In a weird sequence of events early on in free agency on Friday night, Dwight Howard was once reported to be re-signing with the Lakers only to have Shams Charania and The Athletic report that he will instead be going to Philadelphia to play for Daryl Morey, Doc Rivers, and the 76ers.
Free agent Dwight Howard has agreed to a one-year deal with the Philadelphia 76ers, his agent Charles Briscoe tells @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 21, 2020
The initially reported deal with the Lakers started off with some drama on Twitter. Shams Charania tweeted out the deal, with Dwight Howard tweeting out right at the same time that he was returning. Both deleted their tweets right after, only for Charania to tweet the following.
Update: Dwight Howard continues to consider all of his options. No deal done.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) November 21, 2020
I don’t know. This was on Dwight’s Twitter page five minutes ago, and is not now. Make of it what you will: pic.twitter.com/WqQw7PaOxF
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) November 21, 2020
He will now go to the 76ers to be a backup center to Joel Embiid, and to replace a role in their frontcourt that was previously occupied by Al Horford. Horford was just recently traded to the Oklahoma City Thunder in exchange for Danny Green. The 76ers sent a first-rounder and a second-rounder to the Thunder to get out from underneath Horford’s large contract.
In August 2019, Dwight Howard signed to the Lakers once he was bought out from the Memphis Grizzlies. The Lakers were in desperate need of a backup center to compliment JaVale McGee, as DeMarcus Cousins had just tore his ACL. The Lakers were choosing in between him and Joakim Noah, and judging from Noah’s brief time with the Los Angeles Clippers in the Orlando bubble, the Lakers made the right choice.
The mishaps with the initial tweets will leave a sour taste in the mouth of Lakers fans, as it seemed momentarily that Dwight Howard would be continuing his redemption tour in Los Angeles after winning his lone championship with a franchise that he had infamously spurned only seven years prior. Instead, he will be returning to the Eastern Conference to try and compete for a title there.
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