Even though Yao Ming retired just over a year ago and Tracy McGrady was traded just over two years ago, the semi-glorious days in Houston seem to be a thing of yesteryear.

Sure, Yao was injured for all of the 2010 season and played just five games in 2011, but he was there.

The Rockets, since then, have had some interesting basketball teams, but nothing for the fans to really get off their seats about. There's plenty to love, but not much to lust after. There's an attractive team on the court, but nothing that leaves your jaw on the ground.

Dwight Howard coming to town gives them the chance to have a lustful team yet again.

They'll Have His Bird Rights

A trade for Dwight Howard means a trade for the big fella's Bird rights, which is about two pages of the NBA's collective bargaining agreement saying that Houston would be allowed to give him more money.

Basically, Houston will own the years that Howard has played in the past, which will allow them to offer him five years on his contract, rather than the four years that every other team could offer him in 2013.

So, if they decide to roll the dice and let him play the free agent market next summer, they have the ultimate bargaining chip with the extra money that they can give him.

Who Says He Won't Re-Sign?

Word out of the camp that follows Dwight Howard around and lets him dictate the precise moment he wants to be traded has said that there's "not a chance" of Howard signing an extension should he be traded to Houston.

You know, as a child I never thought there was a chance that I would like spinach either, but I put the green leafy stuff on every sandwich possible.

It's never impossible to sign a player to an extension if they haven't played for your team yet; he has no idea what it's like.

Sure, Houston isn't Brooklyn or Los Angeles, but who's to say that he won't go to Houston and absolutely fall in love with the city, team and the management?

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