The 2018-19 season was virtually lost for Dwight Howard, as the former All-Star center appeared in only nine games for the Washington Wizards. On the heels of a two-year contract that included a player option, Howard elected to stick around in the nation’s capital to secure his $5.6 million salary but, on Friday evening, the Wizards reportedly came to a trade agreement that will send Howard to the Memphis Grizzlies.
Sources: Washington has traded Dwight Howard to Memphis.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 6, 2019
Moments later, word broke that veteran wing CJ Miles, who is scheduled to make $8.7 million for the 2019-20 season, will be heading to Washington as part of the transaction.
The Grizzlies are trading CJ Miles to Washington for Dwight Howard, league source tells ESPN. Deal saves Memphis $3.1M. Grizzles will waive or trade Howard, per source.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) July 6, 2019
As ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski notes, the Grizzlies’ motivation to execute this trade is to cut salary, with Howard making more than $3 million less than Miles. From a basketball standpoint, all indications are that Howard won’t stick around in Memphis for too terribly long, though it will be interesting to see if the 33-year-old center commands any kind of interest around the league at this stage.
Grizzlies plan to waive or trade Howard per source. No surprise there.
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) July 6, 2019
The Wizards could find use for Miles, simply because Washington’s depth chart (at least after Bradley Beal) is shaky at best. Still, the headliner in this case is the inclusion of Howard in the deal and the future Hall of Fame big man will soon be free to seek another employer.
