Dwight Howard Signed by Wizards (updated Dwightmare thread)

[tazzmaniac]

It's absurd to want Baynes over Howard, performance-wise. Of course Howard would perform better than Baynes in those 18 minutes, in a vacuum. But would Howard be okay with just 18 minutes, off the bench? If he's in ring-chasing mode, maybe. We're gonna be the number two locale for that in the league. It would rock to have Howard, Theis, Williams off the bench.

If Celtics are getting Howard, he's starting. No reason for him to come off the bench if he averages 16/12 per game.

Some of these comments make me cry because I don't understand their logic. Why would someone who still averages a double double and a top defender in the league STILL, come off the bench? 😞 I just don't get some of y'all logic man. If signed he is THE BEST CENTER ON OUR TEAM.

If he's really as good as you think he is, WHY has he been traded/dumped by his last 4 teams?? Again, I'm fine taking a risk on him with the veteran minimum exception (wouldn't mind), but it is possible he's truly a headcase in the locker room. I'll trust Ainge on his judgement regarding Howard in FA.

I'm going to attempt to answer that question. Primarily, because of the parrots and spreading of misinformation.


Los Angeles No beef between Kobe and Dwight Howard
Howard thought that Kobe shot the ball too much and that the shot selection was questionable.
(Perceptive analysis).
Kobe thought that Howard was "too soft".
Howard realizing that as long as Kobe was in town, there wasn't room enough for both of them and moved on.
LA would not let Howard work out with Kareem Abdul Jabbar.

https://www.si.com/nba/point-forward/2013/07/08/dwight-howard-houston-rockets-los-angeles-lakers

https://www.12up.com/posts/5274908-dwight-howard-blasts-media-for-making-up-stories-during-his-time-with-lakers

Houston
Dwight Howard had a good tenure in Houston.
He went there to play for a big man's coach and Hall of Famer Kevin McHale.
The same McHale that mentored Kevin Garnett.
The conflict in Houston was due to the fact that McHale wanted Harden to share the ball and play defense.  Howard was popular with a number of players in the locker room and thought again the offense should run inside out. Harden was popular with the other half and thought the offense should start and end with him. 

https://nesn.com/2016/02/nba-rumors-james-harden-wanted-kevin-mchale-fired-dwight-howard-traded/

http://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/dwight-howard-inside-the-nba/304233

Atlanta
Parted ways with Howard's 3-year and 70 million dollar deal to rebuild.

Charlotte
Charlotte where he averaged 16ppg 12 reb
http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/23863678/dwight-howard-brooklyn-nets-working-buyout

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/nba/charlotte-hornets/article213676869.html

Now, this is not to say that Dwight Howard is not a polarizing figure.

https://www.rollingstone.com/sports/dwight-howard-rajon-rondo-and-nba-team-poison-w460740

But, its easy to call names and label people and disregard all of the other facts that go into running a professional team. I would be interested to see what Brad Stevens could get out of Howard and what Howard could get out of Brad Stevens.

Boston has had a long history of reclamation projects and role players.

Howard played 1 year in Atlanta so it was 2 years/47M left on his contract.  It wasn't really a salary dump trade to rebuild because they took back Plumlee's bad contract 3yr/37.2M and Belinelli 1yr/6.3M.   They clearly wanted Howard gone. 

Howard played 1 year in Charlotte.  He has 1yr/23.5M on his contract and traded him for Mozgov 2yr/32.7M and a couple 2nd rounders.  They clearly wanted Howard gone. 

The Nets apparently are looking to do a buyout so they clearly don't want Howard. 

[PAOBoston]

Is there a reason people think Howard is going to play for the vet minimum? In Boston, he would get 15-20 minutes a night.

Howard is a poor teammate and a bad locker room personality who's basically been kicked to the curb by his last 3 teams because he was not welcome by his teammates. Not really understanding why people want to deal with that.

Reality is in Boston he would not get much time or touches. He's going to sign for more than the veteran minimum on some bad team that can give him minutes.

[Phantom255x]

Is there a reason people think Howard is going to play for the vet minimum? In Boston, he would get 15-20 minutes a night.

Howard is a poor teammate and a bad locker room personality who's basically been kicked to the curb by his last 3 teams because he was not welcome by his teammates. Not really understanding why people want to deal with that.

Reality is in Boston he would not get much time or touches. He's going to sign for more than the veteran minimum on some bad team that can give him minutes.

That's possible, but I think Howard wants to be on a contending team according to reports, and he's already making close to 24M from the Nets this upcoming season. Also, his reputation is to the point where I honestly don't see many teams even offering to give him the 8-9M MLE to take that big gamble (and again, I'm talking about the contending teams). But... if he wants to get more touches on a bad team with cap space, then by all means he could do that and get paid (but not contend for a ring).

[TA9]

With Cousins going to the Warriors, would you guys reconsider bringing Howard on board?

We will definitely need his size and rebounding against a loaded frontcourt consisting of Green and Cousins in a finals series against the Warriors - I don't think having Baynes is sufficient, and honestly speaking he's not as good at rebounding the basketball as Howard is (please don't mention Robert Williams because he's probably not going to see heavy minutes this season).

I see a lot of concerns regarding his presence in our locker room. On the other hand, DA actually tried to bring Cousins on board before he chose to sign with the Warriors and as we all know; Cousins is not a saint himself.

[Celtics4ever]

I think Washington has to sign Howard now and will make a run for him.

[SparzWizard]

Dwight Howard will sign a 1-year deal for the MLE with the Washington Wizards sources say.

The Wizards will be another threat to Boston's reign.

[greece66]

Dwight Howard will sign a 1-year deal for the MLE with the Washington Wizards sources say.

The Wizards will be another threat to Boston's reign.

They got Howard and Austin Rivers instead of Gortat. IMO that's not enough to make them a threat.

[SparzWizard]

Dwight Howard will sign a 1-year deal for the MLE with the Washington Wizards sources say.

The Wizards will be another threat to Boston's reign.

They got Howard and Austin Rivers instead of Gortat. IMO that's not enough to make them a threat.

They also got Jeff Green, who has been the Celtics' kryptonite as of late.

[GreenEnvy]

Dwight Howard will sign a 1-year deal for the MLE with the Washington Wizards sources say.

The Wizards will be another threat to Boston's reign.

They got Howard and Austin Rivers instead of Gortat. IMO that's not enough to make them a threat.

They also got Jeff Green, who has been the Celtics' kryptonite as of late.

I’m not sure one good game against us in his 11 year career is “kryptonite-“worthy.

They were the 8th seed in a bad East. Howard does the same things as Gortat, just better. Rivers isn’t an impactful player, and Jeff Green is a bench player. I don’t think they did anything to make us fret. They will battle with Milwaukee for HCA in the first round (behind Celtics, Raptors, Sixers).

[greece66]

Dwight Howard will sign a 1-year deal for the MLE with the Washington Wizards sources say.

The Wizards will be another threat to Boston's reign.

They got Howard and Austin Rivers instead of Gortat. IMO that's not enough to make them a threat.

They also got Jeff Green, who has been the Celtics' kryptonite as of late.

I always liked Green, he' ll be a nice addition to their bench.

[SparzWizard]

Dwight Howard will sign a 1-year deal for the MLE with the Washington Wizards sources say.

The Wizards will be another threat to Boston's reign.

They got Howard and Austin Rivers instead of Gortat. IMO that's not enough to make them a threat.

They also got Jeff Green, who has been the Celtics' kryptonite as of late.

I’m not sure one good game against us in his 11 year career is “kryptonite-“worthy.

They were the 8th seed in a bad East. Howard does the same things as Gortat, just better. Rivers isn’t an impactful player, and Jeff Green is a bench player. I don’t think they did anything to make us fret. They will battle with Milwaukee for HCA in the first round (behind Celtics, Raptors, Sixers).

TWO good games- Game 6 and Game 7! Perhaps, but the Wizards still have the best of us basing off of last season's matchups- beating us at the TD Garden twice.

[Moranis]

Dwight Howard will sign a 1-year deal for the MLE with the Washington Wizards sources say.

The Wizards will be another threat to Boston's reign.

They got Howard and Austin Rivers instead of Gortat. IMO that's not enough to make them a threat.

They also got Jeff Green, who has been the Celtics' kryptonite as of late.

I’m not sure one good game against us in his 11 year career is “kryptonite-“worthy.

They were the 8th seed in a bad East. Howard does the same things as Gortat, just better. Rivers isn’t an impactful player, and Jeff Green is a bench player. I don’t think they did anything to make us fret. They will battle with Milwaukee for HCA in the first round (behind Celtics, Raptors, Sixers).

Wall missed half the season though.  The year before with a very similar team they were a 49 win team that was 1 win away from the ECF. 

That said I don't think they are a real threat to Boston, but I do think they are pretty clearly in the same general tier as the Raptors now and should be in the mix for home court in the 1st round.

[Yoki_IsTheName]

Dwight Howard will sign a 1-year deal for the MLE with the Washington Wizards sources say.

The Wizards will be another threat to Boston's reign.

They got Howard and Austin Rivers instead of Gortat. IMO that's not enough to make them a threat.

They also got Jeff Green, who has been the Celtics' kryptonite as of late.

Part of me thinks that the Wizards should go all out for Kevin Love.

If they do, they might be East contenders.

[Celtics4ever]

I think they could be a little dangerous if Howard pans out.