Dwight Howard is coming to the Bay...to talk with the Warriors

SUPERMAN WILL BE IN SAN FRANCISCO THIS WEEK!

One of my earliest memories of basketball highlights from the early days of the YouTube era comes from 2006. I was a freshman in college, a hoops fanatic who played in between classes and in intramurals at night, rooting for a Golden State Warriors team that hadn’t crashed into the national consciousness with the We Believe team yet.

I remember my buddies and I circled around my laptop in my dorm, watching with slackedjawed wonder as a young and lightning quick Chris Paul, then a prodigy point guard for the New Orleans Hornets, posterized a young giant Dwight Howard.

Was the footage this grainy back then?? Sheesh, how far technology has come. But this slam is what I’ll always first thing of when people talk about how electric CP3’s early career was before injuries and age turned him into a methodical machine who leaned more on smarts and guile than pure athleticism.

And after that slam Howard carved out a potential Hall-of-Fame career of his own, winning three Defensive Players of the Year awards and becoming one of the top big men in the game (if not THE best for a time).

It’s funny how both of these guys eventually played alongside James Harden on the Houston Rockets in very contentious playoff series against the Warriors, with their legacies turned into fodder for the Golden Empire’s rise.

We know that CP3 has now joined the Warriors in a shocking move that simultaneously brings veteran leadership, potential salary cap relief, and cutting ties with Jordan Poole.

Meanwhile Howard has been playing overseas after last playing with the Lakers in 2022.

And in another stunning turn events, the Warriors are bringing in Howard this week to see if he’s a good fit. On September 15th, the very real possibility of Paul and Howard being Warriors together took root on social media:

Fascinating. Per Yahoo Sports, it was just last month that Howard stated that he didn’t think the Warriors would even want him!

However, during an August 2 appearance on the “My Expert Opinion Show,” Howard honestly assessed why he isn’t expecting to join the Warriors this summer. Of course, the veteran big man’s comments came before he was invited for a workout with the team, and he didn’t suggest he wouldn’t be interested.

Instead, Howard was honest about his status and the baggage that comes with acquiring him.

“I don’t think they want my style,” Howard said. “Not that I can’t play or do what is needed. But why would they go get a Dwight Howard when they can go get a young player that maybe has no name, that’s not a risk.

In theory, if Mr. Howard can still be athletic enough to catch some sweet lobs from Paul, Draymond Green, and Stephen Curry, he could present a nice vertical threat around the rim. And in a league where behemoths like Nikola Jokic and Joel Embiid roam the paint, it’s nice to have a big strong vet like Howard to be able to use in that matchup to take some pressure off the game but undersized Green and Kevon Looney.

In theory, that is. It’s hard to forget reports of how the late great Kobe Bryant’s Mamba Mentality did not go great with Howard’s sillier personality. Would say, Green and Howard mesh over a long season?

Heck, will Green and CP3 mesh??? Interesting propositions. What do you think about Howard potentially joining the Dubs? Let me know in the comments!