Role becomes clear for Dwight Howard in Philadelphia

Dwight Howard (Scott Mecum, Wikimedia Commons)

One of the more interesting signings this past week in the NBA came in Philadelphia, as the 76ers signed veteran Dwight Howard from the Los Angeles Lakers. Howard has been primarily a center the last 14 seasons, but does have some power forward experience.

There was a belief by some that Howard might see some regular time as a starter at power forward. However, those rumours were laid to rest on Wednesday, when Tim Bontemps of ESPN reported that 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morley had asked head coach Doc Rivers to contact Howard and let him know he would be backing up Joel Embiid at the center position.

This also means that the 76ers will continue to go with Tobias Harris at the power forward position as a regular starter. Last season Harris averaged 19.6 points per game.

Howard, a native of Atlanta, signed a one-year contract worth $2.6 million last Friday. The 76ers will be Howard’s seventh NBA team as he has also played with the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Hornets, and Washington Wizards.

Last season Howard was in his second stint with the Lakers and flourished. In addition to winning the NBA Finals for the first time in his career, Howard provided Los Angeles with a steady presence at the center position. He averaged 7.5 points per game off the bench (only started two of 69 regular season games), and then scored 104 playoff points in 18 games. Howard also started seven postseason games when head coach Frank Vogel decided to go with experience over youth.

Known for his rebounding, Howard led the NBA in rebounds per game five times in his career, including a career-high 14.5 rebounds per game in the 2011-12 season with the Magic. Howard also has been an eight-time all-star, led the NBA in blocks per game twice, and had a NBA-high .612 field goal percentage with the Magic in 2009-10.

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