2018 NBA free agency grades: Wizards scooping Dwight Howard
By Tim Maclean
After agreeing to a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday, Dwight Howard chose the Washington Wizards as his next landing spot.
When the Brooklyn Nets acquired Dwight Howard from the Charlotte Hornets on June 20, it was clear that a buyout would be negotiated almost immediately.
Although it will take a few more days for the trade to be finalized so both parties can officially reach an agreement (July 6), the veteran center is wasting no time in choosing his next landing spot once it’s completed. According to Jared Weiss of The Athletic, Howard has agreed to a one-year, $5.3 million deal with the Washington Wizards.
The stop in D.C. will technically be Howard’s fourth over the last two seasons if you count his brief stint with Brooklyn. Having flamed out with his hometown Atlanta Hawks after one year, the team moved him to Charlotte for Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli and the 41st overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. One year later, the Hornets dumped his salary on Brooklyn, and here we are.
Howard should be a decent fit on a Wizards team lacking a starting-caliber center. Following Washington’s trade of Marcin Gortat to the Los Angeles Clippers, the team was left with Ian Mahinmi as its only reasonable option to take Gortat’s minutes in the opening lineup.
It’ll be interesting to see what kind of role he takes on offensively. At 32 years old, Howard has lost a step, but he’s still an explosive athlete that should be able to have some success with John Wall in the pick-and-roll.
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Washington’s ability to space the floor will take a hit, though. While Gortat was able to at least keep defenses honest with a solid mid-range jumper, Howard is a paint-bound, rim-running big man who won’t do the Wizards any favors when it comes to creating driving lanes for Wall and Bradley Beal.
Where Howard should have a bigger impact is on the defensive end, as he will be a more effective deterrent in the paint than Gortat ever was. His presence should allow Washington’s perimeter players to gamble a little bit knowing they have the 6’11” Howard behind them. His 1.6 blocks per game last season tied him for sixth in the league with Andre Drummond.
He also averaged 16.6 points and 12.5 boards per game, ranking fourth in the NBA in rebounds.
At face value, adding Howard to an already rocky locker room seems like a bad idea. But for the money and value, the Wizards get a nice place-holder until they can find a long-term option.
Barring disaster, Washington will be a playoff team once again next season, but the addition of Dwight Howard won’t strike fear in the hearts of their Eastern Conference foes, especially as the lineups get smaller in the postseason. His atrocious free throw shooting will make him unplayable down the stretch and it’s hard to see him making enough of a difference for this move to matter in the grand scheme of things.
Howard hasn’t been a core building block in years now. That won’t change in 2018-19.
Next: 2018 NBA free agency tracker: Grades for every deal so far
Grade: C-