The speculation was just about endless, and now it appears to be reaching a conclusion. As Alex Hampl wrote before, just Dwight alone would give the Rockets a boost:

"If Howard signs with the Rockets, we project them for a 47-35 record, although that does not take into account the rest of free agency, where Houston could be active, especially if they sign Jeremy Lin or Omer Asik back to L.A. in a sign-and-trade."

Read More: Where the Numbers Say Dwight Howard Should Play Next Year

Both Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik were right around replacement level for their positions, so in terms of adding or subtracting wins to the Houston total, they have little to no effect.

Interestingly, Josh Smith played so inefficiently in Atlanta - he had a nERD of -3.5, ranking him #109th in league - that he might actually be a net negative to Houston if he signs there. However, with his game and the space that James Harden and Howard will open up for him, he has a great chance to improve on that total.

What It Means For The Lakers

Well, aside from the obvious problems they have in the front office with Jim Buss running the show... and the obvious problem they have with Mike D'Antoni as the coach... and the obvious problem of Steve Nash being 156 years old...

Where do you start, really? With Dwight gone and Kobe Bryant gone for a half year at the very least, we're projecting the Lakers to have a record of 40-42, with factoring in any sign-and-trade/replacement possibilities.