Golden State Warriors: 5 free agency targets for 2020-21
By Drew Taylor
4. Dwight Howard
Following the worst season of his Hall-of-Fame career, Howard has embraced the role of a backup center in his second stint with the Los Angeles Lakers. Considering he only played nine games last year and now has a decent role on a good team, he has no complaints.
Despite his limited role and a minimum salary of $2.6 million given his current attitude and playful vibe, Howard’s demeanor shows he’s having fun and letting loose for the first time in his career.
For Howard, 2019-20 had been a year to prove himself. Though he hasn’t proven he can still average 20+ points and 13+ rebounds like he did in his prime, he has proven he can be a good team player and a solid role player with limited minutes.
If the Warriors signed Howard, they would get a shadow of a player who was once the most dominant defensive and rebounding presence in the game. However, that shadow could still be enough.
Currently, the Warriors have just four players taller than 6’7”. More importantly, the Warriors have just two players taller than 6’10”: Alen Smailagić, 6’10”, and Dragan Bender, 7’0”, two young players who have virtually no role on the team.
Even though the center position is rapidly drifting out of importance, every team still needs a tall, physical player who can get dirty. And the Warriors just don’t have that.
At 6’10”, 265 pounds, Howard could fill that role. He doesn’t rebound or block shots nearly as well as he used to, but with more minutes and a consistent starting spot in the lineup, there is no reason why he can’t average a double-double as he did in 2017-18 and every single season before that.
Currently, Howard averages 7.5 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. However, he plays just 19.2 minutes per game on a team with JaVale McGee, Kyle Kuzma, Anthony Davis, and LeBron James playing at the forward/center positions.
The Warriors will not get the Superman Dwight Howard we saw for a decade-plus, but they’ll still get a physical and knowledgeable veteran who could play a role they drastically need filled for close to a veteran’s minimum salary.