Free agent center Dwight Howard agreed to a three-year, $70.5 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks, multiple media outlets reported Friday.
Howard is a native of Atlanta, and Howard agreed to join the Hawks after his first meeting with an NBA team.
“It was a really, really, really good meeting,” a source told ESPN.com. “Very impressive. Dwight’s going to look at all his options. But it went very, very well.”
Howard had drawn interest from the Boston Celtics among others. Howard had scheduled meetings with other clubs on Saturday, but canceled them after agreeing to the deal with Atlanta.
The deal averages $23.5 million per year in salary.
If the Hawks renounce the rights to Kirk Hinrich and Kris Humphries as expected, they will have $22.4 million in salary cap space. The Hawks could probably sign only one of their own free agents, either Al Horford or Kent Bazemore.
Howard was one of several free-agent big men this summer, which also includes Hassan Whiteside, Joakim Noah, Bismack Biyombo,Timofey Mozgov and Al Jefferson. Biyombo is the only one who has not agreed to terms with a team.
Howard is an eight-time All-Star who has won three Defensive Player of the Year Awards. Howard has averaged 17.8 points and 12.7 rebounds in his career with the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets. This past season for the Rockets, Howard averaged 13.7 points and 11.8 rebounds.