MANILA, Philippines – Superman has left the building… again.
In an early offseason shocker, the Charlotte Hornets have traded star center Dwight Howard to the Brooklyn Nets for Russian big man Timofey Mozgov and two second-round picks, per Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Brooklyn will now be Howard’s 4th team in 4 years, after stints with the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks and Charlotte.
Due to his expiring contract, Howard’s arrival is not expected to hamper the development of the Nets’ other budding young big men like Jarrett Allen and Jahlil Okafor.
Why Charlotte accepted this deal, however, is a head-scratcher.
Mozgov, 31, has been in and out of the Nets’ lineup for much of the 2017-2018 season. In 31 appearances (11 starts), the 7-foot-1 banger averaged just 4.2 points and 3.2 rebounds in 11.6 minutes.
Howard, who’s nicknamed as “Superman,” came off a career resurgence year with norms of 17.4 points, 12.7 boards and 2 blocks in 81 starts. Due to recurring back issues, Howard, 32, has not played at least 80 games since the 2009-2010 season, his last with the Orlando Magic.
Even more head-scratching still is Mozgov’s contract situation. The former champion center of the Cleveland Cavaliers infamously inked a 4-year, $64 million contract – $16 million a year – with the Los Angeles Lakers just two years ago. This means that Charlotte will pay him the remaining $32 million over two years despite his best averages peaking at 10.6 points and 7.8 rebounds in 2014 with the Cavs.
After finishing last season out of the playoff picture with a 36-46 record, it seems that Michael Jordan’s team has laid the foundation for another rebuilding period, with Mozgov being the first building block. And that’s a sad thing to say. – Rappler.com
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