The Philadelphia 76ers signed Dwight Howard to a veteran minimum contract.
After mixed signals led to a departure from L.A., Dwight Howard signed with the Philadelphia 76ers on a one-year, $2.6 million deal. He is expected to fill the backup center minutes behind Joel Embiid, a role that previously belonged to Al Horford.
First thing’s first: Howard on a veteran’s minimum contract is tremendous value. There’s essentially no risk involved, and he was genuinely impactful for the championship-winning Lakers last season. He’s a capable rim-runner and shot-blocker who has shown he can buy into a specialized role.
Howard will probably get 15 minutes or so per night in the regular season. Given Embiid’s injury history and durability questions, it’s good for Philadelphia to have a competent reserve who can step into the starting lineup in a pinch. Unlike the Sixers’ prior option, Howard doesn’t cost $27 million.
Before the Horford signing last summer, the Sixers had never properly invested in Embiid’s backup. Howard is a massive improvement over the likes of Amir Johnson and Greg Monroe. Even at 35 years old, the Sixers can expect Howard to positively impact the game when he’s on the floor.
That said, there are pros and cons to almost every signing. Howard is far from perfect, and there’s reason to examine both sides of the coin with his arrival in South Philly.
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.
Cons
The lack of risk renders this category somewhat inconsequential. The Sixers are under go obligation to play Howard, and if things go south, it’s not hard to cut him and look elsewhere. It’s almost all upside.
That said, Howard is presently the only center on the roster behind Embiid. Daryl Morey hinted at potential small-ball lineups built around Ben Simmons — a possibility the Sixers have never fully explored — but otherwise, Philadelphia’s No. 3 center is Mike Scott.
Howard will spend almost all his time next to Simmons. While pairing Simmons with a true lob threat is tantalizing on paper, one must also recognize the major drawback. Neither Howard nor Simmons is a threat outside the paint. Howard won’t even pretend to space, and frankly, neither will Simmons.
Defenses will have no qualms about packing the paint and forcing Simmons to work around it. Philadelphia can offset that with a fast tempo — Simmons is at his best in the open court — but when the offense slows down, there are some inevitable kinks in a Simmons-Howard lineup.
Barring a sudden influx of 3-point attempts from Ben Simmons, the Sixers will need to work around two non-shooters whenever Howard is on the floor. That’s why a stretch big — Dario Saric, anyone? — would be a justifiable use of Philadelphia’s final roster spot.