Almost everyone around the NBA expected Dwight Howard to opt out of his contract with Houston — then when the Rockets hired Mike D’Antoni as their new head coach it became a mortal lock.
It was just a matter of time. Now it’s happened reports Shams Charania of The Vertical at Yahoo Sports.
The Vertical Sources: Houston Rockets star Dwight Howard has declined his $23.2 million player option for 2016-'17, enters free agency.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 21, 2016
Howard averaged 13.7 points a game on only 8.5 shot attempts per game (the fewest since his rookie season) and added 11.8 rebounds a night. He played good defense, although not at the pre back surgery levels.
Howard wants a max contract, which will start at $30.8 million for him (with the projected salary cap of $94 million).
At least half the people reading that last sentence shook their heads and said, “no way.” But I bet he gets it, or something close. What concerns more some teams more than the money is the years — he has a history of back problems and is now on the wrong side of 30. He’s been playing through pain for years (and some years missing a lot of games). I can’t see any GM locking him in for four guaranteed years, one that goes three likely can land him (with a team option for the last year). Plenty of teams likely steer clear of him entirely once July 1 opens. Dallas is among the teams reportedly interested in Howard.
