What It Means:

Expectations are that Howard will opt out of his contract this off-season, and the Rockets may choose not to give him a max-deal, which is what he desires. GM Daryl Morey is now searching to see if he can get anything on the open market for Howard, rather than potentially losing him for nothing. So far, the Boston Celtics have been the only club officially linked to Howard, but this isn't suggesting that other teams are not interested in acquiring Howard as well.

Howard has a 4.7 nERD, which ranks 38th, in 44 games played this season. He's averaging 14.6 points, 12.0 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 1.5 blocks per game, while posting a 61.0 True Shooting Percentage. We project the big man to average 12.3 points, 9.9 boards, 1.7 blocks, and 1.4 assists per game over the remaining course of the season, while shooting 56.4 percent from the floor.