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The eighth center of the stars Dwight Howard has accepted the terms of a one year contract with the Washington Wizards, The Athletic & # Jared Weiss reported Tuesday.
According to Weiss, Howard finalized his takeover with the Brooklyn Nets and will win the intermediate level exception with the Wizards.
The Nets acquires Howard largely as a way to free up salary cap space next season. In exchange for the 14-year-old veteran, Brooklyn had more in his books the $ 16.2 million owed to Timofey Mozgov in 2019-2020.
As many have noticed, the transaction illustrated Howard's regular descent among the first of the NBA's great men:
Sean Highkin @ Highkin
Imagine that you told someone in 2009 that Dwight Howard was traded in consecutive summers for Miles Plumlee and Timofey Mozgov.
Kevin O'Connor @ KevinOConnorNBA
Hard to Believe Dwight Howard will make eight All-NBA teams from 2006-07 to 2013-14 and then suddenly turn into a payday dump on the point to play for his fourth team in four seasons. What a shame.
Simply in numbers, Howard remains a productive center. He averaged 16.6 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in his only season with Charlotte Hornets in 2017-18.
Howard is also an effective defensive presence. According to NBA.com, he held his opponents at 57.9% shooting inside six feet and 54.1% inside 10 feet. The Hornets also have a 106.4 defense rating with him on the field, compared to a 107.9 defense rating when he went on the bench.
The problem with Howard is not necessarily the result of his performance on the field, although he has the paint clogged with his inability to score away from the basket.
Out of court, Howard is his own worst enemy.
He ran Stan Van Gundy from Orlando, creating one of the most surreal media conferences in recent memory. Van Gundy told reporters gathered Howard had asked the property to send him away, only for Howard to arrive a few moments later and questions about Van Gundy's revelation.
Then came Howard's disastrous season with Los Angeles Lakers, who ended up Howard ejected from Game 4 of the playoff series of the first round of Los Angeles.
Howard's three years with the Houston Rockets were also disappointing. He never got along well with James Harden, and it's not a coincidence that the team had an improvement of 14 wins in the season after he left.
There were doubts about Howard's negative impact in the locker room, in bed during his brief stays with the Hornets and Atlanta Hawks. ESPN's Zach Lowe reported last September that some Hawks players were celebrating his departure, and things did not seem to improve in Charlotte:
Howard Beck @ HowardBeck
] "The locker room (Hornets) did not like Dwight Howard," @ bwood_33 says on @SiriusXMNBA "The guys were just sick and tired of his act."
Jordan Schultz @ Schultz_Report [19659008] asked a former executive he'd never sign Dwight Howard: "No, never, under any circumstances … He's a cancer." #Nets
At this point, the story for Howard is roughly cemented.
He gave an interview to of [1953] John Jenkins of Sports Illustrated last September about how he was willing to put his past problems behind him. In the end, nothing has changed because of his Hornets outing.
Washington will be well aware of the risks inherent in the player's signature. He is likely to remain a double-double machine, but it may be only a matter of time before his act touches his new teammates
Given Howard's age (32 years old ), it will not be an exaggeration to say his last real chance of playing an important role for an NBA team. Roy Hibbert is an example of how quickly the league can abandon aging and offensively limited centers.
Perhaps it will be enough motivation for Howard to succeed in a 2018-2019 season and potentially win another big contract
The Wizards had a pressing need in the middle after exchanging Marcin Gortat for the Los Angeles Clippers for Austin Rivers.
That said, signing Howard may not be the best move for a team that has sometimes struggled to develop chemistry in the locker room. Throwing Howard into the mix could make the problem worse.
But the departure of LeBron James for the Los Angeles Lakers significantly opened the race for the Eastern Conference. Sorcerers have a clear window for success right now, so signing a replacement for Gortat was imperative, even if the answer is a combustible personality like Howard.
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