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The Atlanta Hawks completely shocked the NBA on Tuesday night. While the trade rumors around the league seem to be picking up steam ahead of the 2017 NBA draft, the Hawks made a trade of their own, which included their starting center. The decision left many stunned, as the team has agreed to trade center Dwight Howard after just one season, according to ESPN’s Marc J. Spears.
The Atlanta Hawks have agreed to trade center Dwight Howard to the Charlotte Bobcats, source tell ESPN’s The Undefeated.
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpearsESPN) June 21, 2017
Spears, who corrected himself after calling Charlotte by the wrong name, broke the news, but soon after The Vertical’s Adrian Wojnarowski broke the full details of the trade, which are equally as surprising.
Sources: Charlotte is sending Miles Plumlee, Marco Belenelli and 41st pick to Atlanta for Dwight Howard and 31st pick.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojVerticalNBA) June 21, 2017
It’s a shocking move by the Hawks, as Howard was just one year into his tenure with his hometown team. In his first season, Howard averaged 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds per game, which is the most rebounds he’s averaged since the 2011-12 season with the Orlando Magic.
The timing probably couldn’t have been worse for Howard, who posted on Twitter asking fans to give him their thoughts about the draft and potential trades that could happen.
As you can imagine, multiple fans immediately jump on the tweet, giving all kinds of responses to the uncomfortable situation.
Charlotte sounds nice, right?
— Anthony F. Irwin (@AnthonyIrwinLA) June 21, 2017
The 31-year-old center will now head to the fifth different team of his career in the Hornets. Charlotte, on the other hand, needed a consistent center, although Cody Zeller had shown flashes of being consistent and could play alongside Howard. It’s not all bad news for Howard, as he’ll play alongside an All-Star caliber point guard in Kemba Walker on a team who won 48 games in 2015-16.
Possibly the most surprising part of the deal is that the Hornets actually got to swap their No. 41 pick for the No. 31 pick as well. The Hawks really must have wanted to get rid of Howard’s contract, which includes cap hits of $23.5 million and over $23.8 million the next two seasons.
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Jeff Smith is a sports writer for Heavy.com. Jeff has covered a wide range of sports for ESPN, FOX Sports, Bleacher Report, USA TODAY SMG and other companies. He can be reached by email at Jeff.Smith@heavy.com. Follow him on Twitter @JSM8ith.June 20, 2017 9:35 pm
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