Addition by subtraction new trend in NBA?
Maybe the new trend in the NBA is not player acquisition, but player disposal.
The Detroit Pistons have gone 5-0 since releasing forward Josh Smith, who joined Houston and played against the Bulls on Monday.
While the game was in progress, there were reports of a pending three-way trade. Details still were developing, but the struggling Cleveland Cavaliers were expected to send shooting guard Dion Waiters to Oklahoma City, getting J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert from New York.
The Knicks are looking to move Smith because he's signed through next season and would free more cap space this summer. There has been talk since last season that Waiters wasn't a good fit with Kyrie Irving in Cleveland.
With Monday's loss to the Bulls, the Rockets have gone 3-4 since signing Smith.
"Josh has been great," Houston coach Kevin McHale said before the game. "I don't know what's going on in Detroit. I don't follow them too much. I think he's going to get more comfortable and be a big piece to what we're trying to do."
Butler gets MVP push:
The NBA regular season is approaching the halfway point and, for now, Houston's James Harden and Golden State's Steph Curry appear to be the front-runners for MVP.
At Monday's shootaround, Rockets center Dwight Howard tossed Jimmy Butler's name into contention.
"Jimmy is, gosh, he should be up there in the MVP running," Howard said. "He's having an unbelievable season and it's like, where did he come from? But you can kind of see his progress over the years.
"When he first came into the league he was a little shy, really didn't do too much. But now it's like he wants that moment. He wants the ball. He wants to be that guy.
"And he's doing it in the most unselfish way possible. He's not forcing any shots; he's giving the ball to the guys who are supposed to have it. But when it's time for him to get it, he does his thing. He rebounds, he runs the floor, he plays defense."
Howard shows treadwear:
Rockets coach Kevin McHale made a couple of interesting analogies when asked if center Dwight Howard is slowing down. Howard, who turned 29 last month, is averaging 18.0 points and 11.3 rebounds.
" 'The old gray mare, she ain't what she used to be' - that song came around for a reason," McHale joked. "I think everything takes a toll on your body. I still think he's got explosiveness. I've said it before, the guy's a freakish athlete.
"Everybody talks about age, but age really I don't think is a factor in the NBA as the amount of minutes you play. I always use the analogy, if your car sits in the garage all the time, a 1973 T-Bird and you've driven it 10,000 miles, the tires look pretty good.
"If you've got a 2014 and you've been around the country four times and it has 190,000 miles, I imagine those tires are wore out. He's got some miles on him. Like all guys do."
Bull horns:
Nikola Mirotic was named Eastern Conference rookie of the month for December. … Mike Dunleavy missed his second straight game with a right-ankle injury. … Two Chicago point guards, Derrick Rose and Houston's Patrick Beverly, faced off for the first time in the NBA on Monday. Their last official game on the same court probably was when Simeon played Marshall in a 2006 IHSA state semifinal contest.