Dwight Howard's short-tenure with the Charlotte Hornets hasn't brought the massive change the organization was hoping to have this season, but his whopping $23.5 million contract along with his performance on the court could be the key to something bigger than his massive shoulders. And that is something the franchise needs to definitely consider.
Howard's contract, as it stands, holds over 20 percent of the team's salary cap — yet his averages of 15.7 points, 12.7 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game have been the best since his first season with the Houston Rockets — which saw him average a strong 18-point, 12-rebound double-double through 71 games.
While the big man still has another year left in his contract, the Hornets could use him this offseason as the most appetizing trade chip on the roster, still proving to be a double-double machine at 32 years of age, according to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer.
The Hornets have struggled to put it together, but if you ask coach Steve Clifford, this hasn't been Howard's fault at all. Clifford backs the center crediting him for the positive he has brought the team.
“If I went back and told our trainers in Orlando, and our strength coaches, that he was going to be playing at this level now, with the state that his knee was back then, they would have said, ‘No way,’” Clifford, who coached Howard as an assistant with the Orlando Magic and the Los Angeles Lakers, said after a win over the Washington Wizards.
“You’re talking about a guy that’s had major knee surgery and major back surgery… You’d never know it.”
Howard's major selling point could be his health this season, having played in each and every game of the 2017-18 campaign.
“Look back at it every year: Unless he’s had surgery, he plays every night,” Clifford said. “He never asks out of practice. He didn’t when he was young, he didn’t in L.A., and he hasn’t here.”
The Georgia native packs a big bill to pay, but his numbers have proven to reap the right fruits, which could help the team shed some salary in this offseason, easing their hopes to re-sign two-time All-Star Kemba Walker before he becomes an unrestricted free agent in 2019.
Howard will be owed $23.8 million for this upcoming 2018-19 season, and if someone wants to take him, the Hornets will be more than willing to save some money to store for Walker's offer.
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