Dwight Howard says no decision on future with Houston Rockets

Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard has not made a decision on whether he will decline his $23.3 million player option for next season and become a free agent.

Howard joined TNT's "Inside the NBA" on Tuesday night following the Oklahoma City Thunder's 95-91 Game 5 win over the San Antonio Spurs.

Howard, 30, is not expected to pick up the option for the 2016-17 season and instead will look for a max contract that could pay him $30 million per season.

"I haven't made any decision," Howard said Tuesday night. "My job is to get in the gym and work my butt off."

Howard was criticized this season for appearing disinterested in games. He averaged 13.7 points, his lowest since the 2004-05 rookie season.

Hall of Famer, former Rocket and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley asked Howard about the criticism.

"I'm always interested in winning," Howard said. "But as a big, you want to feel a part of what's going on, and you know, if I could bring the ball up the court, shoot 3s and go between the legs, do all that stuff, that'd be great. But I have to rely on my teammates in certain aspects to get the ball. Now there have been times I have been upset and I've taken myself out of the game in certain situations, and that's on me.

"And I have to grow and became a better player. So I'm always interested in the game, and I've had the problem with smiling too much or I play too much on the floor, so when I'm not smiling and all that stuff, it looks like I'm not interested in the game. So it's like a thin line, and I'm like, 'Man, do I not smile? Or do I smile and have fun?' So that's always been a struggle for me personally."