NBA

We told you to buckle up for this wild ride, and it's already rumor-monger season in regards to Dwight Howard. Bucher writes that Howard never had legitimate interest in joining the Warriors, and he's wary of playing in Atlanta because it's his hometown. Bucher adds that Howard has "softened" his stance on joining the Rockets, but his original list of teams he was interested in included Brooklyn, Los Angeles (Lakers) and Dallas. Right now, it appears the Lakers, Mavs and Rockets are the three legitimate options.

A report earlier in the week suggested Howard was considering the Warriors in free agency, but that doesn't make any sense for a few reasons. The Warriors can't sign Dwight Howard outright to a max contract that he'll receive, a sign-and-trade with the Lakers would have to send back an unsightly contract or two in return, and the Warriors aren't open to moving a package of Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes in a Howard deal. Thompson gives zero credence to the rumor.

The other teams on the list include the Lakers, Mavs and Rockets, all of whom we've seen Howard linked to in previous reports. The Hawks have also been mentioned as a potential destination for Howard, but the inclusion of the Warriors is a new one. Unfortunately for both Howard and the Warriors, Golden State's salary cap issues make adding Howard highly unlikely. Expect Howard's list to get narrowed down to two or three feasible destinations as we get closer to free agency.

ESPN Los Angeles reported that Howard specifically complained about D'Antoni, but that doesn't appear to be the case. "Criticism of a coach did not come up," Kupchak said. "Our coach did not come up. I think in general they all felt that there are ways to utilize their talent better going forward. That would include Dwight in that group." Kupchak added that "players don't have to like coaches. They just have to play hard."

Mike Krzyzewski will reportedly be announced as the coach for the 2016 Rio Olympics on Thursday. D'Antoni served as an assistant on Coach K's staff since 2006 but declined this time because of family concerns, according to Berman's source.

Howard was answering a question from a fan. Unfortunately, he didn't say where he plans to sign this summer because that would've been way too easy. Besides re-upping with the Lakers, Howard has been linked to both the Hawks and the Rockets and the Mavs are reportedly planning to throw the full-court press at him. The summer should allow Howard time to get healthy and the injuries aren't expected to affect his likely max deal.

Remember all of those rumors about Jackson returning to the sidelines? They look laughable now. Regardless, we're sure to hear plenty of other rumblings regarding Jackson's future in the front office after he admitted to having a deal in place with Chris Hansen to join the Sonics if the Kings had wound up moving from Sacramento.