The Golden State Warriors are reportedly trying to clear cap space in their continued pursuit of widely coveted free agent center Dwight Howard.
The Warriors weren’t among the favorites to land Howard, but Golden State was able to impress him during an in-person meeting. The Warriors were one of five teams that were granted a meeting with Howard, and ESPN reports that they gained ground on the predicted frontrunners — the Lakers, Rockets and Mavericks.
However, if Golden State wants to sign Howard, it will need to do one of two things, according to ESPN. It will either have to convince a team like the Lakers to agree to a sign-and-trade, or it will need to create cap space by shedding expiring contracts. Right now, the Warriors don’t have room for the $20 million Howard will likely demand.
The Lakers, though, look unwilling to agree to a sign-and-trade and would rather let Howard leave for nothing than take on extra salary-cap space to help out a division rival, the ESPN report states.
So, the Warriors will most likely need someone to pick up the contracts of Andrew Bogut, Richard Jefferson or Andris Biedrins, according to ESPN. The problem with this is that Golden State would have to give up assets or potentially one of their young talented players.
A source told ESPN that Howard wants to make his decision by Friday, so the Warriors will need to decide what they are going to do quickly.
