Should the Washington Wizards trade for Dwight Howard?
The Washington Wizards are 10-14 with a terrible defense and atrocious offense. They entered the season with hopes of reaching the Eastern Conference Finals and convincing Kevin Durant that he could be the missing piece to push them over the top, but all that seems incredibly unlikely right now.
But what if Washington acquired Dwight Howard? Could that turn things around? Here's ESPN's Kevin Pelton with one trade scenario that makes sense:
Howard's clearly in decline, but should still be able to help solidify Washington's defense, which has holes all over the place.
The question is, does getting Howard help or hurt their chance of landing Durant?
Marcin Gortat, Nenê, draft considerations...Howard would be an ideal fit for the four-out system the Wizards have moved to this season, and if he opts in Washington would probably still have enough cap space next summer to sign a max free agent (read: Kevin Durant). But the Wizards would leave themselves perilously thin in the middle in case of a Howard injury, and it's not clear his former backup (Gortat) would be enough of a return for Houston to deal. Are there teams that would want a three-time defensive player of the year? Surely. Whether the Rockets can find a deal that works for all involved is another question. But they should be trying.
