According to @RicBucher, Dwight Howard is exploring his options and could potentially make a return to the Magichttps://t.co/nakuppZEuW
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 25, 2016
The 2015-16 season has been a bit of a mess for Dwight Howard. Along with the fact that Houston is battling just to make the playoffs, and Howard is scoring fewer points per game than any year since his rookie season, rumors have been swirling all season regarding D-12’s future in Houston.
Although he ended up staying with the Rockets past the trade deadline this year, Howard had been linked to Miami and Milwaukee in trade rumors. There has also been plenty of talk that the relationship between Howard and James Harden is failing, and that Harden pushed for his Houston big man to be moved.
This has all led to speculation about where the 30-year-old will be playing basketball next season. He will be a free agent in the offseason. The eight-time NBA All-Star is apparently open to the idea of playing in the Big Apple, but according to Bleacher Report’s Ric Bucher, there’s a new team emerging on Howard’s list, and it’s one he is quite familiar with: the Orlando Magic.
Howard, of course, was drafted by Orlando first overall in 2004 and played eight seasons there before going to the Lakers in 2012. Although his time with the Magic didn’t exactly end on good terms, Bucher says that his sources are telling him that the Magic officials have been informed that Howard is open to the idea of returning; although, his first choice is apparently to remain in Houston despite the turmoil this season.
If the Rockets choose not to retain him, or don’t offer him the kind of contract he’s looking for, Bucher says that the Magic are in play to get Howard back. So how would Howard fit with Orlando this time around?
Well, the Magic certainly wouldn’t be the best team for Howard to choose if he’s looking to win right away. The young Magic improved this season under Scott Skiles but they’re still well out of the playoff race. However, if it’s actually seeing the ball Howard is most concerned with, there would be likely more opportunities for him to go back to being the No. 1 option he was used to being earlier in his career if he were to rejoin the Magic.
And returning to his role as the No. 1 option in Orlando isn’t a given, either. The Magic already signed Nikola Vucevic to a four-year, $48 million deal in the fall of 2014. If Howard is going to come back, Orlando would have to be willing to move their Montenegrin big man.
All in all, this feels like a long shot, but it’s at least something to look out for once July is on the horizon.
(Via Bleacher Report)