Dwight Howard is eyeing a return to the NBA next season and he already has the team picked out — the up-and-coming Sacramento Kings.
Dwight Howard and Andre Iguodala are the last players from the 2004 NBA Draft class who aren’t officially retired yet. Iguodala appeared in just eight games for the Warriors last season and it seems likely that may be it for him, with a front-office job somewhere in his future.
Howard did not find an NBA contract and spent the season playing for the Taoyuan Leopards of the Taiwan Basketball League, averaging a robust 23.2 points, 16.2 rebounds and 5.0 rebounds per game. Not many veterans in the over-35 age group make it back to the NBA after heading overseas but Howard has his eyes set on an NBA return.
In a recent interview with Mark Haynes of the Sacramento Observer, Howard said he’s not retired yet and he’d love to play for the Sacramento Kings next season.
Could the Sacramento Kings actually use Dwight Howard?
At this point in his career, Howard is a backup big at best, providing shot-blocking and rebounding in limited minutes. In his last NBA season, he appeared in 60 games for the Lakers averaging 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in just over 16 minutes per game.
The Kings already have two centers under contract for next season — All-Star Domantas Sabonis and Richaun Holmes, whose role was dwindled despite the two years and $24 million remaining on his deal. The Kings may look to shop Holmes this offseason and Howard could, conceivably, be a cheap, enthusiastic replacement option. However, the Kings could also look to re-sign other bigs who played well for them last year — Alex Len or Neemias Queta — for similarly inexpensive deals. The other option would be looking for a stretchier big man, someone like Mike Muscala, to offer a different look behind Sabonis.
Either way, we haven’t heard anything about the Kings’ interest so we’ll chalk this one up to Howard’s one-sided aspirations.
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