Philadelphia 76ers: Pros and cons of Dwight Howard at center

Pros

Again, there is virtually no risk involved. If the Sixers want to waive Howard, he’s on a minimum contract with essentially zero impact on the cap. If he does well, Philadelphia can probably keep him around for cheap next season. There’s no much downside.

Defensively is where Howard will butter his bread. Even at 35, Howard is one of the most impressive physical specimens in basketball. He’s carved from marble, with impressive vertical pop even in old age. He averaged 1.1 blocks in under 19 minutes per game in L.A.

The Sixers have always struggled to maintain defensive integrity without Embiid on the floor. Howard will help them do so. He can battle stronger bigs inside, alter shots at the rim, and deter smaller players from venturing inside. He’s probably more useful in that sense than Horford was last season.

Offensively, Howard will spent zero time next to Embiid. He’s likely to be paired with Ben Simmons, with Philadelphia geared to run the floor and outpace second-unit defenses. Howard is the first true lob threat Simmons has played with. It will be interesting to see how that dynamic plays out.

Howard is comfortable running the floor and filling the lane in transition. He can also function as a screen-setter and roll man in the halfcourt, with Doc Rivers expected to implement more pick-and-rolls than Brett Brown ever did. Rivers has made good use out of lob threats in the past, a la DeAndre Jordan.