While holding a Twitter Q&A about potential NBA trades with fans Tuesday night, an unsuspecting Dwight Howard was unceremoniously shipped off to Charlotte.
Ok Twitter Fans ,, give me your thoughts , trades or otherwise & Remember 2B-Nice 🤗 pic.twitter.com/Nl6lQFVvBN
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) June 21, 2017
He has so many great options, tough 2 Call https://t.co/fnC87lmFSS
— Dwight Howard (@DwightHoward) June 21, 2017
The Hornets will be Howard’s fifth team in 13 years.
The big fella’s Atlanta homecoming lasted just one season.
Per the AJC:
The Hawks traded the Atlanta native to the Hornets on Tuesday. The deal was agreed upon in the evening and made official after a late-night trade call. The Hawks receive Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli and a second-round pick, No. 41, in Thursday’s NBA Draft in the deal. The Hawks will also send a second-round pick, No. 31 overall in this draft, to the Hornets.
The Hawks signed Howard to a three-year, $70.5 million contract as a free agent last year. Howard, 31, was due to make $23.5 million this season.
The dramatic move is the first for the Hawks new general manager Travis Schlenk, who was hired earlier this month after a shakeup of the organization’s front office.
“It is extremely important for our organization that we maintain our flexibility and this trade helps us achieve that critical goal,” Schlenk said in a statement. “We appreciate the contributions that Dwight made on the court and in the greater Atlanta community this past season.”
