Buckner: Wizards targeting Howard after buyout
Posted: Tue Jul 3, 2018 8:57 pm
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nate33 wrote:If we get him for the vet minimum, it's tough to complain. The guy is a total cancer in the locker room, but he is still in the top half of starting centers in this league. We already had a cancerous situation in the locker room so I don't see how Dwight makes it worse.
nate33 wrote:If we get him for the vet minimum, it's tough to complain. The guy is a total cancer in the locker room, but he is still in the top half of starting centers in this league. We already had a cancerous situation in the locker room so I don't see how Dwight makes it worse.
I_Like_Dirt wrote:nate33 wrote:If we get him for the vet minimum, it's tough to complain. The guy is a total cancer in the locker room, but he is still in the top half of starting centers in this league. We already had a cancerous situation in the locker room so I don't see how Dwight makes it worse.
If he does sign, I expect he'd produce, but I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that things can't get worse where Dwight is concerned. Things literally did get worse for Charlotte when they dumped one of the lesser Plumlees for Dwight - yes, they had injuries, but they were never really in the game. Things also got better for the Rockets when they moved on from Dwight. Yes, Capela was good last season, but he was on the team with Dwight, too, and his minutes weren't all that different.
Say what you want about the chemistry, because Gortat and Wall weren't getting along off the court, but on the court they still made things work and it's tough to say they underachieved owing to chemistry, specifically even though they couldn't stand coexisting. Howard seems to find ways to produce personally while getting his team to underachieve and also getting all of his teammates mad at him in the process. This would suggest, and also seems to be corroborated by his teammates and the eye test, that he doesn't particularly enjoy doing the non-statistical stuff all that much, taking lots of credit, talking a big game, but leaving the other players on his team to try and cover for him, and/or forcing his team to adapt their game for his benefit rather than the team's.
Realistically, the Wizards still seem like they should have similar outcomes with or without Dwight. If they get perfect health from their key players, their upside is maybe a 4th seed. If they get a few injuries but noting devastating, they are a low rung playoff team. If they get a bunch of injuries, they just miss the playoffs. With Dwight, though, I always expect things can get worse, because he seems to find a way no matter how much people understandably want him to succeed.
I_Like_Dirt wrote:nate33 wrote:If we get him for the vet minimum, it's tough to complain. The guy is a total cancer in the locker room, but he is still in the top half of starting centers in this league. We already had a cancerous situation in the locker room so I don't see how Dwight makes it worse.
If he does sign, I expect he'd produce, but I wouldn't jump to the conclusion that things can't get worse where Dwight is concerned. Things literally did get worse for Charlotte when they dumped one of the lesser Plumlees for Dwight - yes, they had injuries, but they were never really in the game. Things also got better for the Rockets when they moved on from Dwight. Yes, Capela was good last season, but he was on the team with Dwight, too, and his minutes weren't all that different.
Say what you want about the chemistry, because Gortat and Wall weren't getting along off the court, but on the court they still made things work and it's tough to say they underachieved owing to chemistry, specifically even though they couldn't stand coexisting. Howard seems to find ways to produce personally while getting his team to underachieve and also getting all of his teammates mad at him in the process. This would suggest, and also seems to be corroborated by his teammates and the eye test, that he doesn't particularly enjoy doing the non-statistical stuff all that much, taking lots of credit, talking a big game, but leaving the other players on his team to try and cover for him, and/or forcing his team to adapt their game for his benefit rather than the team's.
Realistically, the Wizards still seem like they should have similar outcomes with or without Dwight. If they get perfect health from their key players, their upside is maybe a 4th seed. If they get a few injuries but noting devastating, they are a low rung playoff team. If they get a bunch of injuries, they just miss the playoffs. With Dwight, though, I always expect things can get worse, because he seems to find a way no matter how much people understandably want him to succeed.
nate33 wrote:If we get him for the vet minimum, it's tough to complain. The guy is a total cancer in the locker room, but he is still in the top half of starting centers in this league. We already had a cancerous situation in the locker room so I don't see how Dwight makes it worse.