Dwight Howard Rumors | Hoops Rumors

Southwest Notes: Howard, Ledbetter, Finney-Smith, Parker

August 21st, 2019 at 3:55pm CST by Dana Gauruder

Waiving Dwight Howard would be the most likely scenario for the Grizzlies, Chris Herrington of the Daily Memphian writes. Howard is reportedly working out for the Lakers this week as Memphis looks to move the veteran center. Best case scenario for the Grizzlies would be a buyout agreement with Howard, who is owed $5.6MM. Using the stretch provision is unlikely since the team could have significant cap space next summer and probably wouldn’t want to add dead money to the bottom line.

We have more from the Southwest Division:

The Spurs have offered guard Jeff Ledbetter an Exhibit 10 deal, according to Nicola Lupo of Sportando (Twitter link). Ledbetter is interested but is also mulling other options in Europe, Lupo adds. Ledbetter averaged 15.8 PPG in five Las Vegas summer league games for San Antonio. Ledbetter, 31, averaged 13.6 PPG and 3.9 APG in 19 games with the G League’s Austin Spurs last season.
Dorian Finney-Smith is a candidate to start at small forward for the Mavericks, Callie Caplan of the Dallas Morning News writes. He’ll complete with Justin Jackson and Tim Hardaway Jr. for starting time at that spot. Dallas re-signed Finney-Smith this summer on a three-year, $12MM pact.
The Spurs will retire Tony Parker‘s No. 9 jersey in a November 11 ceremony, according to a team press release. Parker finished his career with the Hornets after playing 17 seasons with San Antonio.

Lakers To Work Out Noah, Speights, Howard

August 20th, 2019 at 11:51am CST by Dana Gauruder

The Lakers plan to work out free agent centers Joakim Noah and Marreese Speights as well as the Grizzlies’ Dwight Howard this week in Los Angeles, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Another NBA free agent, Marcin Gortat, could also come in for a look, Wojnarowski adds. The Lakers want to evaluate the physical condition and mindset of each player as they seek to replace DeMarcus Cousins.

Cousins suffered a torn ACL this month after he signed a one-year contract with the Lakers. Cousins could miss the entire season.

The Grizzlies had already granted the Lakers permission to meet with Howard. Memphis acquired him from the Wizards this offseason but he’s not part of their plans. The Grizzlies could make a trade or reach a buyout on his $5.6MM contract if the Lakers want him.

Noah averaged 7.1 PPG and 5.7 RPG in 41 games for Memphis last season after his woeful stint with the Knicks. He hasn’t drawn much attention on the free agent market, though he reportedly was being very selective about his next NBA destination.

Speights, who played in China last season, worked out in front of numerous NBA executives last month in Las Vegas.

Gortat was waived by the Clippers at the trade deadline last season and didn’t get picked up.

The Lakers currently have 14 players with guaranteed deals.

Grizzlies Grant Lakers Permission To Meet With Dwight Howard

August 18th, 2019 at 6:23pm CST by JD Shaw

The Grizzlies are granting the Lakers permission to meet with eight-time All-Star center Dwight Howard, according to Shams Charania of The Athletic (Twitter link).

Both Howard and the Lakers have mutual interest on a deal, as Charania reported earlier on Sunday, with the team scanning the free-agent market for veteran centers in the wake of DeMarcus Cousins‘ ACL tear. Howard is currently under contract with Memphis, who traded for his services in a deal with the Wizards back in July for swingman C.J. Miles.

“I want to be whatever a team needs me to be,” Howard told Charania in an interview last month. “I’ve played in every situation so far. I used to really hate how Draymond (Green) plays, but what I noticed watching him during these playoffs was that he does everything for the team.

“He’s everywhere. He’ll get a tech, he’ll take a charge, he’ll be everywhere on defense. He’s talking. He does everything. It doesn’t show up in the stat sheet, but it shows up in the mind of everyone watching. I want to be that person.”

The Lakers requesting a meeting with Howard is only being described as “due diligence”, a team source told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

Howard, 33, appeared in 75 games during a tumultuous season with the team back in 2012/13, averaging 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per contest. He only saw action in nine games with Washington last season, missing most of the campaign with various back, glute and hamstring injuries.

Lakers Interested In Reunion With Dwight Howard

August 18th, 2019 at 8:52am CST by Arthur Hill

Six years after leaving the Lakers, Dwight Howard may be about to return, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. L.A. is expected to seek permission to talk to the veteran center, and there is reportedly “mutual interest” in a reunion.

Howard, 33, is currently with the Grizzlies after being traded there in early July in exchange for C.J. Miles. However, the move was regarded as a salary dump for Memphis, and Howard isn’t expected to play for the franchise. Buyout talks are expected soon on his $5.6MM contract for the upcoming season.

An eight-time All-Star who was once considered one of the league’s best centers, Howard has turned into a journeyman since reaching his 30s. He has played for four teams in the past four years and was briefly the property of the Nets last summer. Injuries limited him to nine games last season, but he was still productive in 2017/18, averaging 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds per night with the Hornets.

The Lakers suddenly find themselves short-handed at center after this week’s ACL injury to DeMarcus Cousins, who signed with the team last month. L.A. was hoping to avoid using Anthony Davis in the middle, but JaVale McGee is the only other currently option on the roster.

Still, the shift toward Howard is somewhat surprising, given his acrimonious history with the team. Howard spent just one year in L.A. after being traded there in 2012, signing with the Rockets the following summer. Kobe Bryant famously called him “soft” at the time and suggested that Howard wasn’t willing to learn how to win.

In an interview last month with Kristine Leahy of FS1 (video link), Howard appears to have come to terms with those comments. “Everybody reaches different levels of maturity at different times,” he said. “I think at that time I was ignorant to the level that he was at. So I appreciate you, Kobe. Thank you for saying I was soft. I didn’t realize what you meant until now.”

Grizzlies Notes: Jackson, Iguodala, Howard, Guduric

July 19th, 2019 at 11:42am CST by Luke Adams

As first reported by TMZ, new Grizzlies forward Josh Jackson has entered a diversion program to settle a misdemeanor charge of resisting arrest. An ESPN report, confirming the TMZ story, indicates that Jackson will have the misdemeanor charge dismissed if he completes the diversion program.

The misdemeanor charge stems from an incident that occurred at a music festival in Florida in May, when Jackson tried to enter the VIP area without a proper pass too many times. He ran away after being handcuffed by police, and was charged with resisting arrest after being re-apprehended. Jackson also initially faced a felony charge of escape, but had it dismissed last month, per ESPN.

The fourth overall pick in the 2017 draft, Jackson essentially became a salary dump this offseason, when the Suns had to attach a pair of second-round picks to him as part of a multi-player trade that sent him to Memphis. Jackson has a troublesome history of off-court incidents and hasn’t developed into an impact player on the court, but he’ll get a chance at a fresh start with the Grizzlies this season.

Unless Jackson looks terrific in training camp and makes a strong impression on the Grizzlies to start the season, I wouldn’t expect the team to pick up his fourth-year option for the 2020/21 campaign. That decision is due at the end of October, and the ’20/21 option would pay Jackson a salary worth $8.93MM.

Here’s more on the Grizzlies:

Chris Herrington of The Daily Memphian takes an in-depth look at the Andre Iguodala trade market (or lack thereof), exploring what sort of packages teams like the Rockets, Clippers, Nuggets, and Mavericks might be able and willing to offer.
In Herrington’s view, it’s unlikely that Iguodala or recently-acquired center Dwight Howard ever appear in a regular season game for the Grizzlies. For now, both veterans’ expiring contracts remain on Memphis’ books to maintain flexibility for trades.
Multiple reports out of Europe earlier this month indicated that Serbian swingman Marko Guduric would be signing a two-year contract with the Grizzlies. There has still been no official word on that front, but Herrington writes that it’s probably safe to assume it will happen at some point.

Lakers Notes: Davis, Howard, Handy, Horton-Tucker

July 15th, 2019 at 12:38pm CST by Luke Adams

When Team USA named its 20-man training camp roster for the 2019 World Cup last month, Anthony Davis‘ name was on that list. However, according to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, the new Lakers star will remove his name from consideration for USA Basketball’s World Cup roster.

As Haynes explains, Davis won’t participate in training camp with Team USA because he wants to spend the bulk of his offseason preparing to attempt a championship run with his new team. The former Pelicans big man remains committed to playing in the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, sources tell Haynes.

Davis, a gold medalist in 2012 (Olympics) and 2014 (World Cup), will still attend Team USA’s training camp next month to support his teammates, per Haynes. It’s not clear if USA Basketball has a 20th man lined up to replace AD — the club will eventually pare that group down to 12 players for the World Cup itself.

Here’s more on the Lakers and Davis:

In a conversation with ESPN’s Rachel Nichols, Davis said that Lakers GM Rob Pelinka was calling him every “30 to 45 minutes” during free agency. “Rob would call me: ‘AD, what you think about him?’ ‘All right, cool,'” Davis said. “Right back, ‘AD, you know, this is what is going on with him.’ ‘All right, cool. All right.’ Sometimes I had to tell him, like, ‘Rob, I’m in the movies.’ He’d be, like, ‘All right, well, call me as soon as you get out.’ But we’re trying to put the best team around us, and I think he did a great job of doing it.”
Speaking to Arash Markazi of The Los Angeles Times, veteran center Dwight Howard – who technically remains under contract with the Grizzlies for now – said he wouldn’t mind playing in Los Angeles again, either for the Lakers or Clippers. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I do love L.A.,” Howard said. “Staples Center is going to be rocking this season.”
The Lakers are hiring veteran assistant coach Phil Handy to join Frank Vogel‘s staff, reports Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated (Twitter link). Handy has appeared in five consecutive NBA Finals, having coached in Cleveland before joining Toronto for the 2018/19 season.
Talen Horton-Tucker‘s new two-year, minimum-salary deal with the Lakers is fully guaranteed, a source tells Michael Scotto of The Athletic (Twitter link).

And-Ones: Howard, Summer League, Spain, BIG3

July 11th, 2019 at 9:01am CST by Luke Adams

Having been sent from Washington to Memphis in a trade for C.J. Miles, veteran center Dwight Howard is a member of the Grizzlies for now. However, the club is expected to waive or trade him at some point. After he was limited to just nine games in 2018/19 for health reasons, it’s not clear what the next step will be for Howard, but the eight-time All-Star tells Shams Charania of The Athletic that he has adjusted his mindset and is prepared to do whatever it takes to help his next team win.

“I don’t have an ego — it’s dead,” Howard said. “It had to die for me to be who I am. Sometimes when you want to become who you want to be, you have to die within yourself. Once you learn that you have to give up yourself for the team, that’s when things flourish.”

According to Charania, several NBA teams have said that they’re intrigued by Howard, who says he has been fully cleared after last year’s injury issues. The three-time Defensive Player of the Year claims he has lost 25 pounds since the end of the season, and one executive who saw him recently said he appears to be in his best shape in years, per Charania.

It remains to be seen whether Howard will get an opportunity to choose his next team on the free agent market, but if he does, he has one clear priority, he tells Charania: “Winning. Winning. Winning. I want to win. Nothing else. Just win.”

Here are a few more odds and ends from around the basketball world:

According to Rick Bonnell of The Charlotte Observer (Twitter link), there has been talk in Las Vegas about the possibility of moving back the start of Summer League in future years. Postponing the start date until after the end of the July moratorium would help address the problem of having traded 2019 draftees tied up in deals that can’t be made official until after Summer League is underway.
Spain announced its preliminary roster for the 2019 FIBA World Cup this week, as Sportando relays, and the group includes a number of familiar names. The 16-man list, which will be cut down to 12 for the competition, features Marc Gasol, Ricky Rubio, Willy Hernangomez, Juan Hernangomez, and former NBA players like Rudy Fernandez and Victor Claver.
The BIG3 announced on Wednesday that Baron Davis, Bonzi Wells, Lamar Odom, and Jermaine O’Neal are being “deactivated” for the 2019 season. The league cited the need to “maximize competition, protect the health of players, and to raise the level of the professionalism of the BIG3.”

Wizards Trade Dwight Howard To Grizzlies

July 5th, 2019 at 7:45pm CST by Dana Gauruder

JULY 6: The trade is now official, with both teams announcing it in press releases. “C.J. is respected around the league for his defense, three-point shooting and leadership,” Wizards Senior Vice President of Basketball Operations Tommy Sheppard said. “All of those qualities appealed to us in making this deal and we look forward to him making a positive impact on our team.”

JULY 5: The Wizards are trading center Dwight Howard to the Grizzlies, Shams Charania of The Athletic tweets. Memphis plans to waive Howard or forward him to another team, Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN tweets.

Washington will receive swingman C.J. Miles in the deal, David Aldridge of The Athletic tweets.

The Grizzlies will shave $3.13MM off their team salary by dealing Miles, who is due $8.73MM next season. Howard has one year and $5.6MM left on his contract.

Additionally, Memphis has waived shooting guard Avery Bradley, Aldridge reports in another tweet. Bradley had a $12.96MM salary for next season but only $2MM was guaranteed. This gives Memphis even more flexibility to make moves, as Aldridge notes.

Bradley is a former client of current Lakers GM Rob Pelinka, which may impact his decision as a free agent, Eric Pincus of Basketball Insiders notes (Twitter link).

Howard opted in for the second year of his contract with the Wizards, who had no interest in keeping the former All-Star on the roster.

Howard, who spent his previous three seasons with three different teams in Houston, Atlanta, and Charlotte, was a complete washout last season. Having used the full taxpayer mid-level exception to sign him, Washington viewed Howard as its major offseason addition, but he only appeared in nine games. Spinal surgery and a hamstring injury during his rehab resulted in a lost season for the 33-year-old Howard.

Miles’ situation was similar. He opted in to his contract but the Grizzlies had little use for the three-point specialist with a hefty salary on a rebuilding squad.

Miles is recovering from a stress reaction in his left foot. The 14-year veteran, who started last season with the Raptors, was sent to the Grizzlies as part of the package for Marc Gasol in February. In total, Miles appeared in 53 games (16.2 MPG) for Memphis and Toronto, averaging just 6.4 PPG on .360/.330/.828 shooting.

Memphis had until July 8 to fully guarantee Bradley’s salary. He appeared in 63 games last season with the Clippers and Grizzlies, averaging 9,9 PPG and 2.4 APG in 30.2 MPG. Without Bradley on their roster, the Grizzlies are in much better position to match an offer sheet for restricted free agent Delon Wright without going into tax territory.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Atlantic Notes: Howard, Celtics, Kurucs, Knicks

June 16th, 2019 at 2:02pm CST by JD Shaw

Former Lakers center Dwight Howard was asked this week about whether impending free agent Kawhi Leonard should consider the team in free agency, with Howard quickly shutting down the idea in favor of Leonard’s current situation in Toronto.

“I don’t know if [the Lakers] are the draw anymore,” Howard said Thursday on ‘First Things First’ on Fox Sports 1, as relayed by Chase Hughes of NBC Sports Washington. “I think now guys understand that in the era that we live in, the social media age, you can play anywhere and get attention.”

Howard, who was traded to the Lakers in the summer of 2012, spent just one tumultuous season in Los Angeles and quickly became disliked by many fans of the organization. He believes that Leonard should prioritize re-signing with the Raptors when free agency opens on June 30.

“To me, I think he should stay in Toronto,” Howard said. “Because he took the team to the Finals. If he wins, why would he go anywhere else?”

Along with Leonard, the Raptors also have the situations of Danny Green (unrestricted) and Marc Gasol ($25.6MM player option) to address this summer. Leonard has long been linked to the Clippers as a free-agent target, but Toronto may have the slight advantage coming off their first NBA championship.

There’s more out of the Atlantic Division today:

The Celtics’ plans have been altered in the wake of the Lakers-Pelicans trade for Anthony Davis, Jay King of The Athletic writes. Boston suddenly has an unclear future, dominated by the fact that star guard Kyrie Irving could leave the team in free agency and sign elsewhere. The team is also awaiting a decision from Al Horford, who must inform the franchise of whether he plans to exercise his $30.1MM player option for the 2019/20 season.
Nets forward Rodions Kurucs is planning on playing summer league with the team, he told Brian Lewis of the New York Post. “My focus this summer is just working on my game, my all-around game, my handle, my shot, defense, rebounding, physicality for sure,” Kurucs said. “Everything, basically, because I will need them next season.” Kurucs is coming off a rookie season where he averaged 8.5 points, 3.9 rebounds and 20.5 minutes in 63 games.
Aside from the Warriors themselves, the Knicks are one of the biggest losers from Golden State’s strange NBA Finals run, Marc Berman of the New York Post writes. Major injuries to potential targets Klay Thompson and Kevin Durant have hurt the potential of the 2019 free agent class, leaving some to wonder what kind of contracts teams will offer the two All-Star players on the open market. New York still hasn’t backed away from the idea of signing Durant to a four-year, $141MM deal if he opts out from his final season in Golden State, according to Berman.

Wizards’ Dwight Howard Opts In For 2019/20

April 18th, 2019 at 10:55pm CST by Luke Adams

In an unsurprising move, Dwight Howard has picked up his 2019/20 player option, opting in for next season, reports ESPN’s Zach Lowe (via Twitter). The decision ensures that the Wizards center locks in his $5,603,850 salary for ’19/20.

Howard, 33, signed a two-year deal with the Wizards last summer after spending his previous three seasons with three different teams in Houston, Atlanta, and Charlotte. Having used the full taxpayer mid-level exception to sign him, Washington viewed Howard as its major offseason addition, but the big man’s stint in D.C. hasn’t gone as planned.

Sidelined by spinal surgery for most of the 2018/19 season, Howard also injured his hamstring during his rehab and was ultimately limited to just nine games. He was reasonably effective when he saw the court, averaging 12.8 PPG and 9.2 RPG in 25.6 minutes per contest as the Wizards’ starting center, but the question marks surrounding his health ensured that he wouldn’t land a contract on the open market this offseason worth more than his $5.6MM option.

With Howard back in the fold, the Wizards are now on the hook for approximately $89.5MM in guaranteed salaries for 2019/20, per Basketball Insiders. That doesn’t include potential contracts for free agents like Tomas Satoransky, Bobby Portis, Trevor Ariza, Thomas Bryant, or Jeff Green. It also doesn’t account for Jabari Parker‘s $20MM team option, though that’s a lock to be declined.

Portis and Bryant are both eligible for restricted free agency this summer, so it will be interesting to see how the Wizards handle their situations, given the team’s limited financial flexibility and the fact that veteran centers Howard and Ian Mahinmi are entering contract years.

Howard is the sixth player so far to exercise a 2019/20 player option or confirm that he plans to do so. The full list can be found right here.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.