The Hornets traded Dwight Howard to the Nets on Wednesday, receiving Timofey Mozgov and a couple of second-round picks in return. Much of the attention has been focused on Howard’s shift slide to [motions with hands] all of this, such as Kristian Winfield’s piece on Dwight’s value never being lower. There’s also the amusing conclusion of the long, long flirtation between Howard and the Nets.
Dwight Howard isn’t even the saddest thing about the Dwight Howard trade
We have that and more in Thursday’s NBA newsletter.
Jeremy Brevard-USA TODAY Sports
But can we talk about the Hornets for a minute?
Charlotte did this deal to get rid of Howard, yes, who was productive last year but has a strong reputation as a reactive agent in the locker room. But Howard’s deal is set to expire after next season, and Mozgov’s hefty contract extends into 2019-20. So this was about cutting $7.8 million in salary cap for next season at the expense of taking on a much worse player and adding $16.7 million in something like dead salary the following year.
Yes, the Hornets’ new regime — led by longtime Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak — is digging out of a hole previous dug. Without this trade, Charlotte would have been knocking on the luxury tax, unacceptable for a team this bad. But this seems like a pretty tough pill to swallow six months away from the deadline to cut salary.
It’s somehow made even worse by the fact Kupchak signed Mozgov to that ugly deal in the first place. Or perhaps that’s poetic. Whatever the case, it’s a brutal first move for a new front office. Sorry, Charlotte.
Doscientos
Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve became the eighth coach to ever hit 200 wins in the WNBA on Tuesday. (She’s also just the second woman to reach that threshold, joining the late, great Anne Donovan.) Howard Megdal checks in on Reeve’s mileposts along the way.
Reeve is on her way to claiming the mantle of the best WNBA coach ever. She’s coached the Lynx since 2010, racking up those 200 wins with the best winning percentage for any coach in WNBA history. She’s tied with Van Chancellor for the most titles for any coach (four).
And she’s only 51 years old, with just eight years in the hopper. She could do this for another 20 years, and while she won’t have Maya Moore and Sylvia Fowles all that time, she’s proven she has the chops to lead her team to victory. Congrats on the milestone.
Links galore
The NBA Draft is here! Coverage begins at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN. We’ll have live coverage, of course, including piping hot takes as they present themselves from yours truly.
O’Donnell’s nine draft sleepers you want on your favorite team.
I wrote about why it doesn’t really matter if players refuse to visit or give medical info to teams in the lottery.
Kevin McHale was apparently spotted in the crowd at the president’s rally in Minnesota on Wednesday. McHale, as you know, works NBA broadcasts for TNT and NBA TV. “It will be interesting to see if there’s a reaction within the league,” he said, desperately avoiding all the landmines laying about.
Deandre Ayton has another weakness for his on-screen graphic: his sponsored tweet game needs work.
I had missed this: P.J. Tucker’s absolutely unreal list of sneakers worn in the 2018 playoffs.
Ryan Bernardoni’s rules for responsible team-building. Important to remember on draft day.
Dear Rockets fans: please don’t Yelp-bomb Ayesha Curry’s new restaurant in Houston because you’re mad your favorite team missed 27 straight three-pointers in an elimination game.
Zach Lowe on whether the Celtics should include Jaylen Brown in a potential trade package for Kawhi Leonard.
The Grizzlies are reportedly heavy with suitors trying to get the No. 4 pick away from them.
Dewayne Dedmon will eschew free agency. I like to think the market analysis told Dedmon’s camp he’d only likely get a little more money over his player option, and he already had vacation plans for early July.
Kyle O’Quinn, however, will enter free agency, giving the Knicks a bit more cap space and letting O’Quinn Island book some guests from a new fan base until, like, the regular season starts and everyone realizes O’Quinn Island is no place to winter.
It’s time for John Wall to put the pressure on the Wizards to improve.
What we can learn from the last time Nick Nurse was a head coach.
Six things that could get the Mavericks back to the playoffs.
Kill the NBA Draft. Bomani and Pablo make a great case.
Where to cry in public in Boston, mapped. Just in case, I suppose.
And finally: I would watch this fake sitcom Play by Play as imagined by Jimmy Fallon, the top prospects, and friends.
Be excellent to each other.
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