Latest ‘Dwight-mare’ set to come to a rapid conclusion in free agency madness.
If you had a five-headed coin you may as well flip it to find out where Dwight Howard will sign.
The current Lakers centre has again been the biggest talking point in the NBA free agency period as to where he would go, after he indicated he was interested in hearing from other teams after his current deal finished.
The Lakers lined up to re-sign the defensive presence, but also to come knocking were the Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors.
Despite his image taking a battering off the court in the past two years, thanks to his indecisiveness when dealing with contracts and his petulant attitude on the court, Howard can turn a good team into a championship-contending team.
For the Lakers their pitch was simple, buy into the legacy of the franchise and we can re-tool the side to suit you somewhat more and make you a bigger star off the court with the marketing opportunities that La La Land offers.
Oh and they can pay Howard $30 million more as part of a five-year max deal.
Houston said they knew how big men play, what with a long history of centres being the key figures in Rockets’ sides and with Kevin McHale coaching the team now.
Also in their favor is they already have the likes of James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Jeremy Lin on board, suiting Howard’s expressed desire to win right away.
For Dallas, Howard would be ‘the man’ and it would be his side to work with and be based around him on the offensive end, suiting him with no expense spared by owner Mark Cuban.
But the Mavs lack of talent across the entirety of their squad mean securing a 50-plus win season in 2013-2014 would be tough.
The Warriors are said to have impressed Howard’s camp, however, that has been the mail from all of the meetings that have taken place.
While the Hawks have also met with the big man, they appear to be last in the running for his signature.
But it is Dwight Howard and anything can, and probably will, happen.
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