Philadelphia 76ers scoop Dwight Howard from Lakers

The Philadelphia 76ers have landed Dwight Howard in free agency.

The Philadelphia 76ers have needed a capable backup for the minutes when Joel Embiid is off the floor for years now.

They wanted it with Boban Marjanovic. They thought they had it when they signed Al Horford. Now, they’ll turn to an aging, former MVP candidate to get the job done after he proved he could thrive in a lesser role with the NBA‘s defending champions.

According to The Athletic’s Shams Charania, Dwight Howard has agreed to a one-year deal with the Sixers. This was a surprising turn of events after both Charania and even Howard himself tweeted that the three-time Defensive Player of the Year would be re-signing with the Los Angeles Lakers. Both tweets were deleted, and not long after, the news of Howard joining the Sixers broke.

The Philadelphia 76ers are hoping Dwight Howard can be an effective backup

Howard’s numbers in LA didn’t leap off the page last year. In fact, they were the worst numbers of the eight-time All-Star’s career, as he averaged 7.5 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 blocks in just 18.9 minutes per game. He only started in two of his 69 games for the Lakers, coming off the bench behind JaVale McGee.

However, he was productive and focused during his limited action off the bench, actively contributing to a championship-caliber team. The 34-year-old isn’t the perennial defensive terror he once was, but he took care of the boards, protected the paint and did his job.

Afetr trading away Horford, that’s all the Sixers could ask for, in an interesting signing that will reunite Howard with Daryl Morey, the general manager who made a big move to bring Howard to join James Harden and the Houston Rockets back in 2013. If D-12 can bring the same positive energy and attitude, avoid being an off-court distraction and play capably in his time off the bench behind Embiid, the Sixers will be in a very good place.