Dwight Howard To Celtics? Boston Could Offer Best Deal, Former Exec Says

The Dwight Howard trade rumors just won’t go away. And don’t expect them to go away any time soon.

Following the trade speculation surrounding Howard can be dizzying, as it seems to change by the hour. The latest reports, however, indicate teams have started reaching out to the Houston Rockets in order to gauge interest on whether a deal can be swung for the pending free agent. Houston reportedly is listening when it comes to the eight-time All-Star center.

Could one of those teams be the Boston Celtics?

While The Vertical’s Chris Mannix reported Feb. 5 that Boston wouldn’t be acquiring Howard because Houston’s asking price is too steep, a former NBA executive believes the Celtics actually could offer the best trade.

Former Brooklyn Nets assistant general manager Bobby Marks broke down the hypothetical Howard trade market for The Vertical. Marks indicated that the Celtics are the team that has “the players and picks to get a deal done without touching the core,” pointing to Boston’s “treasure chest of draft picks and expiring contracts, something that would benefit the Rockets in the long run.”

So, what would a potential Celtics-Rockets trade look like? Marks has that covered, too.

Celtics receive:
Dwight Howard
Montrezl Harrell

Rockets receive:
David Lee
Jonas Jerebko
2016 Boston first-round pick
2016 Dallas first-round pick (acquired in Rajon Rondo trade)

There figures to be plenty of competition to sign Howard in the summer when the big man is expected to exercise an opt-out clause in his contract. But with the Eastern Conference race relatively wide open, it might benefit the Celtics to try and acquire Howard for the stretch run.

Perhaps most importantly for the Celtics (with this trade scenario, at least) is they wouldn’t have to give up any of their Brooklyn picks, like the 2016 unprotected first-round pick that almost certainly will get them in the top of the lottery.