It seems unlikely that Howard will continue to accompany the Taoyuan Leopards.
Dwight Howard revealed his thoughts on his new contract in an interview with ‘TVBS’ on the 10th (Korean time).
Called ‘Superman’, Howard was once the best center in the NBA. Howard’s entry into Taiwan, which was heard in November last year, created a lot of talk. It is not uncommon for a star with the name value of Howard to advance to the Asian league.
The Howard Effect was significant. The Taiwan Professional Basketball T1 League Taoyuan Leopars, who accepted Howard as a team member, sold out all tickets for their 4 games at home in 10 minutes. Howard, who made his debut amidst enthusiastic cheers, performed tremendously with 38 points, 25 rebounds, 9 assists and 4 blocked shots.
Howard, who had his best start, averaged 23.2 points, 16.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists in his first season in the Taiwan League. Ranked 5th in scoring, 1st in rebounds and 5th in assists. He also showed a different style of play from his NBA days, such as attempting 3 or more 3-pointers per game.
Howard spent a splendid season winning the T1 League Best Foreign Player Award, first team and defensive first team, and All-Star selection. However, Howard’s joining did not lead to a rebound in Taoyuan’s performance.
Taoyuan, which had a lineup of foreign players including Howard, Deyonta Davis, another former NBA leaguer, and Michael Ifebra, who played for the KBL, finished with a record of 6 wins and 24 losses, remaining at the bottom of the six clubs. Ifebra also showed off his excellent scoring ability, scoring 50 points in one game, but couldn’t laugh because the team fell to the bottom.
As a result, the Taoyuan club wants Howard to take a significant salary cut of 65% compared to this season in contract negotiations. Howard’s salary last season was reported to be over $1 million.
Howard has missed nearly a third of the team’s schedule this season due to injury, but the club hopes that Howard will lead the team to victory in more games. Instead of taking a huge cut from his guaranteed base salary, he offered a contract that encouraged Howard to work harder for an incentive amount.
Qinwei Zhang, CEO of the Taoyuan club, said that Howard’s salary for the next season will be determined by a new calculation method that considers incentives based on wins and appearances in addition to the basic salary. He also emphasized that if he plays aggressively and contributes to a win, he will ensure that Howard’s total salary does not drop.안전놀이터
After hearing about the 65% cut, Howard is said to be deeply disappointed. At this rate, it seems unlikely that Howard will play in Taiwan next season.
Howard said: “I was offered a salary 65% less than when I first came to Taiwan. It felt very rude. I thought I brought a lot of value to the team. I was very disappointed. I felt I deserved more. All actions were to make Leopards the best.”
Howard recently expressed his intention to return to the NBA in an interview with other media outlets. How will the future of Howard, who has become opaque, be determined?