Dwight Howard has found his new home. According to Shams Charania of The Vertical, the center will be headed to Atlanta on a three-year, $70.5M deal.
Dwight Howard has reached agreement on a three-year, $70.5 million with the Atlanta Hawks, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016
Howard last played for the Rockets after previous stints with the Magic and Lakers. Now, he is headed to his hometown to join the Hawks.
Howard is not getting his full max in this deal. Additionally, he will only be singing for three years instead of the maximum four. That makes this deal a relatively good risk. However, it appears to have even been raised some by negotiations, according to Marc Spears of ESPN:
Dwight Howard's 3-year, $70.5 million deal is totally guaranteed with no option & about $7 million more than Hawks' 1st offer, source said.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) July 1, 2016
Despite having to pay Howard a hefty sum of money on a guaranteed deal, this isn’t all bad for Atlanta. It is somewhat strange, however, considering the makeup of the team.
Marc Stein reported before free agency began that Atlanta had thoughts to pair Howard and free agent center Al Horford together. That would either result in the team trading Paul Millsap or hoping to play him as a big small forward.
There is no telling yet what will come of Al Horford, one of the most coveted free agents still available. Perhaps, Dwight Howard will push him out the door, but that does not seem like the Hawks’ plan.
