Joel Embiid Recruited Dwight Howard to the Sixers

With a little help from Joel Embiid, the Sixers managed to get Dwight Howard to Philly.

The opening of free agency on Friday night was a strange time for Dwight Howard. After having a successful comeback season with the Los Angeles Lakers, the champion center believed he'd get an offer to return in the purple and gold.

Howard thought he had a one-year deal worth $3 million ready to be accepted. That's when the 33-year-old veteran took to Twitter to say this:

"I'm staying right where I belong. Laker Nation, I love ya'll. Purple and gold never gets old."

Not even two minutes later, the tweet vanished. As it turned out, Howard was not returning to the Lakers as the offer wasn't official. While the big man waited for everything to be sorted out, the Philadelphia 76ers began working on flipping Howard's decision to return to L.A. to come and play in Philly instead.

According to Chris Haynes of Yahoo Sports, Sixers center Joel Embiid was an important factor as he began to recruit Howard to the 76ers. Then, there's also Daryl Morey, who once signed Howard to the Houston Rockets back in 2013.

Howard gave it some time on Friday night. As he was intrigued with Philly, the veteran center was impatiently waiting for a call from the Lakers with an offer. After not hearing back from the Lakers for over an hour but constantly hearing from the Sixers who were described as "ultra-aggressive," Howard decided to join the 76ers.

Now, Dwight Howard will become Joel Embiid's backup. The big man's deal is reportedly worth $2.6 million for one season.

Justin Grasso covers the Philadelphia 76ers for Sports Illustrated. You can follow him on Twitter: @JGrasso_