Reverse Tim Duncan - The Dwight Howard Thread

[Jadoogar]

This trade can't be seen as anything other than a massive win for the Hornets. They get the best player in the deal (by far), biggest name (marketing), lose useless long term salary (plumdog) AND move up 13 spots in the draft. WTF was Atlanta doing?

[TheKingofSting]

If I'm the Hornets I try to have Dwight go see a Sports psychiatrist (yes, those exist). Baseball players use them and it's more of a when you're in a hitting slump thing but my point is Dwight has never seemed happy wherever he is playing. I really think the professional could help him and a happy Howard is a monster (on the court) Howard. He may not even accept the offer for help but it's worth a try.


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[TheKingofSting]

I like this trade overall, but I’m not as high on it as some folks here.

Pro

• Cho gave up very little to get Howard.
• Moving up 10 spots in the 2nd.
• Center depth – a huge problem last year – has never been better for the Hornets
• Better rim defense is something Cliff has wanted for a while – now he has it.
• Howard has lost a lot with age, but is still a really good big man and fits well in Charlotte’s scheme.
• Cliff & Dwight have an established positive relationship.

Con

• There is a reason Howard came so cheap. Few other teams wanted to deal with him.
• Plum & Cody were similar players – Howard is not. Potential style of play issues ahead.
• Will Howard be able to stay on the floor against teams like GSW?
• Wing depth is practically non-existent for the Hornets now, especially if Sessions is waived to avoid tax.
• MKG and Dwight are unlikely to be able to share the court together.
• Cody is a starter. Will he react OK to being benched or moved back to PF?
• Kemba & Co. have never had another big name player like Dwight on the team. How the personalities and culture shake out has potential risk.

I’m cautiously optimistic, but worst case is that this could end up like some horrid combination of the way Lance and Big Al worked out here. Can you imagine the rest of the team hating Dwight while Cliff plays him even in terrible matchups where Howard costs the team games? I can. On the other hand I could see this working out in a way where Batum is able to keep the peace, Cody keeps playing hard even from the bench, and the team finds enough shooting via the draft, free agency, or trades to make things work.

Cody isn't a starter any longer. We have BIG PROBLEMS if we ask Howard to come off of the bench. Luckily, I see Zeller being fine with whatever helps the team.


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[yosemiteben]

Interview with Clifford on radio
http://www.wfnz.com/media/audio-channel/steve-clifford

Cliff says he talked to Dwight and he is really excited to be coming to Charlotte.

Unrelated to Dwight, but Cliff's answer to the last question about preferring two way players over players that are unable to guard their own man was really interesting. Felt like some residual Marco frustration was seeping out.

He definitely did not sound like he'd be on board with taking a flawed defensive player now that we have Dwight in the fold to hold down the paint.

[TheKingofSting]

My favorite movie as a kid!


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[TheKingofSting]

Interview with Clifford on radio
http://www.wfnz.com/media/audio-channel/steve-clifford

Cliff says he talked to Dwight and he is really excited to be coming to Charlotte.

Unrelated to Dwight, but Cliff's answer to the last question about preferring two way players over players that are unable to guard their own man was really interesting. Felt like some residual Marco frustration was seeping out.

He definitely did not sound like he'd be on board with taking a flawed defensive player now that we have Dwight in the fold to hold down the paint.

Doesn't sound good for Kennard either.


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[jayu70]

I agree with this. I'll take it a step further and say I believe Howard will play better with us. While this is obviously Kemba's team, Kemba is not Kobe or Harden, and isn't going to jack up shot after shot, while denying Howard. I think Howard will get more touches here in Charlotte, and it's a good thing, because we need more offensive weapons. I know that's ironic Howard being used in the same sentence as an offensive weapon, but when he gets the ball, he has a good low post game. The problem is the game has changed, but it doesn't mean D12 can't be effective as a low post scorer. He fits our roster well, especially if we add another wing shooter, as we can compliment him with stretch 4s and he adds to our defensive mentality.

He just needs to embrace primarily being a PnR threat. Batum will get him a ton of easy looks. I'm not interested in giving him many post touches. Give him some here and there to keep him happy, but otherwise he needs to be rim running most of the game. If he embraces that he could actually be fantastic here. Thats a huge IF, though.

Love the trade for you guys.

But that IF isn't gonna happen. He doesn't wanna set picks & roll to the rim. he wants his back to the basket, trying to do moves post moves that he can't do. I do not understand why he doesn't set good picks & roll. He thinks he something he's not. It's kinda mind blowing actually.

Agreed, as a Hawks fan who watched Dwight all year, he just doesn't set good screens for how big he is. His PnR defense was awful, he did some good things but overall with very little impact.

[BlackOutBuzz]

Read on Twitter

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[ohara]

Dwight can still give us a double double. Plumlee was a disaster. Cho has redeemed himself.

[HornetJail]

Dwight can still give us a double double. Plumlee was a disaster. Cho has redeemed himself.

you almost have to wonder if this trade was discussed last year before the deadline and we only picked up Plumlee because Atlanta was interested in him. We essentially gave Hibbert+Hawes+Bellinelli for Dwight, but that wouldn't work as one trade. So we moved Hibbert and Hawes for Plumlee, waited out the 60-day restriction on packaging a traded player, and made the deal now? It sort of makes sense, but that's such a weird way of doing it.

We were linked to Dwight his last year in Houston as well, so it's not as crazy as it sounds..

[LofJ]

And we moved up 10 spots in the draft, let's not forget that.

[BlackOutBuzz]

Looked up what our offer for Dwight was at the deadline last year: Al and Hawes. Consider that we signed Hibbert with some of the space available after letting Al go, then traded him with Hawes for Plumlee, it's basically the same offer but with 41 and last year's 22 for 31.

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[BlackOutBuzz]

Also stumbled upon this from Rick Kamla from last month, wherein he discusses potential trades for Dwight.

The deal: Marvin Williams, Miles Plumlee & the 11th pick for Howard & maybe No. 19.

“I’m not crazy about Williams or Plumlee, but I’m crazy about the 11th pick,” said Kamla.

"Is [Williams] an upgrade over some of what you had? Probably. Williams is a nice bench player who could come off and play either forward spot."

But you’d have a hole at the 5-spot. [Co-host John] Michaels doesn’t like the years attached to Plumlee and Williams.

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[BatumtheGlue]

Interview with Clifford on radio
http://www.wfnz.com/media/audio-channel/steve-clifford

Cliff says he talked to Dwight and he is really excited to be coming to Charlotte.

Unrelated to Dwight, but Cliff's answer to the last question about preferring two way players over players that are unable to guard their own man was really interesting. Felt like some residual Marco frustration was seeping out.

He definitely did not sound like he'd be on board with taking a flawed defensive player now that we have Dwight in the fold to hold down the paint.

Doesn't sound good for Kennard either.


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That's also my 1st thought

[SWedd523]

Scott Van Pelt has a short vid up on ESPN basically implying (to my ears) that it's so sad that Dwight ended up in poor little wasteland podunk Charlotte after being destined for stardom.

[fatlever]

Scott Van Pelt has a short vid up on ESPN basically implying (to my ears) that it's so sad that Dwight ended up in poor little wasteland podunk Charlotte after being destined for stardom.

[sigh] I guess he should have stayed in the booming metropolis of Orlando.

[JDR720]

Dwight can still give us a double double. Plumlee was a disaster. Cho has redeemed himself.

Haven't seen you in a long time

[BeesWax]

Unrelated to Dwight, but Cliff's answer to the last question about preferring two way players over players that are unable to guard their own man was really interesting. Felt like some residual Marco frustration was seeping out.

He definitely did not sound like he'd be on board with taking a flawed defensive player now that we have Dwight in the fold to hold down the paint.

Doesn't sound good for Kennard either.


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That's also my 1st thought

Also could mean bad things for Mitchell who is said will struggle on offense to start with. Wanting a guy to contribute right away likely rules out Collins. This could imply the desire for a trade to fill needs.

[Jamaaliver]

From a piece when Howard was playing well for the Hawks last fall:

The closer to the basket Howard gets the ball, the better

With Dwight Howard, the Hawks are playing more post-up offense. Only with a catch.

Ideally, the Hawks want to get Howard the ball as close to the basket as possible where he is required to make one simple move to score...The same can be said for power forward Paul Millsap in the Hawks’ offense.


Howard has a 60 percent field goal percentage (66 of 110) through his 12 games, third best in the NBA. According to the league, here is the breakdown of his baskets:

•Less than five feet: 59 of 90, 65.6 percent

•Five to nine feet: 6 of 17, 35.3 percent

•10-14 feet: 1 of 2, 50 percent

•15-19 feet: 0 of 1, 0 percent



“Actually with the way he’s playing, and Millsap, it’s a paint catch which is a big difference,” Hornets Coach Steve Clifford said of the Hawks’ post-up offense. “They play with such physicality that they are actually throwing the ball into the paint. There are no moves. What he is doing right now, is he is playing with such force, as is Millsap, where they are catching that ball two feet in the paint seven or eight times a game. That’s old school. That’s the old NBA before the rules changed that’s how we all played.”

Atlanta Journal Constitution -- Nov 2016





How will Dwight Howard fit into Budenholzer’s offense?

^Some of the articles at the end of this thread can detail exactly where/how things fell apart on the court with Dwight.

[chabber]

Thanks for the info.

Those threads and articles kind of lines up with what I saw in he playoffs. Howard was getting less time towards the end of the season and he didn't look good in the Wizard series, barely playing in the 4th qtrs. When he did, at times, his defensive effort was severely lacking.

I'll admit that I'm biased though. I've pretty much hated Dwight since he forced himself from Orlando and have never wanted him on my team, but I can't complain about the trade in general. Moving up 10 spots and clearing cap space early is nice. I just don't know that it's worth bringing in a malcontent. I feel Clifford is being delusional about Howard's current abilities and attitude judging from his statements the other day. I'm sure Howard is a fun loving guy when things are going great, but the he has change athletically and so has the league. He will never come to grips with what his role should be, which is playing off the bench, preferably against other guys his size or spot starting due to certain match ups.

But Cliff is going to give Dwight every chance to play well and maybe our starting unit will have better success than the Hawks since we have better facilitators in Batum & Kemba, plus a legit back up in Cody. My best guess though is he'll actually end up hindering the offense & spacing and we'll be better when he's off the floor. Cliff will either never correct it or if he does and starts playing Cody more, then that's when the wheels will fall off on this experiment.

Hope I'm wrong.