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"&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Rockets center Dwight Howard was not traded by Thursday\u2019s deadline because Houston\u2019s asking price for him was too high, reports ESPN\u2019s Marc Stein.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The Rockets reportedly wanted at minimum a frontline player and a first-round draft pick in exchange for Howard, which interested teams were not willing to give up, Stein reports.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Houston was serious in its attempt to trade Howard, and engaged in talks with the Bucks, Heat, Celtics, Hawks, Hornets, Bulls and Mavericks, among potential others.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;GOLLIVER: NBA trade deadline winners and losers&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CMany teams called expressing great interest in trading for Dwight,\u201D Howard's agent, Dan Fegan, told ESPN after the deadline. \u201CThe obvious stumbling block to a trade was how could a team justify giving up important assets for a player who was about to become a free agent in a few short months?\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u201CNot surprisingly, as the deadline approached, several teams called stating they had worked out the trade parameters with Houston for a Dwight deal but were not prepared to give up their assets unless Dwight agreed to opt into the last year of his contract and forego free agency. Dwight declined.\u201D\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;Howard has the option to become a free agent on July 1 by opting out of the final year of the four-year, $88 million contract he signed with the Rockets in 2013.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;\u2022 &lt;strong&gt;SHARP: NBA trade deadline wrap: Dud of a day&lt;/strong&gt;\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;The 30-year-old veteran has averaged 14.6 points, 12.0 rebounds and 1.5 blocks per game in his 12th NBA season.\r\n\r\n&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;- Erin Flynn&lt;/em&gt;\r\n&lt;/p&gt;"^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.si.com/nba/2016/02/19/trade-deadline-houston-rockets-dwight-howard-price>