Dwight Howard says Taoyuan Leopard’s plan to cut his pay by 65% for the next season
Howard said the pay cut was “very disappointing” and he felt that he deserved more
Dwight Howard has been offered a huge paycut by the Taoyuan Leopards to remain in Taiwan one more season.
Howard averagted 23.2 points, 16.2 rebounds and 5 assists per game in 20 games in Taiwanese league.
Per Taiwannews, In an interview with TVBS on Wednesday (June 7), Howard said the Leopards offered him a contract that would provide 65% less in salary than what they gave him in his first season. He said this was “very disrespectful” as he felt that he had “brought value to the team.”
Howard said the pay cut was “very disappointing” and he felt that he deserved more. The team’s CEO, Chang Chien-wei (張建偉) told the news agency that Howard’s salary next season would be based on a new calculation method.
Chang said that during this past season, Howard played 20 out of 30 games and missed the rest due to injuries. Therefore, under the new payment scheme, there is a “winning bonus, losing bonus, and non-bonus for not playing, combined with a fixed base salary.”
The CEO said that with the new incentive package, he hopes Howard can “play seriously and play hard.” He said that as long as Howard plays in the games and wins, the bonuses combined with the base pay rate will ensure his wage will not be lower than his previous salary.