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I think the Wiz should pursue Dwight Howard, think he would play well with Wall. Please don't mention Gortat because I don't think he's the answer. Last year's playoff, he couldn't handle the pressure.

You may wanna revisit/update your scouting report on Howard. He's not the same player he was in his prime. Because of his back troubles, he's not mobile enough to be effective in P&R coverage anymore. He's arguably less effective than Gortat on the defensive end of the court at this stage of his career and he's likely going to cost twice as much as Gortat. Outside of paying Harrison Barnes or Joakim Noah the max, paying Howard is this off-season's worst possible outcome.

cdouglas wrote:I think the Wiz should pursue Dwight Howard, think he would play well with Wall. Please don't mention Gortat because I don't think he's the answer. Last year's playoff, he couldn't handle the pressure.

You mean game 6 vs. ATL when he got food poisoning?

I guess that might be better than other terrible uses of cap space. I guess it might be easier to dump one overpaid former superstar vs. 4 overpaid never very good overpaid players.

Dat2U wrote:You may wanna revisit/update your scouting report on Howard. He's not the same player he was in his prime. Because of his back troubles, he's not mobile enough to be effective in P&R coverage anymore. He's arguably less effective than Gortat on the defensive end of the court at this stage of his career and he's likely going to cost twice as much as Gortat. Outside of paying Harrison Barnes or Joakim Noah the max, paying Howard is this off-season's worst possible outcome.

I agree those would be much worse targets with a 4-year max. If somehow the GM(it wouldn't be EG) negotiated a 2 year max with Noah, I would prefer that to 4 years for Howard.

Might as well, why not, what difference does it make. It's not like we have any draft picks or any hope. Getting Howard certainly couldn't make us worse, and I'm sure he'd like playing with Wall more than Harden and be more effective.

They aren't spending big bucks on a fading center when they already have a center who is about to fade, but at least still has a passion for the game.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/12/27/dwight-howard-really-slowing-down/CW2kxDOi25xNJbgPBWkIsL/story.html

Apparently he is working with a trainer in the offseason.

To be honest, i'd prefer to keep Gortat than max out Howard. With Gortat we know what we have. There are too many question marks with Howard, can he regain his production and winning ways ala his Magic years? Is his back injury a worry? Is the massive chip on his shoulder a bigger worry than his back when it comes to playing well with a team?

It would be a real swing for the fences signing and maybe something to look at if we miss out on Whiteside and Horford (which is pretty damn likely). Could be a lateral move at best, could be a move that thrusts us into contention. I think the former is more likely.

Have you watched Dwight Howard play lately? He's straight up bad.

Wouldn't touch him with Ted's 10cm pole.

I would give him the mid level. why not, let him and Gortat share minutes. howard is worth at least 8 mil a year. Someone aka NYC, Dalas, or someone of that sort will give him a ton of money though.

hard pass.

Injuries and regression aside, I can't bring myself to root for a clown like DH. It would be easier to root for basically anyone else. Tangential, but Morey did a pretty amazing job of putting together a roster of players that nobody likes.

I'm waiting for people to suggest players we should bring out of retirement. "I'm sure he's got one more season in him. And we could sign him cheap."

I think Dwight is becoming UNDERRATED at this point. Realize that the two teams he's played with since Orlando featured some of the most ball dominant players in the existence of basketball between James Harden and Kobe Bryant--so you have to admit there's SOME offensive upside there if paired with a guy like John.

Defensively he's better than Gortat.

Dark Faze wrote:I think Dwight is becoming UNDERRATED at this point. Realize that the two teams he's played with since Orlando featured some of the most ball dominant players in the existence of basketball between James Harden and Kobe Bryant--so you have to admit there's SOME offensive upside there if paired with a guy like John.

Defensively he's better than Gortat.

I agree that Dwight's underrated. I also think that he stands to gain some relative value as Silver has signaled that they are about to change the "hack-a" rules.

That said, his age/mileage and injury history give me great pause. I do not think he's worth that maximum contract that he is eligible for. I wouldn't overpay for him. But if he strikes out landing a mega-deal, I'd look to be opportunistic with him -- show him love and sell him on a big role. I think he's still an elite defender and rebounder and would do pretty well as JOhn's dive man in the pick and roll.

At this stage of his career, Gortat is a better player than Howard. I don't see Howard as a guy that moves the needle anymore. Like Derrick Rose and Tony Parker, he's just a big name who's a shell of his former self. The idea that he's still a very good defensive player is rooted in what he's done in the past not the present. He's simply not that player anymore.

Dat2U wrote:At this stage of his career, Gortat is a better player than Howard. I don't see Howard as a guy that moves the needle anymore. Like Derrick Rose and Tony Parker, he's just a big name who's a shell of his former self. The idea that he's still a very good defensive player is rooted in what he's done in the past not the present. He's simply not that player anymore.

I mean you keep saying this but the stats don't bear that out.

A lot of people here seem to want Horford--we're talking about a guy who averaged 3.5 RPG during a series where his team got swept and he played heavy minutes. Do we need that find of futility paired with Marcin?

Dark Faze wrote:

Dat2U wrote:At this stage of his career, Gortat is a better player than Howard. I don't see Howard as a guy that moves the needle anymore. Like Derrick Rose and Tony Parker, he's just a big name who's a shell of his former self. The idea that he's still a very good defensive player is rooted in what he's done in the past not the present. He's simply not that player anymore.

I mean you keep saying this but the stats don't bear that out.

A lot of people here seem to want Horford--we're talking about a guy who averaged 3.5 RPG during a series where his team got swept and he played heavy minutes. Do we need that find of futility paired with Marcin?

What stats? I'm talking about his defense. You seem more focused on his counting stats. I'm not comparing Horford to Howard. I'm talking about Howard's defense. That's what made him a game changing center in Orlando... and why his decline on that end made Houston basically a .500 team.

Dat2U wrote:At this stage of his career, Gortat is a better player than Howard. I don't see Howard as a guy that moves the needle anymore. Like Derrick Rose and Tony Parker, he's just a big name who's a shell of his former self. The idea that he's still a very good defensive player is rooted in what he's done in the past not the present. He's simply not that player anymore.

I haven't watched enough film to say for certain, but this is not my impression. Howard posted an individual DRtg of 104; HOU's as a team was 108.1. Harden, as we know, was an embarrassingly poor defender and Dwight was left to cover for his mistakes. It seems like he did to a reasonable degree. HOU ended up 20th in D -- basically deadlocked with Portland and Memphis -- I think they'd be way worse without Dwight. He's an elite rebounder and finishes at a really high percentage (though he can't shoot FT's). Then again HOU was the very worst defensive rebounding team in the league, so I don't know.

I just think the pendulum has swung too far on him because he's an unpopular personaility. I think he can help a team win.

Doesn't matter cause Noah is getting the max

fishercob wrote:

Dat2U wrote:At this stage of his career, Gortat is a better player than Howard. I don't see Howard as a guy that moves the needle anymore. Like Derrick Rose and Tony Parker, he's just a big name who's a shell of his former self. The idea that he's still a very good defensive player is rooted in what he's done in the past not the present. He's simply not that player anymore.

I haven't watched enough film to say for certain, but this is not my impression. Howard posted an individual DRtg of 104; HOU's as a team was 108.1. Harden, as we know, was an embarrassingly poor defender and Dwight was left to cover for his mistakes. It seems like he did to a reasonable degree. HOU ended up 20th in D -- basically deadlocked with Portland and Memphis -- I think they'd be way worse without Dwight. He's an elite rebounder and finishes at a really high percentage (though he can't shoot FT's). Then again HOU was the very worst defensive rebounding team in the league, so I don't know.

I just think the pendulum has swung too far on him because he's an unpopular personaility. I think he can help a team win.

This is more or less my impression as well. I don't know where it's coming from that his defense is average or bad now.