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Jazz GM Dishes on Jordan Clarkson's Future

Why Jazz Cannot Be Host to Dwight Howard’s Desired NBA Return

The Jazz need to stay clear of signing the former All-NBA center despite his comments in a recent interview.
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Utah Jazz
Utah Jazz

Among what many would consider one of the more controversial stars in recent NBA history, Dwight Howard is wanting to make his way back in the NBA. While he’s been unable to secure a roster spot in the league since the end of the 2021-22 season, he’s been putting up some numbers in Taiwan. Within the 20 games he played during the regular season, he looked like prime Dwight again, averaging 23.2 points, 16.2 rebounds, and 5.0 assists.

After his season with the Taoyuan Leopards ended, he voiced his desire to return back to play in the NBA for what would be his 19th season in the league:

“I would love to finish off my career with an NBA team, hopefully win an NBA championship. But if not, then I’ve enjoyed playing basketball for so long and I’m just thankful I’ve had the opportunity to travel and play in the NBA. It’s the best life.

- Dwight Howard, via FanDuel TV

While Dwight is an exciting player to watch and one of the more entertaining personalities in the league, the Utah Jazz shouldn’t look too much into this. He’ll be turning 38 years old in December, and besides LeBron James, virtually no players that old are contributing valuable minutes to an NBA roster. Especially when it’s one in the current state of the Jazz.

At this point in the Jazz’s rebuild, all focus needs to be giving the most opportunity to young and versatile players to build for the future. Dwight Howard’s Taiwan play may tell you another story, but he won’t be replicating that production at the highest level of basketball in the world. Therefore, the roster spot that would be used for D12 would be better used elsewhere.

Respect to the years of service he’s put into the league, but his playing days would be much better suited on a more competitive roster. For the Jazz, they’ll need all the space on the roster they can get considering their incoming three first round picks.

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