Free agent center Dwight Howard is scheduled to bring an end to the "Dwightmare" with his decision to sign with one of his many suitors Friday, but the development of a new surprise team has stirred up rumors about who are the leading frontrunners for the coveted all-star.
The Golden State Warriors were one of five teams granted access to recruit Howard this week and are now widely considered as one of the top teams to sign Howard.
Sources say the Warriors got Howard's attention during this week thanks to their pitch, which featured owner Joe Lacob, coach Mark Jackson, general manager Bob Myers and special Warriors consultant Jerry West.
However, the Warriors only hope to land Howard rest on how fast they could remove three huge expiring contracts from their roster in Andrew Bogut ($14 million), Richard Jefferson ($11 million) and Andris Biedrins ($9 million).
If they manage to do so, the potential partnering of Howard with the Warriors core of Stephen Curry, Klay Thompson and Harrison Barnes appear promising.
Since their season ended, Howard has been very quiet about what he's thinking about before free agency kicks off, but he's remained clear that he's going to continue to take his time to weigh his options.
"This is my chance to choose my own destiny instead of letting someone else choose it. So I'm going to really sit down and think about what is best for me as far as basketball and what is going to make me happy."
"There's nothing one team can say to sway me away from another team. It's just going to be what's best for me basketball-wise. That's how I'm going to approach it."
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