Harden says he hasn't spoken to Howard about free agency

Dwight Howard is widely presumed to be on his way out of Houston as an unrestricted free agent this summer, and Rockets teammate James Harden doesn't appear to be doing much to convince him to stick around.

"He's his own man, he knows what's best for his career," Harden said of Howard at his basketball camp on Thursday. "I haven't really talked to him. He'll make whatever is the best decision (for him)."

That isn't particularly surprising, given that rumors of a rift between the two have been swirling all year. There were reports that Howard was unhappy in Houston as far back as December. With general manager Daryl Morey mum on re-signing him after the season, the Rockets reportedly shopped Howard aggressively at the trade deadline.

After the deadline passed with no deal materializing, Howard split with his agent, Dan Fegan. A rumor then surfaced that Harden had pushed for Howard to be traded, which came on the heels of another rumor suggesting that Howard and Harden had maneuvered to have each other traded two seasons earlier.

When the Rockets' season ended at the hands of the Golden State Warriors in the first round of the playoffs, there were reportedly four teams considered to be in the running to sign Howard. The Rockets were not one of them. There were also reports that Howard would not return to Houston if they hired Mike D'Antoni - who coached the Los Angeles Lakers during Howard's lone, miserable season there - as their new head coach, which they did.

So maybe Harden figures it's a lost cause and his talking to Howard wouldn't change anything anyway. Maybe he doesn't care. Maybe he does. Either way, the writing's on the wall. In big, bold print.