Atlanta Hawks trade rumors 2016: After Dwight Howard addition, Hawks look formidable

Dwight Howard of the Atlanta Hawks. | Wikimedia Commons/Richard Giles

For the Atlanta Hawks, picking up Dwight Howard was a calculated risk, but they are definitely hoping that things will pay off.

After losing Al Horford to the Boston Celtics, the Hawks immediately needed to find a replacement if they want to remain relevant in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Luckily, they were able to convince Howard to come to Atlanta and signed him to a three-year, $70.5 million deal in July.

This means that Howard is set to earn around $23.1 million in the coming season, with only small increments for the next two years.

However, the biggest thing that the Hawks are getting is a reliable and durable center who can score on the block and play excellent defense.

With that, Fan Sided revealed that they believe the Hawks can stay afloat and even win the Southeast Division in the coming season.

They were quick to say that the partnership that may be developed by Howard and Paul Millsap will definitely help the team, as it will continue to spread the floor for shooters like Kyle Korver and Dennis Schroder to operate.

The article pointed out that the lack of a go-to scorer may be a weakness, but the line-up has a lot of capable players who can make a collective effort to get the victory.

Today's Fastbreak pointed out that Howard has been working hard to develop a dependable game near the perimeter.

Everyone knows that Howard is dangerous a few feet from the rim, but put him on the free throw line and things are different.

The article shows some clips on Howard shooting from the stripe, and he has a considerably different motion that should help him drain more than he did last year.

There are also some clips of him around 15-feet from the ring, and though it is different as it is in practice, it is good to see the center developing something other than catching lobs for a dunk.