The 2018 NBA Manifesto
Dwight Howard
C - 6’11, 265lbs - 32 years old - 14 years of experience
The Toronto Raptors this season were able to get the most out of their team, and starting centre Jonas Valanciunas in particular, by changing their offensive approach. They became far less isolation-heavy, prioritised motion of both ball and man, and used a lot more reverse passes – because of his, a post presence like Valanciunas became utilised much more optimally offensively by anticipating the movement, getting the angle he wants on his defender, then catching and finishing the feed with a defender behind him rather than in his way. It worked well, and Valanciunas looked efficient and modern doing it.
There is probably no way in hell we will see a similar sort of thing happen with Dwight and the Hornets next year. But we should.
Howard was force-fed about a million times in the post this past season, the offence often slowing to a fault in order to get him the ball in the places that he feels most comfortable with it. He had some success with it, because all of those once-storied workouts with Hakeem did teach Dwight some post moves. He still however has no natural touch on anything, no matter how open he is. He still cannot play outside of the paint. He still lacks for counter moves. And he still struggles very badly with double teams, out of which he cannot and will not pass often.
For all these reasons, there is probably no trade market year. This wasn’t a bad season for Dwight, who remains a good defensive presence, sometime scorer and elite rebounder. Acquired for basically nothing as a reclamation project, he did all right. He is still a decent player. However, stopping the rot on his perceived value and looking happier while still suffering incremental yet significant declines in his production is a pretty low bar to have cleared. The most marketable thing about him in trade is the expiring contract. Who out there needs a centre like this? [UPDATE: Trade to Brooklyn pending, reportedly to be followed by a buy-out.]
Player Plan: One year and $23,819,725 remaining. Move if possible, which it might not be, considering his skill set and reputation. Then again, after a season of pretty good play and pretty good vibes and (importantly) a slightly shortened contract, it might be. One way to find out - he should get more back in trade now than he cost coming in, if not by much. [UPDATE - Trade to Brooklyn pending, to be completed after the moratorium, then a subsequent buyout. His career status is very up in the air. Mozgov’s role in Charlotte will be as a dead salary only.]
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C - 6’11, 265lbs - 32 years old - 14 years of experience
The Toronto Raptors this season were able to get the most out of their team, and starting centre Jonas Valanciunas in particular, by changing their offensive approach. They became far less isolation-heavy, prioritised motion of both ball and man, and used a lot more reverse passes – because of his, a post presence like Valanciunas became utilised much more optimally offensively by anticipating the movement, getting the angle he wants on his defender, then catching and finishing the feed with a defender behind him rather than in his way. It worked well, and Valanciunas looked efficient and modern doing it.
There is probably no way in hell we will see a similar sort of thing happen with Dwight and the Hornets next year. But we should.
Howard was force-fed about a million times in the post this past season, the offence often slowing to a fault in order to get him the ball in the places that he feels most comfortable with it. He had some success with it, because all of those once-storied workouts with Hakeem did teach Dwight some post moves. He still however has no natural touch on anything, no matter how open he is. He still cannot play outside of the paint. He still lacks for counter moves. And he still struggles very badly with double teams, out of which he cannot and will not pass often.
For all these reasons, there is probably no trade market year. This wasn’t a bad season for Dwight, who remains a good defensive presence, sometime scorer and elite rebounder. Acquired for basically nothing as a reclamation project, he did all right. He is still a decent player. However, stopping the rot on his perceived value and looking happier while still suffering incremental yet significant declines in his production is a pretty low bar to have cleared. The most marketable thing about him in trade is the expiring contract. Who out there needs a centre like this? [UPDATE: Trade to Brooklyn pending, reportedly to be followed by a buy-out.]
Player Plan: One year and $23,819,725 remaining. Move if possible, which it might not be, considering his skill set and reputation. Then again, after a season of pretty good play and pretty good vibes and (importantly) a slightly shortened contract, it might be. One way to find out - he should get more back in trade now than he cost coming in, if not by much. [UPDATE - Trade to Brooklyn pending, to be completed after the moratorium, then a subsequent buyout. His career status is very up in the air. Mozgov’s role in Charlotte will be as a dead salary only.]
