Why the Charlotte Hornets Don’t Need Dwight Howard

The Charlotte Hornets have been linked in trade rumors with Houston Rockets’ center, Dwight Howard, as the trade deadline draws near.

If you told me five years ago that the Charlotte NBA Franchise would have an opportunity to pick up Dwight Howard through a trade, I would have been ecstatic. Dwight Howard, the guy who led an overachieving Orlando team to an NBA Finals. Dwight Howard, a man who could fly in the air and be called “Superman”.

Dwight Howard, the man who averaged 20 points and 15 boards a night. If this situation was presented to me, I would have snatched at the chance to trade for Howard, and it wouldn’t matter what I gave up.

Now, the name Dwight Howard is synonymous with purely negative meanings. Dwight Howard, the man who forced himself out of Orlando and then forced himself out of Los Angeles. Dwight Howard, the player who is a locker room cancer wherever he goes.

Dwight Howard, the guy who can’t stay healthy and has chronic injury woes. I don’t think I’m alone on this among the Charlotte Hornets’ faithful, but I don’t believe I’d want a player with this type of baggage. Simply put, the Charlotte Hornets front office doesn’t need to make this trade and shouldn’t want to trade for Howard as well.

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Now, I’ll delve into the reasons as to why the Charlotte Hornets might want to pick up Howard. First of all, he’s still a big name within the Association, and he’ll immediately be the biggest name on the Hornets roster. With the name recognition could come a little respect from the other teams around the NBA, and Charlotte could show the rest of the League that they mean business and want to win now.

Second, the Hornets brass might believe that they have the right cast to control Howard in the locker room and get the most out of his abilities on the floor. Head Coach Steve Clifford spent a few years with Howard in Orlando and then followed him to Los Angeles and coached him there as well.

Associate Head Coach Patrick Ewing also worked with Howard during his time with the Magic and might understand how to maximize Howard’s minutes on the floor. Other than these two reasons, I can’t really understand why the Charlotte Hornets would want to give up numerous future assets and possibly current assets to pick up Howard.

One of the reasons why I don’t believe the Hornets should trade for Dwight Howard is his bloated contract. This year, he is getting paid $22.36 million. I view that as a pretty large sum of money, and honestly, Howard is not worth that type of money. He is the fifth highest paid player in the League, and for what he provides to the team, he isn’t worth that much dough.

Also, if the Charlotte Hornets trade for Howard, there is no guarantee that he would stay with the Hornets past this season. He could very well be a 29 game rental to get the Hornets into the playoffs. In possibly giving up so much (future first-rounders and maybe cornerstone pieces) the Hornets simply wouldn’t get enough in return from Howard. He’s currently averaging 14 points and 10 boards a night, not really enough production to have to give up a potential star.

Instead of looking elsewhere, the Charlotte Hornets should keep focus on what we have on the team at the moment. Charlotte currently has one of the most underrated players in the Association in Nic Batum.

What he does for this team on a nightly basis might not wow you on the box score, but as every single Hornets fan knows, Batum is crucial to this team’s future. He as well is a free agent this coming summer. Rich Cho and Michael Jordan should be focused on keeping Batum in Charlotte, and signing him to a contract.