There were tears. Lots of tears.
Dwight Howard and Kent Bazemore were home, Howard returning to while Bazemore remained in the city of Atlanta.
Both Hawks players got emotional at a press conference to announce their signings Wednesday at the William Walker Recreation Center.
Bazemore teared up first during his opening remarks upon his signing a four-year, $70 million contract as an unrestricted free agent to remain with the Hawks.
“I couldn’t choose a better place to be,” Bazemore said. “I said I wasn’t going to get emotional but people have embraced me and this feels like home. … It’s not often in this league where you can say to want something to happen and it happens. So when you get to come back, it’s just that much more special.”
Howard signed a three-year, $70.5 million contract to return to the city where he was born and raised. Minutes later, he joined in the waterworks when he mentioned his family.
“I happy to be home,” Howard said. “I know I am in a totally different place physically, mentally and spiritually than I was three years ago. I don’t think three years ago I would be the man I am today. This is really a new beginning for me. I’m happy to share that with my loved ones.”
Howard, an eight-time All-Star, met with the Hawks on July 1, the first day of the NBA free agency period. Part of the meeting was scheduled to be a 10-minute conversation with coach Mike Budenholzer. The two ended up talking for nearly two hours, according to Howard. The two first connected three years ago when the Hawks met with Howard before he signed with the Rockets.
This time the end result was different. This was the right time to return to Atlanta.
“I was like ‘Man, I don’t even need to meet with anybody else. I don’t need to see anybody else. I’m coming to Atlanta,’” Howard said.
Howard’s family has been praying for him to come home and play for the Hawks. His father said he planted the seed on several occasions. The two talked Tuesday night and Howard was surprised how his father kept up on the Hawks’ roster moves and how they would be good for his son.
“You have to understand Dwight,” Dwight Howard Sr. said. “He don’t want to say my dad told me to do this. So, I just have to say ‘You know, Atlanta is a blessing.’ I can’t drive it in but I can throw it out there.”
There are several concerns about Howard, including his health, his past performance and how he will fit into Budenholzer’s system.
Howard maintains that he is healthy and that other than a five-day break to go fishing in Mexico, he has been working out since the end of the season.
Of the notion of a negative public perception, Howard acknowledges a chip on his shoulder to prove naysayers wrong.
“I can’t sit up here and say it doesn’t affect me,” Howard said. “But I think all the negativity and what people said in the past made me upset. It’s put me in a place where I want to come back with a new me, a new Dwight. What better way to do it than in front of my family and friends.”
Budenholzer insisted that Howard can fit in the system which calls for the power forward and center to be interchangeable. Howard can’t stretch the floor with a limited shooting range but he can put pressure on the rim. That is critical, according to Budenholzer, who worked with such players like David Robinson and Tim Duncan as an assistant with the Spurs. In fact, he may be more comfortable with it.
“It’s great to have somebody who is going to roll and put pressure on the rim and have shooting around him,” Budenholzer said. “I think it’s going to work well. In a lot of ways, we’ve adjusted to who we’ve had the first three years and in some ways, it will be going back to what I know maybe even better and maybe even more comfortable with having someone who can put that kind of pressure on the rim.”
Howard announced his uniform number change following the press conference. After wearing No. 12 his entire career, Howard will wear No. 8 with the Hawks. He said he couldn’t give a full explanation for the meaning of the new number because it would take quite a while. In biblical numerology, the number eight signifies a new beginning.
“Change is good,” Howard said before unveiling his new jersey.
