The Oklahoma City Thunder have been dealt a blow in their hopes of dominating the Western Conference this season with the recent right iliac hip fracture suffered by center Chet Holmgren. With Holmgren’s return months away and injuries to backup centers Isaiah Hartenstein and Jaylin Williams, Dwight Howard believes the Thunder should call him, a sentiment Kevin Garnett endorsed on the ‘KG Certified’ podcast.
“OKC, your boy is ready. What’s happening? Y’all need a big, y’all need a vet, y’all need someone who will bring some energy. I ain’t got nothing to do either, I just got finished dancing.”
“Me and AC together, Alex Caruso, championship, we done did it before. Y’all already got a superstar, all you need is somebody to play a little defense, that’s certified. Y’all need somebody that’s certified. He ain’t saying nothing, but he’s saying something.”
“OKC, what are y’all doing? I’ll stay at the hotel with the ghost in it, I ain’t afraid of no ghosts. I’d go to OKC right now. Two years, let me finish out and get you a championship and then maybe another one.”
Howard might be laughing but he’s dead serious about this offer. He’s been looking to get back in the league after his final season in 2021-22 with the Los Angeles Lakers. He came close to signing a contract with the Golden State Warriors last season, but off-court issues ended up leading the Warriors to a different decision. With those issues behind him now, Howard is itching for an opportunity.
The 38-year-old center isn’t a great option at this point. His only basketball activity since being out of the league came playing in Taiwan, although he’s proven to be in tremendous shape for his age.
OKC has been running 6’5″ forward Jalen Williams at center and it’s led to phenomenal results, averaging 29.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 6.5 assists since Chet went out. The Thunder have been consistently out-rebounded over this stretch, so certain opponents could outmatch them throughout the season.
They have a 10-2 record and should cruise to 50+ wins, so the franchise might not feel an immediate need to sign a backup center. If they do feel the need to do so, likely, they bring back Bismack Biyombo to the franchise after his performances last season. Biyombo averaged 1.8 points, 1.8 rebounds, and 0.3 blocks in 10 games last season for OKC and was a positive locker-room figure.
The Thunder will face a challenging next test tomorrow with an NBA Cup game against the Phoenix Suns. They won’t have a center suiting up, so it’ll be interesting to see how they match up against a team with a seven-foot Jusuf Nurkic likely starting at center.
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