Hassan Whiteside Won't Be Impacted By Trade Rumors

A poster dunk on Dwight Howard might be a great stocking stuffer to go with it, though, and Kobe's been in Larry Nance, Jr.'s ear about dropping the thunder on the big man. Should that happen, Staples Center may erupt right then and there. Both Cousins and Howard are believed to be disgruntled with their current teams to various degrees. He predicts that Howard will end up with the Miami Heat as part of a deal that will move center Hassan Whiteside out of Miami.

Because of this, the report suggests that before Whiteside walks away and look for bigger offers on the market, the Heat should trade him and maybe get Howard. While his skill set is valuable as he's the NBA's leading shot blocker now, his league minimum contract is nearly worthless.

The Heat already have made one trade this season, dealing guard Mario Chalmers and forward James Ennis to the Memphis Grizzlies for guard Beno Udrih and forward Jarnell Stokes.

"So guys understand that every team, there will so much fiction out there, you just have to focus on your team, your role and your situation".

The Celtics are waiting very patiently for a star player to become available so we can use some of our stockpile of assets to acquire him.

Howard, 30, is in the third season of a four-year, $87.6 million contract that includes an opt-out after 2015-16.

Such speculation came from Sheridan Hoops' Chris Sheridan, saying that Howard is "extremely unhappy in Houston playing second fiddle to alpha dog James Harden". Whether he walks or re-signs this summer, maybe he'd help them achieve something significant this season first.

This is a lineup with three guards, and two small forwards, and the six-foot-eight Ariza was playing center. While Howard earns over $22 million this season and Whiteside earns just a shade under $1 million, the combination of salaries makes it possible for the trade to occur. His attitude about not being the primary option on offense won't change in Miami as guard Dwyane Wade and Bosh would be above him in that pecking order. Besides offering some flexibility with the hard cap Houston is working under this year after using its non-taxpayer mid-level exception, this trade is all about getting one of Boston's huge stockpile of picks to flip in another trade. Bryant may downplay his feud with Howard, but he subtly challenged rookie Larry Nance Jr.to dunk on Howard during Tuesday's game. The only way the Heat would even consider this trade would be if they thought they could retain Howard but if they don't have the money for Whiteside they likely won't have the money for Howard either.