NBA Rumors: Latest Buzz on James Harden and Dwight Howard
With the NBA season almost underway, it seems that the rumor mill is churning out more and more content as excitement mounts for the league’s Oct. 30th tipoff.
After such a busy summer, it’s hard to imagine that anything as momentous could happen during the 2012-13 season or 2013 offseason. However, there’s always a chance.
Let’s take a look at two of the biggest rumors concerning the upcoming campaign, free agency and much more.
James Harden, Sixth Man, No. 1 Target
The Oklahoma City Thunder’s sixth man has started a total of seven games during his three-year career, but he’s about to get paid like a superstar.
According to a report by ESPN’s Marc Stein, the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks are three franchises that have made public their intent to give Harden a four-year maximum contract worth around $60 million.
It’s quite a gamble, especially considering Harden struggled against the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals. There are a number of question marks surrounding his ability to become a superstar, as he has only thrived with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Durant drawing away the attention of opposing defenses.
Regardless, the No. 3 overall pick in the 2009 draft seemed to have made “the leap” last year and many teams are willing to bet that he could be a star player worthy of starting in their city.
It’s going to be tough for the former Arizona State Sun Devil to decline a max contract and a chance to be the top dog.
Is Dwight Howard Back from Back Injury?
Earlier in the offseason, the plan was for the Los Angeles Lakers to debut their newest superstar—Howard—in their October 30 regular-season contest against the Dallas Mavericks.
However, it seems that Superman is ahead of schedule and could be wearing the purple and gold in an upcoming preseason game.
According to Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports, the big man could see the court as early as Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings, but Howard doesn’t seem to be in any rush.
Janis Carr of the OC Register found that the big man isn’t talking about his timetable and is telling reporters to talk to his trainer to figure out when to expect DH12 on the court.
"Dwight Howard wasn't in much of a mood to talk about his return. Seems bored by the whole topic and defers to trainer about actual date
— janis carr (@janiscarr) October 20, 2012"
Hopefully, for Lakers fans, it’s sooner rather than later and there are no setbacks suffered.
