Dwight Howard suffered a “minor setback” while rehabilitating his back injury, Wizards head coach Scott Brooks said today (Twitter link via Fred Katz of The Athletic). According to Brooks, the veteran center – who has been doing non-contact drills in Washington – tweaked his hamstring.
With the Wizards technically still in the Eastern Conference playoff picture, three games behind the eighth-seeded Magic, there’s some incentive to get Howard back in the lineup before the end of the season. However, a Washington playoff berth and a Howard return both appear increasingly unlikely. The 33-year-old hasn’t played since November 18 and wasn’t taking contact even before his setback.
Assuming Howard is unable to make it back this season, he’ll finish his first year in D.C. having appeared in just nine games, with averages of 12.8 PPG and 9.2 RPG.
The former first overall pick has a 2019/20 player option worth approximately $5.6MM, which looks like a good bet to be exercised. After his lost ’18/19 season, Howard likely wouldn’t be able to match that salary on the open market if he were to opt out.
With Howard still on the shelf, the Wizards will continue to rely on Bobby Portis as their starting center, with Thomas Bryant earning minutes off the bench.
As advertised, Howard is a malingerer. I don’t believe he has been injured; he just wants to collect a check. Promise doesn’t always equal performance
I doubt that he’s faking an injury
Nope, he is just an aging injured PoS at this point, he cannot help it.
Howard just keeps selling that snake oil. He has no intention of helping a team win, I was laughing this summer when he did his superman will save DC routine.
Hopefully he can make it back before the end of the season, he was a great center in his prime & the league is only better for his talent.
Boston could do with a smiley guy like him as they keep saying is no fun been there, well DH12 always is happy, they should sign him or learn from him
When are people going to realize that DH is a lockerroom cancer?? It isn’t a coincidence that he has been on a different team the past 4 seasons. A guy like DH should never be a journey man, but unfortunately he let his ego ruin his career.
Howard is continuing to remind me of the same person he has reminded me of since day 1, Joe Barry Carroll (aka Joe Barely Cares). Overall #1 pick with all the talent in the world, but plays basketball for money only rather than trying to prove himself the best. Carroll became a journeyman and eventually left the game in his early 30s, much like Howard seems destined to do.
Disagree, if either played for “money only” their careers would have been more productive. They are distracted by attempting to live a more rounded life, and probably, by the psychology of being freakishly large.
If you play for money only, then when you get the money your production will go down. JBC definitely played for money only because he held out a season and played in Italy because he didn’t think he was getting paid enough by the Warriors. Howard might not have been THAT money hungry, but he was always a selfish player.
?? He was still RFA. Italy did not pay him more. How could skipping the country make his expected future offer better?– it made him more of a risk.
And you’re ignoring Howard’s religious motivations. His problem is not being desperate enough, for treating the world like a lark.
Both could have used MORE greed, not less.
D12 working on those 3s still right? Stretch 5.
He’s still in the league? Who cares
After that scandal I knew he wouldn’t comeback this season. He is going to milk his “injury” until next season or probably just retire.
Wizards will probably waive and stretch the $5.6 Million over 3. Cap hits of about $1.9mm/yr. That will still have them at about $90 Million, $19 Mil under the cap, for 4 players (and Wall won’t even play all year). Do they try to resign Ariza, Sato, Portis and Bryant? Portis is RFA and some GM could throw a big offer sheet at him. Ariza says he wants to stay but Houston and other contenders will want him bad. I could see them resigning Sato with Wall out. Bryant will be an RFA too but I could see him getting a big offer sheet just like Portis. Plus they gotta pay their 1st rounder. Bottom line, I think they gotta trade Beal because they’re stuck with Walls $40+ Mil/yr or they’re back in tax territory.