The end of Dwight Howard's tenure in the Lone Star State may be near.
The Houston Rockets have begun contacting teams about possibly trading the 30-year-old center, according to The Vertical's Adrian Wojnarowski.
Howard has a player option for the 2016-17 season worth a touch over $23 million, although he apparently plans to opt out of his current deal and become an unrestricted free agent this summer.
League executives told Wojnarowski that general manager Daryl Morey, along with Rockets management, are working closely with Howard's agent, Dan Fegan, to come up with potential destinations for the eight-time All-Star.
Fegan, however, released a statement to ESPN suggesting he's in the dark about the team's plans.
"I'm not privy to what the Rockets are doing or not doing with respect to Dwight Howard," he said. "What I can say, with 100 percent certainty, is that Dwight has not and has never asked the Rockets for a trade. And neither have I."
Morey met with Howard and All-Star guard James Harden following the team's 116-103 loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday night, according to ESPN's Brian Windhorst.
Related: Interim coach J.B. Bickerstaff calls Rockets a 'broken' team
After advancing all the way to the Western Conference finals last season following a 56-win campaign, the Rockets currently find themselves on the outside looking in, heading into the All-Star break with a 27-28 record - half a game back of the Utah Jazz for the eighth seed.
Howard, who is reportedly seeking a max contract under the league's rising salary cap, continues to put up respectable numbers in his 12th year in the league, averaging a double-double of 14.6 points and 12 rebounds. He's no longer viewed as the dominant low-post force he once was, though, with injuries to his knees and back hurting his mobility and durability.
