Howard wanted more touches in Houston, admits tension with Harden

Dwight Howard has moved on to the Atlanta Hawks, and on Thursday he confirmed rumors that persisted for most of the end of his tenure with the Houston Rockets. Mainly, that he had a somewhat-rocky relationship with James Harden.

"It wasn't as good as it needed to be for us to succeed," Howard told ESPN Radio's Mike & Mike. "But looking back on it, there's really nothing we can do about it now."

Howard landed in Houston in the summer of 2013, a year after Harden. While the team enjoyed some success - most notably a run to the Western Conference Finals in 2015 - it was in plain sight most of the time that the Rockets were underachievers.

Howard may attribute that to the team not getting him the ball enough. When asked if he felt the Rockets didn't involve him enough offensively, he said yes.

"No doubt," Howard replied, "I know what I'm capable of. It wasn't like I came in asking for the ball on every possession."

Howard may be unaware that he led the NBA in post touches per game last season, and was second in paint touches. However playing with a ball-dominant star in Harden could have been a recipe for tension from the start.

Issues with teammates and coaches is nothing new for Howard. Stan Van Gundy openly told media Howard wanted him fired as coach of the Orlando Magic in 2012. After moving to the Los Angeles Lakers, Howard then ran into the locker room force known as Kobe Bryant.

Despite injury issues, Howard was quite statistically effective in three seasons in Texas, averaging 16 points and 11.7 rebounds on 60.1 percent shooting from the floor with the Rockets.

"I don't want anybody to think I'm a selfish type of player," he said.