Atlanta Hawks Trade Dwight Howard

The Atlanta Hawks traded Dwight Howard and the number 31 pick to the Charlotte Hornets for Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli and the number 41 pick.  The Dwight Howard signing didn’t look good before last season and it didn’t look any better after the season.  Howard never seemed a fit for their offense and his signing contributed to the loss of Al Horford in free agency and Horford was a much better fit.  Howard finished the year with a 13.5 PPG, 12.7 RPG, 1.2 BPG stat line while logging just under 30 minutes per game.   

 I like Dwight Howard and he deserves tons of praise for a great career.  But if you don’t have a team of shooters around him, his offense which consists of playing around the rim is very limiting.  He’s still a very efficient scorer shooting 63% from the field but he works better with a spread offense.  A movement oriented offense needing a big that can shoot is not his thing.  Howard is only 31 and I hope he can find success in Charlotte.

I hope Plumlee can give Atlanta something, anything.  He is making $12M per year but his stats are not anywhere near what you’d expect for someone making that much money – 2.5 PPG, 2.1 RPG in 10 minutes per game last year.  Belinelli is a shooting guard who should at least be a nice bench asset.  He can shoot the three and give you ten points per game.  He has one year left on his $6M deal. 

What’s next:  How hard will the Hawks pursue free agents Paul Milsap and Tim Hardaway Jr. this offseason?  Where do they see the team moving forward?  Dennis Shroder is the PG and face of the franchise if those two aren’t re-signed but there won’t be much else left around him.  I’d hate to see Atlanta starting over but that may well be what they are doing. 

Atlanta Hawks Sign Dwight Howard - Al Horford Goes to Boston

Dwight Howard is signing with the Atlanta Hawks for 3 years and a total of $70 million.  This move meant there wasn’t any more room in the front court for Al Horford who took a max deal with the Boston Celtics.  I like Dwight Howard and for all the flack he takes he is a great center though I understand he isn’t the all-star he once was.  Still he averaged 13.7 points and 11.8 rebounds per game while shooting 62% from the field last year.  If your center’s name isn’t Dwight Howard you love those stats.  Bottom line here is I don’t think Atlanta made their team any better.  What they needed was a scorer and Howard is that guy anymore.  I think he can average between 15 and 17 a game in the right system but he isn’t that wing scoring guy they need.  I hope I’m wrong but this seemed like a very curious move to me but I know Atlanta has wanted to sign the local boy for some time.

 

Just as big in this is the loss of Horford.  He isn’t quite the big body Howard is and won’t put up the rebounding numbers but he was the most popular player on this team and regarded for being the “glue guy”.  Why wouldn’t you just give him the max contract he wanted?  Granted that didn’t necessarily mean you got better so maybe that is what the suits were thinking.  They had to try something.  There weren’t many dynamic wings (Durant excluded) available so maybe this was their best option?  Again I hope it works.  I’d hate to see the franchise lose a player like Horford in a gamble that doesn’t help the franchise.  Unfortunately I’m not sure if this was a good move and only time will tell.   

Catching Up With the NBA Offseason

The last week has been very busy and the excitement of the Finals is carrying over for me as there has been a flurry of activity in the way of free agent signings and agreed to trades.  It has been a really exciting week and I want to talk about at least a few of the deals.

Dwight Howard signs with Houston Rockets:  It all begins and ends with Dwight Howard.  No big shock that he ends up in Houston.  I think this is the right move for him.  He is paired up with a scorer who can shoot from the outside in James Harden and is now in a town that doesn't eat it's own.  Will he win a championship?  I don't think so but with San Antonio possibly near the end of their run (2-3 years?) and Los Angeles on the down tick that leaves Oklahoma City as the team to beat.  And there is no reason to think this team can't beat the Thunder assuming Houston can put some good supporting pieces in place.  Rumors are Houston center Amer Asik wants to be traded and also that Jeremy Lin might be on the way out as well.  Hopefully they can bring back some valuable players.  Bottom line this is a good deal for all involved and I see no reason Houston can't compete in the near future. 

Josh Smith signs with Detroit Pistons:  This hurts Atlanta as they lose a scorer and dynamic player.  It only hurts because there isn't a ready replacement.  Al Horford is a natural power forward and might do even better if he can move back to the 4.  Not that the Hawks have a starting center ready to take over that spot (backup Zaza Pachulia bolted for Milwaukee).  Detroit gets that scorer/dynamic player but also get a guy who isn't a classic power forward and thinks he can hit shots from the outside.  And no he can't.  But I'm sure Detroit knows this and he will fit in fine in their system.  I was curious as to where he would go and hadn't heard any rumblings about the Pistons.  All good.  Should help setup Atlanta in the future as they have some extra cap room to improve moving forward.

Andre Iguodala signs with Golden State Warriors:  I love this move.  The Warriors already have a scorer in Stephan Curry and Iguodala will fit well in the front court with Bogut and Lee.  He won't be expected to score and will be able to concentrate on defense.  The Warriors also cleared out dead wood while getting valuable cap space in a trade with Utah.  I really like what they've done and they could easily be a top four team in the Western Conference soon. 

Al Jefferson signs with Charlotte Bobcats:  This team isn't going anywhere anytime soon but this gives them a legit center who can anchor the middle.  Again this isn't a conference changing move but I really thought it was a good move for Charlotte.  Jefferson for his part will be the man and should be able to rack up good numbers assuming there is anything resembling a team around him.

Jarrett Jack signs with Cleveland Cavaliers:  Another move that isn't going to be changing any futures of the league but I think he is a very good shooting guard and teaming with Kyrie Irving should be a big plus.

Andrew Bynum to ???:  The league is a weird contradiction.  It loves to run and gun while kicking to the guy at the three-point line.  Still everyone covets the big man especially come the playoffs when games tend to slow down.  So it should be no surprise that teams are looking at Bynum and even Greg Oden.  I think any deal Bynum, and Oden for that matter, gets will be one that protects the team and should give Bynum plenty of opportunity to excel.  I'll be curious how Bynum comes back and how he'll handle being in the spotlight again after rough year he had in Philly.