The Golden State Warriors have a lot of talent on their roster already, but have always had a hole at the center position: Could Dwight Howard fill this void?
The Golden State Warriors enter the offseason after failing to make the NBA Bubble with a 15-50 record, their worst record, win percentage-wise, since the 2000-01 NBA season where they finished 17-65 (23.1 percent). Golden State’s biggest need is perhaps their biggest need for the last five to six seasons, is consistent play at the center position.
The Warriors do have Kevon Looney under contract through the 2021-22 NBA season and he has been productive over the years, but is not a true big man who is aggressive and crashes the boards for rebounds as he stands only 6’9”. With this need for a true center and the Warriors likely to pass on taking a young center in the 2020 NBA Draft, Dwight Howard seems like a realistic option for the Warriors in free agency.
This past season with the Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard played in 69 regular season games, averaging 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and shot 72.9% from the floor, his best shooting percentage of his career. Howard was a key player in the Lakers’ success in the 2020 NBA Playoffs in Orlando and helped the Lakers win their 17th championship in franchise history.
Shams Charnia, the lead NBA writer for The Athletic, first wrote about Howard and the Warriors having a mutual interest in his piece on NBA Free Agency news, Anthony Davis, Lakers decisions, Heat deals and more, and believes Golden State has Howard on their radar.
Warriors executives did however like what they saw out of Marquese Chriss last season, leading him to be a contender for the starting role at center for the 2020-21 NBA season. Chriss is a lengthy, high-motor center who is not only a threat to attack the offensive boards, but a shifty rim-runner who can catch a lob on any given play.
The Warriors would have to pay for Howard’s contract out of their Mid-Level Exception and with Golden State already well-above the estimated Salary Cap for the 2020-21 NBA season, it is unclear if Golden State is willing to dig deeper financially for a player like Howard who is on the back-half of his career at almost 35 years old and nothing more than a veteran role player. However, veteran big men such as Marreese Speights, David West and Zaza Pachulia have all had success in the Warriors system so it is not far-fetched to believe Dwight Howard could do the same and help make the Golden State Warriors legit title contenders for the upcoming season.