Getty Dwight Howard soars for a slam against the Golden State Warriors in 2019.
Dwight Howard was spotted training with Golden State Warriors veteran Draymond Green and offseason trade acquisition Chris Paul in Los Angeles, one day after wrapping up a two-day workout and meeting with the team’s top brass.
Dwight Howard, Draymond Green, Chris Paul, and Demar Derozan trained together today in LA 👀🔥
Dwight Howard, CP3, Draymond Green, and Demar Derozan tossing around the football early this morning 🔥
(via dribble2much/IG)
According to Kron4 News’ Jason Dumas, the Warriors “veterans have signed off on the idea of bringing Dwight into the fold.”
Howard and Paul once dreamed of teaming up in Dallas, per a Yahoo Sports report in 2012, but it never materialized. Now, at the tail-end of their careers, they have a shot at teaming up for one last run to chase a ring with the Warriors, who are seeking their fifth over the last eight years.
If signed, it will mark Howard’s return to the NBA after spending last season in Taiwan’s T1 League.
The veteran center last played in the NBA during the 2021-22 season with the Warriors’ conference rivals, the Los Angeles Lakers. He played a key role as Anthony Davis’ backup in the Lakers’ championship run in the Orlando Bubble at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
If everything falls into place, Howard could find himself locking horns against his former teammate, Davis, in May next year.
Howard, a former three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, could add size and another veteran presence to the Warriors’ thin frontline with only Green as a small-ball center, Kevon Looney as their natural center and stretch big Dario Saric as their reserve.
The 37-year-old Howard averaged 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds across 60 games with the Lakers in his last NBA stint two seasons ago.
Draymond Green Unhappy With the Dwight Howard News Leak
Green was unhappy with the news of Howard training with him and Paul leaked in advance.
“One day, one day, everything won’t leak. One day. Good for you [by the way], Jason [Dumas. But one day, EVERYTHING won’t leak. I have a dream,” Green posted on X (formerly known as Twitter), quoting Dumas’ report.
Green was at the center of a firestorm due to another news leak a year ago as his altercation with then-teammate Jordan Poole went viral. The punching incident fractured the team’s chemistry, leading to a second-round exit in the playoffs.
Damian Lillard Takes Shot at Kevin Durant for Joining Warriors
Disgruntled Portland Trail Blazers star Damian Lillard was adamant he would do what Kevin Durant did in 2016 amid his trade saga.
“If I’m Kevin Durant, I’ve said this plenty of times before I think KD is, obviously, one of the greatest players of all time, but if I were in his shoes, I wouldn’t have done that personally like it’s the team that [he] just lost to, it’s a team that has won once,” Lillard said on the September 19 episode of “It Is What It Is.”
Lillard said he’d rather lose every year than join his hometown team, which has won four titles since 2015.
In 2016, Durant joined the Warriors, who were coming off a 73-9 season that ended in an NBA Finals loss. The result was a super team that won the next two championships. They could have gone for a three-peat had Durant and Klay Thompson been healthy in 2019.