Recent NBA trade rumors emerged that Dwight Howard is "unhappy" in Houston and the Rockets could move him to Miami for Hassan Whiteside any time before the February trade deadline.

Such speculation came from Sheridan Hoops' Chris Sheridan, saying that Howard is "extremely unhappy in Houston playing second fiddle to alpha dog James Harden". With the supposed-to-be improved Rockets having a hard time even going above 0.500 this season, then D12's alleged discontent is really believable.

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It should also be noted that this is the same player that bolted out of Los Angeles before the 2013-2014 season because he was not cool about being no. 2 to the now retiring NBA superstar Kobe Bryant at that time. Thus, speculations of an impending trade that involves Howard is not really surprising.

Sheridan noted that his prediction of a Howard-Whiteside trade is based on another report from the website written by Michael Scotto, revealing Miami is trying to get DeMarcus Cousins from Sacramento and is using Whiteside as the centerpiece of their proposal.

Recent reports are out that Cousins is not going anywhere as the Kings are keen on keeping their young team leader. With that, the idea of getting Howard instead sprang up.

While the 30-year-old, three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year is no longer as athletic as he used to be, he still commands trade interest especially for teams who are seeking to improve their interior defense.

Howard is currently averaging 12.6 points (his lowest since his rookie year), 11.6 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game while playing a little more than 32 minutes a night in 20 games so far for the Rockets.

These are numbers that are still attractive although it seems lacking for someone who is earning more than $20 million annually and had been an All-star eight times throughout his career.

A trade between the Rockets and Heat is going to be complicated as the two players are in completely opposite salary levels. However, ESPN's NBA Trade Machine approved a deal including Montrezl Harrell and Jason Terry with Howard for Whiteside plus Luol Deng, Chris Andersen, and Justise Winslow.

TagsNBA Trade Rumors, NBA trade rumors 2015, NBA rumors, NBA Rumors 2015, NBA News & Rumors, NBA News & Rumors 2015, Houston Rockets trade rumors, Houston Rockets rumors, Dwight Howard, Hassan Whiteside