Dwight Howard hoped for stability in Atlanta, but the Hawks are crumbling around him

When the Atlanta Hawks signed eight-time All-Star Dwight Howard to a three-year deal over the summer, they did so with the intention of making a push in an increasingly competitive Eastern Conference.

Fast forward a few months and the message has been skewed.

The Hawks agreed to part ways with veteran sharpshooter Kyle Korver on Thursday in a deal that sends him to the Cleveland Cavaliers. In exchange, they receive Mike Dunleavy and a 2019 first-round draft pick. Atlanta also expects to find a suitor for All-Star power forward Paul Millsap before the February trade deadline — the return on Millsap’s contract will likely include young players and draft picks.

To put it plainly, fourth-seeded Atlanta (20-16) is retooling midseason, blowing it up in a clear-cut tap-out to the higher powers in the Eastern Conference.

Atlanta has thrown in the towel, and its midseason renovation has an implicit impact on the 31-year-old Howard, who saw a roster that could compete when he signed with his hometown team in July.

“You look at our team, I think the last couple of years, these guys have played some great basketball,” Howard said during his introductory press conference. “And even though they didn’t get the goal, which is to win a championship, but winning 55-plus games, going to the playoffs, it’s amazing.

“And then having a guy like [head coach Mike Budenholzer], who is a great leader. Those things just put Atlanta over the top. It was a no-brainer.”

Howard returned to his hometown seeking a contender. Now he’s trapped in yet another bizarre scenario for a team with little use for him.

The former Defensive Player of the Year hoped to find his old self in coming home, but instead he’s found himself in a quandary. It’s been a trend throughout the career of one of the great big men of this generation.

Howard’s career has been defined by unforgettable, awkward moments at every stop: The time he barged into Stan Van Gundy’s rant about his star center wanting him fired, his season-long tug-of-war battle with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles, and the time Rockets GM Daryl Morey told Howard the team didn’t want him to be more involved in the offense.

At each stop, Howard wanted to win, and Atlanta was no different.

But in dealing both Korver and (most likely) Millsap, the team is flushing the season down the toilet, a waste of yet another season for Howard, who is aging quickly as an endangered true big man.

Atlanta got younger by dealing the 34-year-old Korver and created cap space by moving his $5.2 million contract. The Hawks now are set with a slew of first-round picks over the next few seasons.

Surprisingly enough, the Hawks’ best lineups do not feature Korver on the court. Atlanta’s starters are outscored by 10.2 points per 100 possessions. Their next most-played lineup, with reserve wing Thabo Sefolosha in Korver’s place, outscores opponents by 15.7 points per 100 possessions, and the lineup of Dennis Schroder, Tim Hardaway, Jr., Sefolosha, Millsap, and Howard boasts a net rating of 32.8.

If (read: when) Atlanta moves Millsap, the team will add even more young, talented players to the rotation and possibly even more picks. It makes sense for the organization. Their two building blocks, Schroder, 23, and Bazemore, 27, are in their primes.

Atlanta can package its picks in an effort to bring in another established player to return to contention or slowly build itself up through the draft. The team has options, and that’s exactly what you want as a franchise.

For an idea of where this season was supposed to go, harken back to Budenholzer’s words during Bazemore and Howard’s introductory press conference.

“I can’t say how right this feels, and how right the timing feels,” the Hawks’ coach said. “We’re so excited, I’m personally so excited to work with a player as gifted as Dwight, who has as big an impact on the game as Dwight on both ends of the court.

“We’re ready to take it to another level with both [Bazemore] and Dwight. ... It’s gonna be a special year.”

But Atlanta has taken a step back, at least for this season. Once bubbling with playoff contention aspirations, the Hawks are forfeiting some of their best pieces to build for the future. Howard returned home to find stability, but Atlanta has been turbulent approaching the trade deadline.

Now with the Hawks’ fire sale in full throttle, Howard is again trapped in a bad place. And as history shows, that never ends well.