Rockets have sweetened their trade proposal for Dwight Howard. ESPN link w/ @chadfordinsider & all the names in play: http://es.pn/NEVroB
The Houston Rockets have reconstructed their trade proposal to the Orlando Magic for superstar center Dwight Howard, vowing to take back even more long-term salary from the Magic in hopes of convincing Orlando to consent to trade Howard directly to Houston, according to sources briefed on the trade talks.
Sources told ESPN.com the Rockets, after going ahead Friday with their plans to release starting power forward Luis Scola via the NBA's amnesty clause, are now able to absorb the contracts ofGlen Davis, Jason Richardson and Chris Duhon -- in addition to offering Orlando various combinations of future first-round draft picks and players drafted in the first round by Houston last month -- to give the Magic an opportunity to wipe their payroll virtually clean for their post-Howard rebuilding effort.
General manager Daryl Morey is trying to construct a trade that will allow the Rockets to take back, in addition to Howard, multiple players from a group that includes Davis, Richardson, Duhon and Hedo Turkoglu. With Scola's three remaining seasons valued at roughly $21 million off the books, Houston will have increased flexibility to help the Magic shed salary.
The Herd with Colin Cowherd
ESPN NBA Insider Marc Stein talks about Dwight Howard's future in Orlando and more. Stein expects the Magic to trade Howard before the start of training camp.
Friday thus loomed as a pivotal day in the Rockets' all-out quest to trade for Howard. Sources say the Rockets have notified the league office they were indeed releasing Scola, as expected, while also launching the process of signing New York Knicksrestricted free agent Jeremy Lin to his long-awaited offer sheet.
Lin signed a three-year offer sheet Friday at the Rockets' summer-league base in Las Vegas, a source close to the talks told ESPNNewYork.com's Ian Begley. The deal is worth a little more than $25 million -- $5 million in the first year, $5.225 million in the second year and $14.8 million in the third year.
The Knicks have been adamant that they will match Houston's offer to Lin, but they can take three days to do so.
The Rockets also have committed a three-year offer sheet worth just more than $25 million toChicago Bulls restricted free agent Omer Asik. It's believed the Rockets will make Asik's offer sheet official after the Knicks match on Lin, but Asik's fate is less certain, with the Bulls said to be wavering on whether to bring the bruising big man back.
The Rockets promised offer sheets to Asik and Lin early in free agency -- and are thus honor-bound to go through with them to ensure they'll suffer no future repercussions from agents or players in free agency -- but Houston wouldn't lose out completely if both offer sheets are matched since the Rockets, in that scenario, would have more cap space to try to get the Orlando trade done, which is clearly their No. 1 priority.
Houston officials, though, have remained steadfast in their belief that, no matter what happens with Asik, no team in the running for Howard can offer a bigger menu of trade options to Orlando. Sources stressed that the Rockets are not prepared to trade all of the following assets just for Howard, but they're inviting the Magic to shed a significant amount of long-term salary while also likely shipping Kevin Martin, Patrick Patterson, Marcus Morris and Chandler Parsons to the Magic from their current roster to make the salary-cap math work.
