Dwight Howard remains with Rockets as trade deadline passes

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PHOENIX - The Rockets were always willing to talk, and they talked a lot. But they never thought they would be moving Dwight Howard at the NBA trade deadline. They were right.

The deadline passed on Thursday with the Rockets only move the deal that sent Marcus Thornton and Donatas Motiejunas to Detroit for a first-round pick and Joel Anthony.

Howard remained with Houston, with the Rockets facing the same situation that prevented teams from offering enough for the Rockets to move him. With Howard expected to opt out of his contract after the season, teams would not offer much given the possibility he could leave as a free agent after less than 30 regular-season games.

The Rockets now face the same uncertainty. But the combination of wanted to salvage the remainder of their season and to not take back salaries that would handcuff them in the summer kept the Rockets from getting what they could for Howard on Thursday.

Less clear is whether teams backing away from offering the Rockets more in a trade for Howard also will mean they will not offer as much to Howard as a free agent.

There were reports of talks with the Miami Heat, Charlotte Hornets, Toronto Raptors and Milwaukee Bucks about Howard. They ended the same way as nearly all the other negotiations, with the Rockets making few moves, leaving their rotation largely intact as they try to reverse course on their disappointing season.