The Wizards may have the most dysfunctional locker room in the NBA.
Dwight Howard has left unhappy teammates in his wake for years.
What could go wrong if those two things are combined?
It is on its way to happening, according to Jared Weiss of The Athletic and Chris Mannix of NBC Sports Boston and Yahoo Sports.
Dwight Howard has finalized a buyout with the Brooklyn Nets and will sign a 1-year deal for the tax MLE with the Washington Wizards once he clears waivers, league sources tell The Athletic.
— Jared Weiss (@JaredWeissNBA) July 3, 2018
Wizards, Dwight Howard are close to an agreement on a one-year deal, multiple sources familiar with the situation told @YahooSportsNBA. Sides expect to complete deal after Howard’s buyout goes through.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) July 3, 2018
A few things have to happen for all of this to come together. First, the Hornets have to complete the trade of Howard to the Nets, which can’t happen until the NBA’s free agency moratorium ends July 6. Then the Nets and Howard have to agree to the terms of a buyout. Both of those things are agreed to, according to sources, but still, they have to take place before we can get on to what’s next.
The Wizards traded Marcin Gortat to the Lakers for Austin Rivers in a cap-space deal recently, but it created a need at center (unless you’re Ian Mahinmi’s mom). Thomas Bryant is not going to solve that problem.
Howard does on a pure numbers level. While nobody was watching him (relatively) last season in Charlotte he was solid, averaging 16.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. Coach Steve Clifford put Howard back in his comfort zones, didn’t ask him to do too much, and it kind of worked. He still stopped the ball too much on offense, he was inconsistent, his teammates didn’t like him, but he was a respectable rotation center.
But Howard in the Wizards’ locker room? Could be gasoline on a fire.
