NBA Rumors: Dwight Howard Disses James Harden in Interview; Talks about Hazy Future in Rockets

Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard has dropped some interesting things about him in his must-see TNT interview on Tuesday night. The big man mentioned that he hasn't decided on his hazy future with the Rockets. He also talked about his recent struggles with on-the-court persona and took a jibe at James Harden at some point during interview.

Howard played for the Rockets in the past three seasons. As the free agency season approaches this summer, pundits expect that he will refuse the player option worth $23.2 million for the 2016-17 season. Instead, it is likely that he'll look for greener pastures where he could sign in for a maximum contract worth $30 million per season.

As per ESPN, Howard was heavily bombarded criticism for seemingly appearing disengaged in the games. Throughout the season, he only averaged 13.7 points per game, his lowest record since his rookie year. He posted only 8.5 goals per game, the fewest to date since he started out his NBA season in 2004-05 rookie campaign. Dwight Howard candidly admitted that even he, too, was bothered with his underperforming stats.

When former Rocket and now TNT host Charles Barkley pressed him for being disinterested in his games lately, the Houston big man responded saying he felt frustrated at not winning as he struggled with issues surrounding his persona (e.g. smiling on the court) and his rift with James Harden.

"I'm always interested in winning. But as a big, sometimes you want to feel a part of what's going on... But I have to rely on my teammates in certain aspects to get the ball. Now, there's been times when I've been upset and taking myself out of games and situations, and that's on me," Howard said as quoted by NBC Sports.

Dwight Howard and James Harden have been at odds with each other whose rift cost Rockets so much. On this regard, Howard still thinks that he and Harden can still co-exist but may need to put each other's pride and ego aside.

"I believe we can, but both of us have to put our egos and pride to the side, to say we need each other to win," Howard said as quoted by Sporting News. "That's the only way we are going to win. We need each other to win."