Nell Redmond/Associated Press The Brooklyn Nets will reportedly buy out veteran center Dwight Howard after agreeing to acquire him in a trade with the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday, according to ESPN's Chris Haynes. ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski reported Wednesday that the Nets picked up Howard in exchange for center Timofey Mozgov, a 2018 second-round pick and a 2021 second-round pick. Following his buyout, Howard will become an unrestricted free agent. Howard was set to enter the final year of his contract, and there was over $23.8 million remaining on his deal, per Spotrac. The trade and buyout can't officially be completed until the league moratorium ends on July 6, according to Wojnarowski. Howard has bounced around regularly in recent seasons, as he has played for the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks and Hornets over the past three campaigns. Last season, the 32-year-old put up his best numbers since 2013-14 with averages of 16.6 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks. Howard also shot 55.5 percent from the field and appeared in 81 contests. Video Play Button Videos you might like The best years of the 2004 No. 1 overall pick's career came during his tenure with the Orlando Magic. Six of Howard's eight All-Star nods came while with the Magic, and he led Orlando to the NBA Finals in 2009. From 2007-08 through 2011-12, Howard averaged at least 20 points and 13 rebounds per game in four of five seasons. For his career, the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year boasts averages of 17.4 points, 12.7 rebounds and 2.0 blocks. Although he is no longer the dominant player he once was, Howard proved last season that he can still be a highly productive NBA center. With Brooklyn trading Mozgov and buying out Howard, it suggests that the Nets are comfortable with Jarrett Allen as their starting center after he averaged 8.2 points and 5.4 rebounds per game last season as a rookie.<doc-sep>USA TODAY Sports Just one day after being traded from the Charlotte Hornets, Dwight Howard is expected to reach a buyout agreement with the Brooklyn Nets, a person with knowledge of the situation confirmed to USA TODAY Sports’ Sam Amick. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the news wasn’t made public. Howard, an eight-time All-Star, would then be in the free agent market after averaging 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds this past season with the Hornets. It was Howard’s most productive season of the last four years. “I want to be in a situation where I have an opportunity to help a team win,” Howard told ESPN, which first reported the news. “That’s my only goal. All I need is a real chance and a clean slate where it’s not people talking about my past." Howard, owed $23.8 million this season entering the final year of his contract, was traded Wednesday for Timofey Mozgov and two second-round picks. “I was just really in total shock because I wasn’t expected it to happen,” he said to ESPN. “I thought this season was really good. For one, this is the healthiest I’ve been, and two, my stats this season has been one of the best since I’ve been in the NBA."<doc-sep>It appears Dwight Howard won't be playing for the Brooklyn Nets, after all. One day after the Hornets reportedly traded Howard to Brooklyn for Timofey Mozgov and a pair of second-round draft picks, the embattled big man is already negotiating a buyout with the Nets so that he can hit free agency in July, according to ESPN's Chris Haynes. Both the Nets and the eight-time All-Star, who has an expiring $23.8 million contract, have "agreed to work together on securing a buyout," Haynes said Thursday, meaning the 32-year-old center could join some of 2018 free agency's biggest names. "I want to be in a situation where I have an opportunity to help a team win," Howard said. "That's my only goal. All I need is a real chance and a clean slate where it's not people talking about my past." As CBS Sports' Chris Barnewall noted on Wednesday, "Brooklyn didn't bring Howard in with intentions to win," instead likely landing him as a means of offloading Mozgov's deal and gaining future salary cap relief. But the looming buyout still makes for yet another curious pit stop in Howard's career. A former back-to-back-to-back Defensive Player of the Year and MVP candidate with the Orlando Magic, he's now been traded twice in two years and will be playing for his sixth team -- seventh, technically, if you include the Nets -- after he presumably finds a new home in free agency.<doc-sep>Dwight Howard has had enough of the Nets. One day after Brooklyn traded for the big man, Howard has requested a buyout, which the team is working to make happen, ESPN reported on Thursday. The 32-year-old is due $23.8 million this year. The Nets had traded two years of Timofey Mozgov’s bloated contract and two second-round picks for Howard’s one expensive year. “I want to be in a situation where I have an opportunity to help a team win,” Howard told ESPN. “That’s my only goal. All I need is a real chance and a clean slate where it’s not people talking about my past.” Howard, an eight-time All-Star whose game is not suited for today’s more modern NBA, averaged 16.6 points and 12.5 rebounds last year.<doc-sep>
The Brooklyn Nets just completed a trade with the Charlotte Hornets for center Dwight Howard on Wednesday morning, and a day later, it looks like Howard is already on the way out. According to Chris Haynes of ESPN, Howard and the Nets are set to negotiate on the buyout, and center is expected to hit free agency. Dwight Howard and Brooklyn will negotiate a buyout to enter free-agency, league sources tell ESPN. — Chris Haynes (@ChrisBHaynes) June 21, 2018 Howard says the decision to negotiate a buyout is sparked by his wanting to win an NBA Championship while he’s still in the tail end of the prime of his career at 30 years of age. “I want to be in a situation where I have an opportunity to help a team win,” Howard said during a phone interview. “That’s my only goal. All I need is a real chance and a clean slate where it’s not people talking about my past.” Howard saw a bit of a resurgence this year under head coach Steve Clifford, averaging 16.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, 1.3 assists, and 1.6 blocks per game in 81 appearances this season for the Hornets. His biggest game came late in the season, ironically, against the Brooklyn Nets, Howard put up a 32-point, 30-rebound. Ultimately, it was a surprise for Howard, but one that he’s not letting stop his goal. “I was just really in total shock because I wasn’t expecting it to happen,” he said. “I thought this season was really good. For one, this is the healthiest I’ve been and two, my stats this season has been one of the best since I’ve been in the NBA. “Everything happens for a reason,” Howard said. “I’m not going to allow this to distract me from what my goal is, which is to continue to get better as a player.” Howard will now enter a free agent market where a lot of money isn’t available with most teams preparing for the big free agent class the summer of 2019. It’ll be interesting to see which contender he joins next season because he’s proven he still has a lot of game left.