The Rockets, Hawks and Warriors are not on Dwight Howard's list of preferred destinations, but they could be teams willing to trade for him without any long-term assurance.

Houston has long been agressive in its pursuit of a superstar, as they nearly traded for Pau Gasol and have also been involved in discussions for Carmelo Anthony and Amar'e Stoudemire in previous seasons.

The Hawks play in Howard's hometown and could offer Josh Smith and Al Horford.

The Warriors could possibly land Howard by giving up Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Ekpe Udoh, but it would give him only 12 home games to be convinced to remain with the franchise.

“That’s not a lot of games to get attached to Golden State,” one rival executive said. 

If the Magic are able to engage teams off Howard's list, the asking price for the Nets, Lakers and Mavericks would presumably increase.