:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/60140675/usa_today_10776353.0.jpg)
Dwight Howard is about to become a cheap, unrestricted free agent on the NBA market, according to a report earlier today by Chris Haynes of ESPN. The Brooklyn Nets traded center Timofey Mozgov to the Charlotte Hornets for Howard yesterday. Now they’ll reportedly buy out his $23.8 million contract.
Dwight Howard and Brooklyn will negotiate a buyout to enter free-agency, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 21, 2018
Since Brooklyn will be picking up his deal, Howard should be available for a year at a greatly-reduced salary. It’s not uncommon to see bought-out free agents sign for the league minimum. But buyers may wish to beware, according to this article by Darryn Albert at YardBarker/MSN, quoting former center, and Hornets analyst, Brendan Haywood:
[he’s] hard to deal with, doesn’t accept responsibility, cries a lot, has bad tendencies, awful body language. So all these things contributed to why he was shipped out of Charlotte … People I talked to behind the scenes, guys were just sick and tired of his act.”
Nevertheless, Howard is still likely to find suitors.
Howard is a fascinating free agent. Does he ring chase? Nets are paying him $20-plus million anyway. And tuck this away: Danny Ainge has liked—and expressed interest in—Howard in the past.
— Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixYS) June 21, 2018
The 32-year-old center averaged 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds in 30.4 minutes per game for the Hornets last season.