HOWARD STAYS PUT, BUT ROCKETS DEAL MOTIEJUNAS, THORNTON TO PISTONS FOR FIRST-ROUND PICK
D-Mo, Thornton bring No. 1 pick from Pistons
TEMPE, Ariz. — As with their season on the whole, the Rockets’ moves at the trade deadline Thursday were more noteworthy for what they did not do than anything they accomplished. Unlike their struggles on the court, the fallout on Thursday was no surprise.
The Rockets did make one move, sending forward Donatas Motiejunas and guard Marcus Thornton to the Detroit Pistons for a first-round pick. But despite many talks about potentially trading Dwight Howard, general manager Daryl Morey said the Rockets never came close to a deal that would tempt him to move his star center.
“Part of my job is I have to explore everything,” Morey said. “We believe in James (Harden) and Dwight together. It was
going to have to take something significant to make us look at anything. And even then, we probably wouldn’t have.
“We like our group going forward. James and Dwight have won more than twothirds of their games together. They’ve made the conference finals. Obviously, we’re not playing well, but it’s the same group that made the conference finals, plus Pat (Beverley) and Ty (Lawson).”
With Howard expected to forgo the final season of his four-year deal with the Rockets to become a free agent, Morey had extensive conversations about dealing him now, hoping to land significant assets. The Rockets were never looking to move him in the name of just getting something before he walked as a free agent. Teams checked to see what it would take to land Howard and then backed away before anything became close.
Morey said he still hopes to sign Howard as a free agent. Howard said he remains unconcerned with his return to free agency or the Rockets’ apparent willingness to at least look at options to deal him.
“Can’t do anything about it now,” Howard said. “It was all talk.
“My only thing is concentrating on tomorrow night, getting a win.”
Howard said there was no sense of relief, no distraction lifted, by having the deadline pass. He insisted before the deadline that he was not concerned he could get traded. Nothing had changed.
“I wasn’t thinking about it,” Howard said. “I never asked for a trade. I just came out here to Phoenix to get ready for the second half of the season.”
The Rockets were changed by the one deadline maneuver they made.
Stop and go
After spending much of the season lamenting having to play without Motiejunas while he came back from back surgery, they moved him just when he seemed ready to join the rotation for more than his cameo appearances in 14 December games before the back trouble returned.
Thornton often played a significant role, though he has slipped in and out of the rotation. The Rockets were willing to give up both to get the Pistons’ pick to better arm themselves for summer moves. They get the pick this season unless it lands in the top eight of the draft, a position the Pistons (27-27) are five games ahead of with 28 games to play. It would then go to the Rockets in one of the next two seasons unless it’s in the top 10.
“Going forward, it helps us a lot — either in the draft or in free agency or in a trade — to set us up for next season,” Morey said.
The Rockets sent center Joel Anthony, acquired from Detroit in the deal, to Philadelphia along with a second-round pick they had acquired earlier from Denver. The Rockets also acquired the draft rights to 6-9 forward Chukwudiebere “Chu” Maduabum, a 24-year-old Nigerian, in the deal.
Though the Rockets were unwilling to deal Howard just to get something for him before he becomes a free agent, they did make the move with Motiejunas in part because he will be a restricted free agent this summer.
“We missed D-Mo,” Rockets interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff said. “We had a few years with him. He was a big piece of what we did last year. Marcus helped us win games this year. Whenever you have to lose guys, it’s difficult. They’re not just chess pieces you have to sacrifice. They’re people you’ve gained relationships with. We’re going to miss those guys.”
Improved attitude
Still, Bickerstaff said there can be a galvanizing effect to moving past the deadline. He said Howard seemed “more amped than ever.”
“The vibe he has had since he came back from the All-Star break is one of determination, wanting to help this team reach its potential. He’s proven in the past he’s got the résumé of a guy who can singlehandedly impact change. If he plays at the level he’s capable, big things will happen for everybody in this organization.”
For that to happen, Howard had to remain with the organization past the deadline. With Morey saying he never got close to a deal, Howard will get that chance, even if he said he never considered any other possibility.
“I don’t think about it,” Howard said. “Just go out there and do my job.”