Former Lakers center Dwight Howard is going overseas to play. He’s signed a contract with a Taiwanese professional team named the Taoyuan Leopards. Good luck to him.
TPS got the details;
Dwight Howard would love nothing more than to play another season in the NBA but no team has called him, and now he has been forced to take his talents elsewhere.
The former Lakers center signed a deal with a Taiwanese professional team, the Taoyuan Leopards, he announced Monday. Howard, who has played 18 NBA seasons and made eight All-Star teams, played last season for the Los Angeles Lakers.
He had a disappointing year for them as he averaged just 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds in 60 appearances. On top of that, the team was a minus-5.7 net rating with him on the court that improved to minus-1.9 when he sat on the bench, per NBA.com.
Aside from Howard, the team will also feature former NBA players in Deyonta Davis, who went No. 31 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft, as well as Troy Williams, who spent time with the Grizzlies, Knicks, Rockets and Kings.
The Leopards are in just their second year in existence. Last season, they finished the year 8-22. They are now hoping to make a big leap with Howard on the team.
Howard immediately becomes the most recognizable name in the entire Taiwanese league.
Dwight believes he has been blackballed by the NBA. Hard to know if that is true, but after 19 seasons, he couldn’t find steady work in the league. His type of big man isn’t favored anymore in the league, but with that being said DeAndre Jordan is still playing, so one would figure that Howard could still give a team some quality minutes off the bench.
He isn’t the only big man without a job in the NBA. No one signed Demarcus Cousins this offseason as well.
Dwight likely will be like Wilt Chamberlain in the Taiwanese league.
Flip to the next page to watch Dwight Howard announce his new contract…
