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On Thursday April 18, Zach Lowe of ESPN reported that Dwight Howard will opt-in to the second year of his contract which will be worth about $5.6 million.
Not a shocker obviously, but Dwight Howard has opted into his $5.6 million deal for next season (player option) with Washington, sources say.
— Zach Lowe (@ZachLowe_NBA) April 19, 2019
The decision is not surprising. Howard only played nine games in the 2018-19 season for Washington where he averaged 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game. While these are solid numbers for almost any low post player, they are also career-lows for him.
Howard missed nearly all of last season due to various injuries and had back surgery in November. Since Thomas Bryant became the starting center for the bulk of last season, there is no guarantee that Howard will reclaim a starting spot. It will be very interesting to see how the offseason progresses this summer.