Dwight Howard is headed home. The free agent center signed a three-year, $70 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks Friday afternoon, according to The Vertical.
Dwight Howard has reached agreement on a three-year, $70.5 million with the Atlanta Hawks, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016
Dwight Howard's 3-year, $70.5 million deal is totally guaranteed with no option & about $7 million more than Hawks' 1st offer, source said.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) July 1, 2016
Howard is a native of Atlanta and played his high school ball at Southwest Atlanta Christian Academy — his last stop prior becoming the No. 1 overall pick in the 2004 NBA draft.
Howard is coming off a somewhat disappointing season with the Houston Rockets. His scoring average, 13.7, was down for the third straight year but his 11.8 rebounds per game and 1.6 blocks per game were both improvements over his 2014-15 numbers and closer in line with his career averages.
The Rockets made the Western Conference Finals two seasons ago in large part to Howard’s contributions as James Harden’s sidekick. However, the team faltered in a big way this past season. They barely eked out the eighth seed in the West amidst reports of the two stars feuding behind the scenes.
A three-year deal is risky for someone with Howard’s injury concerns, but he did play in 71 contests last season after only playing in half the Rockets’ games in 2014-15. Still, while Howard may be healthy enough to stay on the court, his days of averaging 20-plus points, 13-plus rebounds, and 2-plus blocks appear to be a thing of the past.
This move also would seem to indicate the Hawks are conceding the departure of their incumbent center Al Horford, who is also a free agent. Horford’s name has been tied to teams like the Boston Celtics, Oklahoma City Thunder, and the Detroit Pistons during the free agency period.
From 2000-2007, Hawks were a lottery team. From 2008-2016, Hawks were a playoff team. What changed? Al Horford arrived. That era is over now
— Michael Lee (@MrMichaelLee) July 1, 2016
The notion of Howard instantly transforming any team into a contender has been dead for a while now, but as a rim protector and rebounder he still offers significant value to a team. Questions about the 30-year-old’s focus and maturity have dogged him throughout his career, but returning to his hometown might be the spark needed to motivate Howard to tap into the skill set that made him an eight-time All-Star and five-time member of the All-NBA First-Team.
