New general manager and president of basketball operations Travis Schlenk hardly moved into his new Atlanta office before purging the Hawks’ payroll of the $47 million still owed to underperforming veteran center Dwight Howard.
Schlenk and the Hawks traded Howard, who signed a three-year, $70.5 million deal to return to his hometown last summer, and the No. 31 overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft to the Charlotte Hornets in exchange for guard Marco Belinelli, big man Miles Plumlee and the No. 41 overall pick, according to multiple reports.
The move reunites the future Hall of Famer with Hornets coach Steve Clifford, a former assistant with the Orlando Magic and Los Angeles Lakers during Howard’s respective tenures.