The Washington Wizards signed big man Dwight Howard to a one-year, $5.3 million deal this offseason. With Howard's defensive prowess, the Wizards will be relying on him to replace Marcin Gortat who was traded to the L.A. Clippers early this summer.
In an era when big men are transforming themselves as outside threats on offense, Howard is looking to add ball-handling and shooting to his repertoire. News has circulated that his trainer, Justin Zormelo, is planning to redefine Howard into a Kevin Durant or Anthony Davis replica.
But Candace Buckner of the Washington Post interviewed Zormelo where the latter said that people have taken his words out of context.
Hey y’all, don’t take Dwight’s trainer(@BBallAnalytics) quote out of context. When we talked last month, Zormelo simply told me Dwight wants to take from other players. He doesn’t think he’s KD. He just wants to evolve n2 what the NBA is now while still being himself. pic.twitter.com/jHb9pV8Q0s
— Candace Buckner (@CandaceDBuckner) August 14, 2018
Buckner emphasized that while Howard wanted to be a modern-day big man in today's game dominated by the pace-and-space offense, he doesn't believe that he can replicate Durant. It's all about redefining himself by shedding some pounds and adding a legitimate outside shot to his skills.
“We added ballhandling, we added shooting. Just a completely different mind-set than he’s used to playing [with],” Zormelo says. “I was able to figure out how to add different skills to Dwight and he adapts pretty quickly.”
His other trainer, Ed Downs, also chimed in.
“People wanted him to get big and strong, which if you didn’t notice, he already is,” Downs says. “With the way that the game is changing, it’s a lot more fast-paced. You can’t have a 285-pound body out there on a 6-11 frame. It just slowed him down.”
This is good news for Wizards fans as the possibility of Howard being a consistent outside threat will effectively complement the playmaking skills of the team's premier backcourt consisting of John Wall and Bradley Beal.
Then again, Howard as an outside threat is quite a long shot (pun intended).
Follow Us
Subscribe