Former NBA All-Star Josh Howard is working out in Las Vegas with hope of being picked up for an NBA training camp, Marc J. Spears of Yahoo! Sports reports (Twitter link). Howard also indicated that he would be open to returning to the NBA D-League, notes Spears. Howard played for the Pelicans’ entry in the summer league this year, but was unable to secure an invite to New Orleans’ training camp. He only saw the court in three of the team’s five contests, and after scoring 14 points in the opening game, he managed just six points combined over his next two appearances.
His last action in the league came during the 2012/13 campaign when he appeared in just 11 games for the Timberwolves. During his ten year career, Howard has appeared in 507 games and averaged 14.3 PPG, 5.7 RPG, and 1.6 APG. His career slash line is .448/.332/.770.
Last season was spent with the Austin Toros, the Spurs’ D-League affiliate, where Howard made 24 appearances, averaging 14.7 PPG and 5.8 RPG while playing 29.5 minutes per night. Howard’s season came to an end when the Toros released him following an injury, which was another in a string of knee maladies that derailed the now 34-year-old’s career at its peak.
At this juncture it’s unlikely that he’ll be picked up by a team for training camp unless there are a run of injuries. Howard’s best opportunity may in fact be to return to the D-League, prove that he’s healthy enough to contribute, and possibly snag a 10-day contract later in the season and hope he can turn that opportunity into a long-term deal.
every time I think of Josh Howard, I think of the time he called timeout in between free throws in Game 5 of the 2006 NBA Finals, helping the Heat take the 3-2 series lead. Best Heat player to never play for the Heat lol