Report: Former NBA All-Star Josh Howard seeking training camp invite
It's been two long years since former All-Star Josh Howard competed in an NBA game, with a series of major injuries to both his knees seemingly cutting his career short.
Now, the 35-year-old wants back in the league. He is seeking a training camp invitation, in the hopes of cracking a roster for the upcoming season, according to Yahoo Sports' Marc Spears.
Howard, who has been working out at Impact in Las Vegas, is reportedly healthy enough to put his best foot forward in a potential comeback. Proving he has a clean bill of health should go a long way toward improving his chances, as it's going to be difficult for teams to overlook the beating his knees took during the tail end of his last NBA run.
In the span of a few short years, Howard managed to tear the ACLs in his left and right knees, and the meniscus in his left.
The strongest years of his 10-year career came with the Dallas Mavericks, who picked the Wake Forest alumnus 29th overall in the loaded 2003 NBA Draft. In 431 games in the Lone Star State, Howard averaged 15.3 points and six rebounds while shooting 44.8 percent from the field.
He was eventually traded to the Washington Wizards in a multi-player deal that landed Dallas Caron Butler and DeShawn Stevenson.
Howard also suited up for the Utah Jazz and Minnesota Timberwolves from 2011 to 2013, though he only played a combined 54 games during that time.
The Austin Toros of the NBA's Developmental League acquired Howard prior to the start of the 2013-14 season, offering him a deal worth $25,000. The team waived him the following February due to injury.
During an interview with Spears in 2013, Howard said he wanted to be the one to determine when his playing days are truly over.
"I'm a fighter. I will never quit," said Howard. "I want to go out on my own terms, not nobody cutting me, me walking out saying, 'I'm done.'"