Dwight Howard believes the Houston Rockets have a championship caliber team.

Howard can become a free agent this offseason and he must decide whether to keep trying to push through with the Rockets are begin again with a fourth NBA franchise.

“Regardless of how our season is going so far, regardless of the fact that we haven't played up to our expectations, I really believe that we have a championship caliber team,” Howard said. “Nobody else has to believe it, and that's fine. The whole world can be against us. But if those 15 guys in the locker room believe that we can win, then we will win. There's no doubt about it. We had a great season last year, and the reason why we were able to come in the playoffs and do what we did is because we believed.”

Howard's relationship with James Harden has frequently been a topic of discussion.

“People feel ... like we hate each other,” Howard said. “I have no hate in my blood for this man, you know? For what? He came from nothing. We both came from nothing. And we're doing something that we love. We grew up playing this game for fun, and we had big dreams of making it to the NBA. So I would never hate this man because I know what it took for me to get here, and he made it. So I want him to succeed. I want us to succeed. I just - before coming here - I watched endless hours of YouTube videos on James Harden, before he had the beard. I watched all that stuff, because I'm like, 'Dang, this boy, he's got so much talent.'

“I know where he's at, because I've been there, as far as everybody looking at you and they expect so much from you. And you're one of the best players in the league. All that stuff, I've been there, you know what I'm saying?”

The Rockets have had a disappointing 15-16 season after reaching the Western Conference Finals in 2015.

“We both have to figure out how we're going to make this thing work,” Howard said. “It's on us. We've got the rest of the season, and the playoffs, and we can do it. It's a mindset. It's a mentality. And the whole team will fall in line when me and him are on that same page and the team sees that we're strong together.”

“If we just come together like we're supposed to - and it takes time, you know. It takes time. If we can just come together like we're supposed to and like we want to, then I'm telling you, we can win a championship.”