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The NBA is full of surprises. Any player can be traded, waived or bought out at any given time. Last week, the Charlotte Hornets traded Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets for Timofey Mozgov, two future second-round picks and cash.
According to USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick, Howard and the Nets will be reaching a buyout agreement soon. When that happens, there will be some teams that will be scrambling to add Howard to their roster next season after the former All-Star had one of his most productive seasons in recent years.
Howard averaged 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds for the Hornets last season, making the trade to the Nets a startling one.
With the buyout likely to happen within the early days of free agency, Howard expressed interest in playing for a winning team.
“I want to be in a situation where I have an opportunity to help a team win,” Howard told ESPN’s Chris Haynes. “That’s my only goal. All I need is a real chance and a clean slate where it’s not people talking about my past.”
After a terrific year statistically with the Hornets, Howard wasn’t prepared for what lay ahead for him prior to draft night.
“I was just really in total shock because I wasn’t expected it to happen,” he added. “I thought this season was really good. For one, this is the healthiest I’ve been, and two, my stats this season has been one of the best since I’ve been in the NBA.”
Even if the Hornets don’t want Howard. There are plenty of teams that would like to take a chance on him. Here are the top 10 teams who should contact Howard and his agent this offseason.
10. Dallas Mavericks
Howard wants to win and the Mavericks may be a team on the rise. After drafting Dennis Smith Jr. and trading for Luka Doncic in the recently concluded draft, Dallas is set on becoming a winning team once again.
The Mavs also have Harrison Barnes and veteran Dirk Nowitzki to give the team a good mix of veterans and young players. Add Howard to that group and you’re looking at a team that can challenge for one of the lower playoff spots in the West.
One of the teams eliminated early in the playoffs, the Timberwolves are looking to play deeper in the postseason after last season’s success. With a lineup that has young studs Andrew Wiggins and Karl-Anthony Towns and the veteran presence of Jimmy Butler, Jeff Teague and Jamal Crawford, they are poised to make another run for the playoffs next season.
Bringing in Howard to this group will only help as Towns can play power forward in a Twin Towers lineup that could wreak havoc across the league. It will be interesting to see how well the Timberwolves will be if Howard comes anywhere close to his numbers from a year ago.
The Bucks took the Boston Celtics to the brink of elimination with a seven-game first-round series that eventually went to coach Brad Stevens and his gang. Had the Bucks owned another weapon to deploy during the series to help guard the middle like Howard, the series could have easily shifted in their favor.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton showed in the playoffs that they are deserving of playing on the big stage. The addition of Eric Bledsoe wasn’t enough to propel them further, however, but Howard would be a great addition to this Bucks team that could benefit from his rebounding and defensive presence.
7. Portland Trail Blazers
After a disappointing finish to their season when they lost in the first round to the New Orleans Pelicans, the Blazers are looking for help wherever they can get it. Howard can come off the bench, giving Jusuf Nurkic a breather. Whenever the Blazers need more defense, Howard will take over for Nurkic when playing other teams.
The Blazers may not need to break up the backcourt tandem of Damian Lillard and C.J. McCollum if Howard plays as well as he did with the Hornets. They were outplayed by New Orleans as Anthony Davis overwhelmed them inside. With Howard in tow, the Blazers will have someone who can guard centers such as Davis, DeMarcus Cousins and Marc Gasol.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg2oa_-Wn3E
6. San Antonio Spurs
The Spurs are getting ready for a post-Kawhi Leonard age in which they will be centering their future on LaMarcus Aldridge. If Howard signs with San Antonio, he will take the center spot from Aldridge who will move to his more natural position of power forward.
Though the team will not be getting Howard in his prime, playing for a coach like Gregg Popovich could further rejuvenate the veteran center’s career. At the same time, Howard will anchor their interior defense, freeing Aldridge to focus more on the offensive end of the court. He may not take them to the championship, but Howard can ensure that the Spurs will be one of the toughest teams to play against in the playoffs.
5. Toronto Raptors
If there’s a championship contender that needs Howard, it’s the Raptors.
The team has been unable to get past LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers the past three seasons, costing the job of head coach Dwane Casey. The All-Star duo of Kyle Lowry and DeMar DeRozan need someone like the 6-foot-11 center in order to reinforce their already challenging defense from last season which ranked fifth in the league.
This means that the Raptors have to either move Jonas Valanciunas to the bench or trade him to another team for additional bench depth. They could also package him along with OG Anunoby or Pascal Siakam for a fringe All-Star small forward who could help take them to the next level.
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Rumors swirling about the league say that Paul George may be heading back to the Thunder in the offseason rather than sign with his hometown team, the Los Angeles Lakers. If that is so, Howard will certainly improve OKC’s chances of making it out of the first-round of the playoffs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MDgUkmROPMM
He could have helped keep the Thunder from bowing out of the first round of the postseason and, if George stays, there’s very little doubt that they will have one of the top seeds in the Western Conference. Howard gives center Steven Adams a reliable back up or someone who can give coach Donovan Mitchell another option at center if he needs more offense.
3. Boston Celtics
The Celtics have a wealth of talent at the center spot with Al Horford, Aron Baynes, Robert Williams and Greg Monroe. Why would they need Howard? All-Star center Horford is a converted center as he fits the modern style of the NBA. But he is more of a power forward who can play the center position. Having Howard around will allow Horford to slide back to the four spot and let Jayson Tatum play shooting guard or small forward, keeping him from banging with the big boys inside.
The rookie Williams will learn on the fly from two All-Star big men who will tutor him on how to become a force in this league.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-wCVyu4WRQ
Marcus Morris will be Horford’s primary backup in this lineup. Coach Stevens will have a lot of depth at every position with the addition of Howard. In fact, this could even open the door for the Celtics to make a bigger trade down the line that will secure their future as the Beast of the East.
Signing Howard will accomplish two important things for the Warriors. First, it strengthens their post play and interior defense which is sometimes shaky when dominant big men patrol the paint. Howard’s defense will allow Draymond Green to roam around as a free safety, covering for Steph Curry’s defensive missteps.
The Warriors can keep shooting threes knowing that they have a big man who can clean up the glass for them.
Second, signing Howard to a contract means another contender doesn’t acquire his talent. It weakens the competition while making their team more formidable than ever. If Howard, for example, ends up in OKC or Boston, and Golden State meets either of these teams in the postseason, they will have another problem in their hands to deal with.
The Warriors may not need another big signing to strengthen their lineup this offseason as Howard can cover up a lot of their mistakes especially defensively.
1. Cleveland Cavaliers
The number one team that should sign Howard is none other than the Cavaliers. Imagine the Cavs with their number one draft pick, Collin Sexton, James and Howard in the lineup facing the Warriors in the recently concluded NBA Finals. A team with a core like this would have had a better chance of dethroning the defending champions than the one that the Cavs had deployed. It’s two times more capable of beating the Warriors.
Howard alone would ensure that the Cavs outrebounded its competition almost every night. Bringing him in means Kevin Love will play power forward full time and keeping James at the small forward position as well. Signing Howard would be quite a challenge for general manager Koby Altman who will have to move more than a few pieces to make the deal fit financially.
That could mean moving Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith, two players with huge contracts but may prove to be valuable to teams that need their specific skill sets.
More importantly, getting Howard, and another All-Star free agent/veteran, could pave the way for James to re-sign with the Cavs eventually. Though Howard isn’t exactly the kind of player that will automatically bring a championship to the Cavs, it at least gives James a better supporting cast than the previous season. Who knows? The backup plan for Cleveland would be to swing a deal for an All-Star by shipping off Howard and another player to a new team if things don’t work out.
No matter what happens, the Cavs will benefit greatly from Howard’s presence on and off the court.
