On June 29, 2004, Howard and Magic teammates McGrady, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines were part of a seven-player trade that sent 2003–04 Houston Rockets starting guards Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, plus Kelvin Cato, to the Magic.
In late November, as a short term experiment, head coach  Jeff Van Gundy decided to reduce Howard's playing time so that Scott Padgett could move up in the rotation to backup power forward.
Meanwhile, Maurice Taylor started the first 16 games of the season for the Rockets at power forward.
 Van Gundy was unsatisfied with his power forward rotation, so he made the first starting lineup change of the season not mandated by injury by putting Howard into the starting lineup ahead of Taylor.
Although Taylor was available and played, Howard became the regular starter on December 2 and started for the rest of the season, and the team traded Taylor before the trade deadline in February.

The 2004–05 Rockets were 51–31 under Van Gundy and lost in the first round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs to the Dallas Mavericks, four games to three.
 Although the Rockets made the playoffs, Howard's season ended on March 14, when he left a game with a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee.
Initially, the injury was supposed to sideline Howard for four weeks.
The injury coincided with a period in which he developed symptoms of viral myocarditis, including heart palpitations, mild chest pains and fever and was diagnosed with a viral infection in his heart.
His limited physical activity impaired his MCL rehabilitation.
Over the course of the 2004–05 season, Howard achieved seven double-doubles in 61 games (47 starts), while averaging 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds.
 His 26.6 minutes per game marked the first season that he played less than 32 minutes per game.

During the 2005–06 season, Howard recorded 10 double-doubles and two 30-point performances in 80 games (all as a starter), while averaging 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds.
 He played 31.7 minutes per game, and this was the last season in which he averaged 30 minutes per game; this was also the final season in which Howard started at least half of the games in which he played.
The Rockets were 34–48 under Van Gundy and missed the playoffs.
Howard was suspended one game without pay in January for shoving the basketball into the face of Toronto guard Mike James in an exchange that occurred after Howard fouled James on a drive to the basket.
On April 10, Yao Ming suffered a season-ending broken foot.
In Yao's absence, Howard posted a season-high 31 points on April 17 against the Denver Nuggets.

In the 2006–07 season, Howard achieved nine double-doubles in 80 games played (37 starts), while averaging 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds.
During the season, he lost the starting power forward position to Chuck Hayes, but got back in the starting lineup when Yao got injured.
 His 26.5 minutes per game marked a new career low.
Howard only started 38 games, including 32 consecutive starts between December 26, 2006, and March 3, 2007, while center Yao was recovering from his fractured right leg.
The 2006–07 Rockets were 52–30 under Van Gundy for the regular season.
The Rockets entered the 2007 NBA Playoffs with little experience; Howard was one of only three players on the team (along with Rafer Alston and Dikembe Mutombo) to have previously won any NBA playoff series.
Once the playoffs began, Howard served as a key reserve on the Rockets' short bench rotation that also included Luther Head and Mutombo.
The Rockets managed to split the first 4 games even though Head and Howard only combined to average 7.6 points, including a combined pointless 0-for-10 game three.
Although Howard had a productive game five with 12 points and 6 rebounds which contributed to a Rockets victory, the team lost in the first round of the 2007 playoffs to the Utah Jazz, four games to three.
 In the playoffs, reserve Howard averaged 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 22.4 minutes.
Although Howard was described as a consistent role player and locker-room leader, his salary continued to be perceived as o
On June 29, 2004, Howard and Magic teammates McGrady, Tyronn Lue and Reece Gaines were part of a seven-player trade that sent 2003–04 Houston Rockets starting guards Steve Francis and Cuttino Mobley, plus Kelvin Cato, to the Magic. In late November, as a short term experiment, head coach  Jeff Van Gundy decided to reduce Howard's playing time so that Scott Padgett could move up in the rotation to backup power forward. Meanwhile, Maurice Taylor started the first 16 games of the season for the Rockets at power forward.  Van Gundy was unsatisfied with his power forward rotation, so he made the first starting lineup change of the season not mandated by injury by putting Howard into the starting lineup ahead of Taylor. Although Taylor was available and played, Howard became the regular starter on December 2 and started for the rest of the season, and the team traded Taylor before the trade deadline in February.
The 2004–05 Rockets were 51–31 under Van Gundy and lost in the first round of the 2005 NBA Playoffs to the Dallas Mavericks, four games to three.  Although the Rockets made the playoffs, Howard's season ended on March 14, when he left a game with a sprained medial collateral ligament (MCL) in his right knee. Initially, the injury was supposed to sideline Howard for four weeks. The injury coincided with a period in which he developed symptoms of viral myocarditis, including heart palpitations, mild chest pains and fever and was diagnosed with a viral infection in his heart. His limited physical activity impaired his MCL rehabilitation. Over the course of the 2004–05 season, Howard achieved seven double-doubles in 61 games (47 starts), while averaging 9.6 points and 5.7 rebounds.  His 26.6 minutes per game marked the first season that he played less than 32 minutes per game.
During the 2005–06 season, Howard recorded 10 double-doubles and two 30-point performances in 80 games (all as a starter), while averaging 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds.  He played 31.7 minutes per game, and this was the last season in which he averaged 30 minutes per game; this was also the final season in which Howard started at least half of the games in which he played. The Rockets were 34–48 under Van Gundy and missed the playoffs. Howard was suspended one game without pay in January for shoving the basketball into the face of Toronto guard Mike James in an exchange that occurred after Howard fouled James on a drive to the basket. On April 10, Yao Ming suffered a season-ending broken foot. In Yao's absence, Howard posted a season-high 31 points on April 17 against the Denver Nuggets.
In the 2006–07 season, Howard achieved nine double-doubles in 80 games played (37 starts), while averaging 9.7 points and 5.9 rebounds. During the season, he lost the starting power forward position to Chuck Hayes, but got back in the starting lineup when Yao got injured.  His 26.5 minutes per game marked a new career low. Howard only started 38 games, including 32 consecutive starts between December 26, 2006, and March 3, 2007, while center Yao was recovering from his fractured right leg. The 2006–07 Rockets were 52–30 under Van Gundy for the regular season. The Rockets entered the 2007 NBA Playoffs with little experience; Howard was one of only three players on the team (along with Rafer Alston and Dikembe Mutombo) to have previously won any NBA playoff series. Once the playoffs began, Howard served as a key reserve on the Rockets' short bench rotation that also included Luther Head and Mutombo. The Rockets managed to split the first 4 games even though Head and Howard only combined to average 7.6 points, including a combined pointless 0-for-10 game three. Although Howard had a productive game five with 12 points and 6 rebounds which contributed to a Rockets victory, the team lost in the first round of the 2007 playoffs to the Utah Jazz, four games to three.  In the playoffs, reserve Howard averaged 5.0 points and 4.4 rebounds in 22.4 minutes. Although Howard was described as a consistent role player and locker-room leader, his salary continued to be perceived as o
Juwan Howard