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The Charlotte Hornets and Brooklyn Nets have officially kicked off the NBA offseason by completing a trade that sends Dwight Howard to his fourth team in four years. Shams Charania of Yahoo Sports detailed the trade Wednesday morning:
Sources: Charlotte traded Dwight Howard to Brooklyn for Timofey Mozgov, two second-rounders and cash considerations.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 20, 2018
By sending Mozgov to the Hornets, the Nets will open up a significant amount of cap space next summer. ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski detailed the salary cap implications of the trade in the aftermath of the move:
Charlotte is finalizing a deal to send Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets for Timofey Mozgov, league sources tell ESPN. Nets will save $17M on deal in 2019-20 season, allowing them to create two max salary slots.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) June 20, 2018
Howard averaged 16.6 points per game and 12.5 rebounds per game in 81 starts for Charlotte last year. The 2013-14 season marks the last time the 32-year-old center made an appearance at the NBA All-Star Game.
While the deal looks unusual, the Hornets were likely trying to avoid the luxury tax on a team that hasn’t been a serious contender.
Hornets will save $7.8M next season by Dwight Howard for Timofey Mozgov, moving to $115M to 13 players. That’s $7.9M below the projected tax line. With Howard, they would’ve crossed the tax line. For that 2018-19 tax avoidance, they take on Mozgov’s $16.7M 2019-20 salary as well.
— Albert Nahmad (@AlbertNahmad) June 20, 2018