Josh Smith: Will Former NBA Star Return With Houston Rockets, Join Dwight Howard, James Harden in Loaded Lineup?

This could be a new type of Big 3. Yahoo! Sports is reporting that the Houston Rockets are the frontrunners to sign free agent Josh Smith, who is a childhood friend of Dwight Howard's. Smith was recently released amid struggling for the Detroit Pistons, who signed him to a four-year, $56 million dollar contract two seasons ago.

Smith was averaging 13.1 points, 7.2 rebounds and 4.7 assists this season for the Pistons. But Detroit has struggled mightily, getting off to a 5-23 record to start the season. Releasing Smith was step one in starting their roster over.

If Smith joins the Rockets, he'll compliment a roster that started the year 20-7 and sits in fourth place in the highly competitive Western Conference. The transaction would also serve as a counterpunch to the Dallas Mavericks, who traded for former Boston Celtics All-Star point guard Rajon Rondo this week. The Mavericks sit two games behind Houston in the loss column.

However, Smith is also friends with Rondo, and could go to Dallas, according to USA Today. The paper also reports that Howard and Smith played together as kids on one of the greatest AAU teams of all-time, and that Howard has expressed interest in linking up with Smith again.

Howard is notorious for needing to be comfortable to succeed, which is one of the reasons his stay in Los Angeles was such a disaster. The former No.1 overall pick had his worst season in six years during his one-year stint with the Lakers.

Paired with explosive guard James Harden, Howard came back to form last year with the Rockets. This year he's averaging 19.3 points per game and 11.9 rebounds per game for a team that looks like a legit title contender. Adding Smith would only enhance Howard's play and those championship chances.