Dwight Howard has been far from the player everyone has seen since Orlando Magic days, although the prognosis of many is that the 6-foot-11-inch center has found it difficult to co-exist or play second fiddle to a team's star player.

With the Magic, Howard was used to being the go-to-guy but things have changed since he left Orlando. It all started with the Los Angeles Lakers where he would have been a perfect fit had he waited for Kobe Bryant to retire.

He eventually opted to jump ship and join the Houston Rockets but as everyone knows, the real star of the show in Houston is James Harden right now.

Although he did manage to put up good numbers in his first two seasons as a Rocket, the current season has seen a significant dip in the All-Star center. Injuries are, of course, to blame but latest rumors claim that Howard is unhappy.

With that in the open, Howard hit back and shot down the alleged rumors. He says that all of them are lies and that he is fine being in Houston as he tries to improve and help out the team in the process, according to the Houston Chronicle.

Thus far, he has hardly been a factor and the fuss has even made things more interesting as he heads toward the final year of his contract.

Howard has an opt out clause in the final year of his deal. If he opts in, he is guaranteed $23.2 million, as revealed through NBC Sports.

His current denials don't, of course, cover that, although the belief is that he will opt out to possibly land a better deal or perhaps even explore the market.

Whatever plans he may have, Howard will have to get to work on his game first. At the rate he is performing, it seems hard to imagine teams investing largely on him moving forward, especially with lots of younger players potentially available.

He may have dodged the bullet now, but the scenario could be different in the offseason.