Dwight Howard is now a free agent.
As expected, the big man opted out of the last year of his deal with the Houston Rockets, according to The Vertical’s Shams Charania:
The Vertical Sources: Houston Rockets star Dwight Howard has declined his $23.2 million player option for 2016-'17, enters free agency.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 21, 2016
The big man was slated to earn around $23.3 million next season, a salary no other team is likely to match now that he’s on the open market. Howard is over 30 and years removed from headlining a championship contender. He shouldn’t, in theory, be entering the max-contract conversation.
But this, it seems, is more about long-term stability.
With all the money that’s floating around the NBA this summer, some team is bound to still throw Howard a sizable three- or four-year deal. Shoot, while max money seems like a long shot, there may be a squad willing to pay Howard that kind of money for two years with a team option on the third. Either way, Howard gets more guaranteed money over the life of his contract.
Of course, this decision is probably also about the Rockets. They marginalized Howard on offense, much to his displeasure, and now they’ve hired Mike D’Antoni as their next head coach, someone with whom Superman didn’t get along as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Chances are, then, that Dwight Howard will be suiting up for another team next season. But which team? And for how much?
Those are questions that, as of now, no one really knows the answers to.
