Source: Hawks agree to deal ex-All-Star Dwight Howard to Hornets
The Atlanta Hawks have agreed to trade center Dwight Howard to the Charlotte Hornets, a source told The Undefeated's Marc J. Spears.
Charlotte is sending Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli and the 41st pick in Thursday's NBA draft to Atlanta for Howard and the 31st pick, the source said.
Howard signed a three-year, $70.5 million deal with his hometown Hawks in July but had a disappointing homecoming.
His averages with the Hawks -- 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds per game -- were close to his production in the last of his three seasons with Houston in 2015-16. Still, he finished the season unhappy about his diminished role in the playoffs, when he averaged eight points and 10.7 rebounds. He sat out the fourth quarter in two of six playoff games during the Hawks' first-round loss to the Washington Wizards.
"It was very difficult. I want to play," Howard said after the season. "I want to be on the floor. I want to make an impact. You can't do it on the bench."
About five minutes before news of the agreed-upon trade broke, Howard tweeted:
The move will save the Hawks salary-cap space, and it signals that the franchise will look to rebuild.
Howard has a history with Hornets coach Steve Clifford.
He played under Clifford when Clifford was an assistant coach under Stan Van Gundy in Orlando and an assistant coach under Mike D'Antoni in Los Angeles.
Michael Jordan's Hornets have been attempting to land a star player for quite some time, and Howard potentially gives them that if he can return to playing at a high level.
Point guard Kemba Walker has developed into an All-Star, but Nicolas Batum struggled last season after being handed a $120 million, five-year contract -- the largest ever given to a Hornets player.
The trade also satisfies the Hornets' search for a true center since losing Al Jefferson to free agency last summer. They had hoped that Roy Hibbert would fill the role of a rim protector, but injuries slowed him down and he was eventually traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a midseason deal that brought Plumlee to Charlotte.
Plumlee wasn't much of a contributor last season for Charlotte, and he was beset by injuries.
The Hornets traded away their first-round draft pick in 2016 to acquire Belinelli after losing Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lin in free agency. Belinelli played in 74 games last season and averaged 10.5 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting.
Howard, 31, an eight-time All-Star, will be playing for his third team in three seasons.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19692632/atlanta-hawks-trade-dwight-howard-charlotte-hornets
Charlotte is sending Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli and the 41st pick in Thursday's NBA draft to Atlanta for Howard and the 31st pick, the source said.
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| Dwight Howard has been traded to Charlotte. |
His averages with the Hawks -- 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds per game -- were close to his production in the last of his three seasons with Houston in 2015-16. Still, he finished the season unhappy about his diminished role in the playoffs, when he averaged eight points and 10.7 rebounds. He sat out the fourth quarter in two of six playoff games during the Hawks' first-round loss to the Washington Wizards.
"It was very difficult. I want to play," Howard said after the season. "I want to be on the floor. I want to make an impact. You can't do it on the bench."
About five minutes before news of the agreed-upon trade broke, Howard tweeted:
The Hawks were eliminated in the first round for the first time since 2014. Following the season, coach Mike Budenholzer resigned his additional role as president of basketball operations and Wes Wilcox stepped down as general manager. The Howard trade is the first deal for new Hawks GM Travis Schlenk.Ok Twitter Fans ,, give me your thoughts , trades or otherwise & Remember 2B-Nice 🤗 pic.twitter.com/Nl6lQFVvBN— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) June 21, 2017
The move will save the Hawks salary-cap space, and it signals that the franchise will look to rebuild.
Howard has a history with Hornets coach Steve Clifford.
He played under Clifford when Clifford was an assistant coach under Stan Van Gundy in Orlando and an assistant coach under Mike D'Antoni in Los Angeles.
Michael Jordan's Hornets have been attempting to land a star player for quite some time, and Howard potentially gives them that if he can return to playing at a high level.
Point guard Kemba Walker has developed into an All-Star, but Nicolas Batum struggled last season after being handed a $120 million, five-year contract -- the largest ever given to a Hornets player.
The trade also satisfies the Hornets' search for a true center since losing Al Jefferson to free agency last summer. They had hoped that Roy Hibbert would fill the role of a rim protector, but injuries slowed him down and he was eventually traded to the Milwaukee Bucks in a midseason deal that brought Plumlee to Charlotte.
Plumlee wasn't much of a contributor last season for Charlotte, and he was beset by injuries.
The Hornets traded away their first-round draft pick in 2016 to acquire Belinelli after losing Courtney Lee and Jeremy Lin in free agency. Belinelli played in 74 games last season and averaged 10.5 points per game on 42.9 percent shooting.
Howard, 31, an eight-time All-Star, will be playing for his third team in three seasons.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
Source: http://www.espn.com/nba/story/_/id/19692632/atlanta-hawks-trade-dwight-howard-charlotte-hornets
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