The Philadelphia 76ers were able to pull off a very surprising move to open up NBA free agency. After originally coming to an agreement with the Los Angeles Lakers, things fell apart for Dwight Howard and he ended up signing a one-year deal with the 76ers. Joel Embiid also was trying to recruit Howard to join him in Philadelphia.
Chris Haynes of Yahoo! Sports reported that Embiid was vocal in his recruitment of Howard.
To say that this is a massive surprise would be an understatement. Everyone excited that Howard would end up back with the Lakers next season. Now, the 76ers have Howard as the backup to Embiid.
Reports have come out that playing time was the main reason Howard chose the 76ers over the Lakers. Even though he will be Embiid’s backup, he should see quite a bit of time. Philadelphia will try to give Embiid some time off to keep him as healthy as possible.
During the 2019-20 NBA season with the Lakers, Howard ended up playing a big role even though he only started in two games. He averaged 7.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game for L.A.
Howard isn’t going to move the championship needle much for the 76ers. But, when Joel Embiid needs to take a night off or if he’s banged up, Howard will be able to step up and play a very important role.
It will be interesting to see what kind of impact Dwight Howard can have for the 76ers this season. He wasn’t expected to leave L.A., but he has now and will look to bring a championship to the 76ers.
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