The first significant trade of the offseason took place yesterday with a familiar face finding himself on the move as the Hornets shipped Dwight Howard off to the Nets for Timofey Mozgov and a pair of second round picks.
The trade got Howard out of Charlotte’s locker room, where he was reportedly not well liked (as has been reported after most of his stops in the league), while the Nets got out of a year of Mozgov’s contract. The question for Brooklyn was simply whether having Howard in their young locker room was worth the deal, but that apparently won’t be an issue.
Howard and the Nets are reportedly working on a buyout to make him a free agent this summer, allowing him to get paid some of his deal and also finding a destination where he can go and possibly compete.
Dwight Howard and Brooklyn will negotiate a buyout to enter free-agency, league sources tell ESPN.
— Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 21, 2018
Dwight Howard is expected to finalize a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets and enter free agency once trade is complete on July 6, league sources tell Yahoo.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 21, 2018
What the free agency market for Howard is in 2018 will be fascinating, as he’s still been productive in recent years, but he’s not exactly a beloved figure around the league and isn’t a center built for the modern NBA. That said, if the buyout is a healthy portion of the near $24 million he’s owed, Howard will likely be available for fairly cheap (unless his goal is a new longterm deal) and that might make him a more palatable option for teams in need of frontcourt depth.
