Dwight Howard remains a free agent for now, but by the looks of it, he might be on the cusp of landing a roster spot. The big man excelled as a role player for the Lakers in the 2019-20 season as he helped them win a title, but his return to the team for the 2021-22 campaign did not go as per plan.
Howard failed to make much of an impact in his 18th season in the league, which explains why he remains unsigned, but NBA insider Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson reported that Howard is interested in signing with the Brooklyn Nets and that the interest is mutual.
Dwight Howard’s name has been mentioned in blogs recently as a potential Brooklyn Nets off-season signee.
I asked him if he had any interest in the Nets. His response to @BallySports was: “Yes I am.”
“Would love that.”
Howard’s an NBA Champ & an eight time All-Star. pic.twitter.com/OV0VelA5Nq
— 👑 Brandon “Scoop B” Robinson (@ScoopB) July 27, 2022
The Nets could do with some veteran presence at the center spot, as they only have young Nic Claxton on the roster after they didn’t resign LaMarcus Aldridge. Howard would, of course, want to be on an NBA team more than anything else and he would jump at the chance to head to Brooklyn.
Dwight obviously isn’t the player he once was, as at his best he was arguably the greatest defensive big man the league has seen over the last 2 decades. A phenomenal athlete for a man his size, Howard won 3 straight Defensive Player of the Year awards from 2009 to 2011 and even led the Orlando Magic to the NBA Finals in 2009.
His career somewhat went downhill after that due to constant back issues and it seems like many people only remember his struggles post-2012. It took Dwight helping the Lakers win that title in 2020 for him to finally get the respect that he has always deserved. It is a shame that he wasn’t included in the NBA’s 75th Anniversary Team and even Shaquille O’Neal felt that was wrong, despite his long-standing beef with Howard, which says it all really.
