Dwight Howard, Atlanta Hawks Agree To Three-Year, $70.5 Million Deal

Dwight Howard has found the next fan base he’ll perpetually disappoint. The 30-year-old center has reportedly agreed to a three-year, $70.5 million deal with his hometown Atlanta Hawks.

Dwight Howard has reached agreement on a three-year, $70.5 million with the Atlanta Hawks, league sources tell The Vertical.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) July 1, 2016

Howard has been on a steep decline for years and his PER of 18.99 this season was his worst since his rookie campaign. Maybe going home to Atlanta will help him rediscover the magic that made him an eight-time All-Star. But if there is no improvement, Howard is a rapidly diminishing, overpaid problem child who has wrecked every locker room he’s entered.

The Howard experiment failed miserably with the Los Angeles Lakers, and he was wildly disappointing with the Houston Rockets. Nothing I have seen tells me he’s going to suddenly turn things around in Atlanta.

Last season Howard’s Value Over Replacement Player was 1.5 and he posted just 6.6 win shares. Those are terrible numbers for a guy who made max contract money. The Hawks will give him $23.5 million a year and pray he gets better.