Markus Howard drives the ball between two rivals during a duel between the Denver Nuggets and the Brooklyn Nets /
The Barça club is studying the signing of the 23-year-old point guard from New Jersey, with hardly any prominence in his last two courses at the Denver Nuggets
Baskonia tries to break through in a summer market in which, for now, it is a secondary protagonist. While the great references of the Euroleague build their squads, the Barça entity awaits its turn to recruit players that adapt to its economic availability. Of course, work your options in the shade aware that summer is long. Among his priorities is the complete renewal of the base position, where he is considering the option of hiring Markus Howard, as EL CORREO has been able to confirm. He is a 23-year-old, 1.80-meter American point guard who has been part of the Denver Nuggets squad for the past two seasons with little prominence.
Court scoring player, with no experience in Europe, but with basketball virtues that are worth betting on. Baskonia looks to Markus Howard and to a market, the American, in which he believes that he can find what he needs to rebuild a squad that, at this time, has no payroll base. The big bet at the start of the summer focused on the renewal of Wade Baldwin’s contract, a failed move from the moment Maccabi intervened with a powerful economic proposal that made any option to extend his employment in Vitoria impossible. At the same time, the Barça entity opted to dispense with Jayson Granger by making use of the exit clause that was included in the Uruguayan’s contract. These were two moves that have placed Baskonia under the obligation to find two new game directors, a demarcation that is always highly requested in each market window and for which the big Euroleague clubs usually save a significant portion of their budget for spending on template.
Given its economic status, the Barça entity escapes the possibility of courting established names or those with proven experience in continental basketball. The need and the limitations force him to turn the radar towards the possible surpluses that the American market may generate. Markus Howard is part of a conglomerate of players with ambitions to continue in the NBA wheel, but with an open door to try out in Europe.
In principle, the logical priority of the point guard born Morristown (New Jersey) is to stay within the circle of privilege of the best world competition, which in the last two seasons has only given him a dual contract with the Nuggets, a low-paid link and that kept him on horseback between the squad in which the masterful Nikola Jokic shines and the subsidiary team of the Development League, the Grand Rapids Gold. A case traced to that of so many other players who go out of their way to take advantage of any crack that allows them to prosper in the NBA. Markus Howard has tried over the past two seasons, but he has never been a piece of coach Michael Malone’s confidence. Now, he is presented with the crossroads of continuing to try his luck in the United States or looking for a new destination in Europe. Baskonia tries to put itself in the best position in case the player chooses to pack his bags to cross the Atlantic.
height issue
Markus Howard’s still short basketball career is marked by a brilliant college career at Marquette and subsequent problems to prosper in the professional field. His four NCAA seasons yielded dazzling averages of 21.6 points, 3.1 assists and 42% shooting from 3-point range. However, his low height (1.80 meters) has been a setback to adapt to the physical demands of the NBA. The 2020 draft passed by for the New Jersey player, but the Denver Nuggets took over his services. From there, two campaigns without too many opportunities to now give way to a summer in which he must turn around a career that is still capable of straightening out at 23 years old.
