Ex Rockets Center Opens Up About Failed Partnership With James Harden

Dwight Howard recently shared his thoughts on why his partnership with James Harden failed with the Houston Rockets.

Apr 27, 2016; Oakland, CA, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) and center Dwight Howard / Kelley L Cox-USA TODAY Sports

HOUSTON — James Harden's tenure with the Houston Rockets ended without an NBA championship. However, one cannot say that management did not try to pair Harden with an All-Star caliber player. 

Harden played alongside three future Hall-of-Famers during his eight-year tenure in Houston. However, Dwight Howard holds the honor of being the first.

Howard signed with the Rockets as a free agent during the 2012 offseason following a disappointing year with the Los Angeles Lakers. The Howard-Harden pairing appeared to be ready to take the league by storm. However, the farthest the All-Star duo led the Rockets was to the Western Conference Finals in 2015.

During his recent appearance on The OGs Podcast, Howard spoke on what made his tenure with the Rockets unpleasant with Harden.

"I think Daryl didn't really like me and James together for some odd reason because I was always known as a dynamic roller in the pick-and-roll with whoever guard it was," Howard said.

"So when I got to Houston, it wasn't no pick-and-roll with me and James anymore. And then I started hearing I didn't want to do pick-and-roll; I wanted to post-up. It was just so many different things I'm hearing."

Howard played three seasons for the Rockets before his departure during the summer of 2016. He appeared in 183 games, averaging 16.0 points and 11.7 rebounds. His lone All-Star season with the franchise came amid his first year during the 2012-13 season.

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