On Tuesday, NBA trade rumors started swirling so furiously it could make the average fan's head spin with possibilities. However, several actual news reports of real trades emerged as the Lakers traded D'Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Nets in one move. Another big move came later in the evening, as the Atlanta Hawks have reportedly traded Big Man Dwight Howard to the Charlotte Hornets. The deal involves several players and picks as well with Atlanta appearing to be entering "rebuild mode" now. Here are the latest details on the newest NBA trade to hit.
Howard for players, picks
On Tuesday night, it was reported from ESPN per The Undefeated's Marc Spears that the Hawks agreed to trade Howard to the Hornets. The deal involves Charlotte sending Marco Belinelli and Miles Plumlee to the Hawks along with the No. 41 pick in Thursday's NBA Draft.
In exchange, the Hornets receive former All-Star Dwight Howard along with the No. 31 pick in the 2017 NBA Draft. The Charlotte Hornets already have the No. 11 pick on Thursday night and it was expected they might take a forward such as Justin Jackson from North Carolina if he's available or Zach Collins from Gonzaga.
Ok Twitter Fans ,, give me your thoughts , trades or otherwise & Remember 2B-Nice 🤗 pic.twitter.com/Nl6lQFVvBN
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) June 21, 2017
Howard is a three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award winner in 2009 through 2011.
He also averaged a double-double in the past season with 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds a game while blocking 1.2 shots per game. Howard was fourth in the league in field goal percentage (63.3 percent) and fifth in rebounds last season.
Which team's the winner?
The Atlanta Hawks may be the winners as they start to try to rebuild a team of contenders.
Back in July, Howard signed a three-year deal worth $70.5 million with the Hawks, but it appears the team isn't interested in continuing that relationship.
A lot of hype came when the team added Dwight Howard to their roster which previously included Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver. Both of those players found new homes as of the past NBA season.
With news that Paul Millsap is a free agent, it likely signals that his days in Atlanta will also be over soon as several other teams are interested in his services. Basically, the Hawks got rid of Howard's salary and his liabilities.
The Charlotte Hornets inherit those issues which include Dwight Howard's lackluster free throw shooting. For his career, he's averaged a 53.3 percent at the charity stripe. Often when teams are in need of a strategy in games, they'll employ a "Hack-a-Howard" tactic to send him to the line, confident in gambling on his inability to hit the free throws.
Howard's playoff performances in one series this postseason against the Wizards could be described as mediocre.
The former All-Star had a 16-point and 15 rebound game in a Game 3 win against Washington but that was his only double-double of the series.
As mentioned, this will also make for Howard's fifth team in the past four years. His previous teams before Atlanta have included the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, and Houston Rockets. However, it has been mentioned that Charlotte head coach Steve Clifford was a part of the coaching staff in Orlando and Los Angeles with Howard.