Suns Rival Watch: Dwight Howard to Meet With Warriors
The Phoenix Suns are seemingly in an arms race to dethrone the Denver Nuggets as Western Conference champs. Their side of the NBA playoff bracket will undoubtedly become a gauntlet with a "last man standing" feeling to whoever escapes to the NBA Finals.
The Suns have done their best to re-tool their roster, but so too have their closest rivals. Earlier this morning, The Athletic's Shams Charania reported the Los Angeles Lakers inked Jarred Vanderbilt to a four-year extension.
Now, the Golden State Warriors could potentially be adding to their arsenal.
The Athletic is reporting Golden State will meet with center Dwight Howard, who would give them much needed size in the paint.
Howard's a very decorated center and is looking to play his 19th season in the NBA after playing in Taiwan last year. He is a previous NBA champion with the Los Angeles Lakers, an eight-time All-Star and five first-team All-NBA appearances among other numerous accolades that include Defensive Player of the Year, pacing the NBA in rebounds five times and leading the league in blocks twice.
The Athletic on why Howard makes sense in Golden State:
"The Warriors remain too short in the frontcourt within a conference Nikola Jokić currently rules. They have Kevon Looney as their sturdy starting center, Draymond Green as the perpetual small-ball turbo option and Dario Šarić giving them some useful frontcourt depth. But that still doesn’t feel like quite enough.
"There are several people in the building who believe a true 7-footer who could bump around the interior, grab a few rebounds and commit a few fouls on certain nights and in certain matchups would really finalize the roster. Among the available veteran free-agent candidates, Howard has the most upside."
The Suns hope their offseason additions can outweigh others around the Pacific division after all five teams cracked the postseason.
Phoenix will play Golden State to begin the NBA season on Oct. 24.
