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G-League 26/11/2013, 19.21

Josh Howard is determined to try to work his way back to the NBA through the D-League

Howard suffered several knee injuries

G-League

Josh Howard, who signed a four-year, $40M deal contract when he was playing with the Wizards, is playing this season in D-League with the Austin Toros where he wants to prove that he is still a basketball player.
Howard will earn $25.000 for the entire season. But he is not worried because he loves basketball, the game he has played since he was a kid.
In the first game of the season Howard scored 16 points in Toros' loss to the Santa Cruz Warriors.

Per Yahoo Sports, It was less than four years ago that Josh Howard earned $10 million for the NBA season. He was playing for the Washington Wizards in the third season of a four-year, $40 million extension the Dallas Mavericks had given him. A former All-Star, the 2003 ACC Player of the Year at Wake Forest, and still just 30 years old, Howard appeared to have a handful of productive NBA seasons still ahead of him.
Then he tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Two years later, he suffered a meniscus tear in the same knee. Nine months after that, he tore the ACL in his right knee.
"Beggars can't be choosy is what my grandma said," Howard told Yahoo Sports. "I'm just happy to be out there playing.
"I love the game. Ultimately, this is a game I played as a kid to get outside of the house away from grandma and mama – 'You ain't going to make me vacuum today. I'm going to play ball.' "
Rather than attempt yet another comeback from knee surgery, Howard could have opted to retire. He said he's invested well and saved money after listening to Mavericks owner Mark Cuban.
"Cuban gave me a lot of good advice," Howard said. "I really wasn't a big spender."
Howard made his D-League debut against the Santa Cruz Warriors in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,600 on Friday. He forgot to bring his basketball shoes on the trip because he was accustomed to the trainer bringing them in the NBA, so the shoes needed to be overnight mailed in time for the game. With the crowd quiet during visiting team starting lineup introductions, Howard joked that he booed himself "to get my motor running."
Howard scored 16 points and made two 3-pointers during the Toros' 121-102. He said his knees are 100 percent now, but admitted he doesn't jump as high as he used to and no longer likes to dunk.After the game's final buzzer, he received a thank you for playing hard from a fan and his young son. Then Howard and his teammates went to the visiting locker room: a trailer that reminded him of his middle school classrooms.
"My body still feels like I'm 27 even though I'm 33," he said.

E. Carchia

E. Carchia

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