Dwight Howard

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.]

Dwight Howard
C, 6’11, 265lbs, 31 years old, 13 years of experience

Not a bad rejuvenation season - scored more efficiently, kept opponents to a lower field goal percentage around the rim than previously, and with his rebounding rates going up to career highs. Still won’t take the full advantage of his physical prowess by playing enough pick-and-roll, slipping open for passes, hitting foul shots, etc, and not used much in the fourth quarter due to the last one in particular. It is all trending in the right direction, however, and if he can just be convinced to still not demand post touches for inefficient hook shots, that would be good. If unlikely. He will never fit into a five-out offence, but that does not mean he merits half-court touches isolating on the block, let alone the most post touches in the league (8.0). Howard on the Hawks was a weird marriage of player and team. Howard on the Hornets might be better.

Player Plan: Two years and $47,319,725 remaining. With the team capped out now and for the foreseeable future, this experiment simply has to work.

[...] Big men, who would otherwise be assigned the post, shoot threes now. Lord knows they have all long since wanted to. By way of example, Zach Randolph decided one day under the reign of Isiah Thomas in New York that he would cast start casting them up, despite a sub-30% success rate and the fact he was a 20/10 double-double guy around the rim at the time, while Tim Duncan and his famed resolution to never try and play outside of what he was capable of enjoyed the fact that he may have been voted into the 2002 All-Star Game as a de facto small forward because he felt it would allow to him “shoot more threes”. Big guys have always liked the novelty – see also, Dwight Howard in the All-Star game. But now, they actually do it. [...]