TP for Crimson, well summarized.
I have been a Howard hater during his diva time.
I don't forgive and forget easily, but since his last 2 seasons, Dwight managed to change my mind about him. I actually like him now. That says a lot about how is doing all the right things recently.
I'm sure he would be a perfect fit in Boston.
I'm just concern about his health and the lenght of his contract. Doubtfull he will agree to 1+1, when he could get a 4 years in Atlanta or other places.
That is pretty much the gamble of it - Dwight's health/age balanced against the cost/length of the contract.
To be honest the age doesn't really bother me so much, only because Dwight (with his length and imposing physique) should, health permitting, remain a very effective player in this league for years to come.
If we look at KG for example (a long, athletic, defensive minded big man) he was still a very effective and productive player even in his final year as a Celtic. Sure he could no longer carry the team on a nightly basis offensively, but he he was still a dominant force on defense and on the boards for us right up until the day he got traded at the age of 37 or so...and he was still making BIG money at that time (relative to the cap), but most of us were still more then happy to have him around.
Dwight has similar length and athleticism to KG, and he has always been at least on part with KG as a defender and as a rebounder. Worst case scenario, if his offensive game fades out lmost entirely towards the end of the contract, you're pretty much still left with Omer Asik as a consolation prize - a big, physical guy who will dominate the boards and impact the game defensively. There really isn't that much to lose...assuming he stays relatively healthy.
Health is the big red flag with Dwight.
I did see an interview with Dwight recently with Charles Barkley and crew, and to be honestly he sounded surprisingly genuine and mature in that interview. They did bring up questions about his future with the Rockets, and also asked him questions about the injury. Dwight said there is no injury - that he had a back problem, he had surgery, the problem was fixed, and now he feels as good as ever. Whether that is true or he's just lying for his own benefit - who knows.
But here is one question for everybody out there - how unhealthy has Dwight really been, and are his health problems overblown?
Dwight has played 12 seasons in the league, which (if you factor in the 66 game lockout in 11/12) equates to a total of 968 possible games he could have played if he didn't miss a single game. He's played 880 out of those possible 968 games - thats a 91% attendance rate at a career average of 35 minutes per game.
That's actually a VERY impressive health record to be honest.
Even if you ignore his early career and focus your attention entirely on the past four seasons (from the time he joined the Lakers onwards) he's still played in 259 out of a possible 328 games - a total of 79% of all possible games. Considering this has been the most injury riddled stretch of his entire career, that's actually not that bad.
Over those past four seasons Dwight has averaged 16.2 Points, 11.7 rebounds, 1.5 assists, 1.8 blocks and 0.9 steals to go with 60% FG in 32.8 minutes a night. Not bad for an 'ageing', 'declining', and 'injury riddled' big man who has spent the past three years on a team that actively avoids including him in their offense.