NBA Rumors: Should Teams Max Out Dwight Howard Or Hassan Whiteside?

Dwight Deserves A Max Contract

When speaking about Dwight Howard, most talk about his age as if he’s 34. Let’s remember, he’s only 30. He still has a few good years ahead of him. Even though the case can be made that his best years are behind him, a counter one can be made that he was wrongly utilized in Houston.

In the words of Dwight himself, it’s clear that he was somewhat alienated towards the end of his tenure with the team. This, per ESPN:

"Howard: “There were times I was disinterested because of situations that happened behind the scenes that really hurt me. It left me thinking, ‘This is not what I signed up for.”’ ESPN: What specifically are you referring to? Howard: “I felt like my role was being reduced. I went to [Rockets general manager] Daryl [Morey] and said, ‘I want to be more involved.’ Daryl said, ‘No, we don’t want you to be.’ My response was, ‘Why not? Why am I here?’ It was shocking to me that it came from him instead of our coach. So I said to him, ‘No disrespect to what you do, but you’ve never played the game. I’ve been in this game a long time. I know what it takes to be effective.”’ Morey declined comment."

I mean, can you really blame Dwight? He was in a bad situation and still managed to post reasonable numbers when he wasn’t even involved in the offense.

Dwight, even in a down year, averaged 14 points and 12 rebounds. Even if Dwight gives you that for the next three seasons, any team would happily take that. Perhaps if you involve him in the offense, you can get even better results.

For all his “injury concerns”, Dwight has played at least 70 games in three of the last four seasons. It’s a big overblown.

Next: Why Dwight Doesn't Deserve A Max