Hawks agree to trade Dwight Howard to the Hornets; Brook Lopez heading to L.A.

Center signed a deal with hometown team last July for 3 years

The Hawks agreed to trade center Dwight Howard to the Hornets, a source told ESPN’s Marc J. Spears.

Charlotte is sending Miles Plumlee, Marco Belinelli and the 41st pick in Thursday’s draft to Atlanta for Howard and the 31st pick, the source said.

Howard signed a threeyear, $70.5 million deal with his hometown Hawks last July. He averaged 13.5 points and 12.7 rebounds per game in his lone season in Atlanta.

This is the first trade made by new Hawks general manager Travis Schlenk.

Brook Lopez heads to L.A.

The Lakers are trading D’Angelo Russell and Timofey Mozgov to the Nets for Brook Lopez and the 27th overall pick in the draft, sources told ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne.

The cap-clearing deal for Los Angeles, which sets the team up for a run toward at least one max free agent next summer, was first reported by The Vertical.

Cavs still have interest.

The Cavaliers remain seriously interested in trading for Chicago’s Jimmy Butler or Indiana’s Paul George but have encountered significant obstacles on both fronts, per league sources.

Sources said the Cavaliers have been notified that Butler hopes to stay with the Bulls and would be reluctant to commit his longterm future to Cleveland. Butler, sources said, remains intent on trying to lead the Bulls back to Eastern Conference prominence.

When it comes to George, meanwhile, ESPN reported the Pacers commenced trade talks with the Lakers, who overwhelmingly rank as George’s preferred destination as his own free agency looms in the summer of 2018.

Wade picks up option

● chicago» Dwyane Wade informed the Bulls that he will pick up his $23.8 million player option for next season, a league source said.

Team personnel believed for several months that the 35-year-old would pick up the option because it was highly unlikely he would be offered that much money on the open market.

Gasol seeks new deal.

Pau Gasol will not exercise the player option on his contract for next year but intends to sign a new deal with the Spurs when free agency opens in July.

Gasol declined the $16 million option on his contract. The 7-foot center made the move with the expectation of signing a new multiyear deal that will reduce his annual salary but give him more security.

Harden extension likely.

The Rockets plan to offer James Harden another contract extension.

Harden is currently on the books for $28.29 million in 2017-18, $30.42 million in 2018-19 and $32.7 million in 2019-20, which is a player option season.

Footnotes.

The Knicks are listening to inquiries from other clubs about trading Kristaps Porzingis. … The Clippers are gauging the market for trading DeAndre Jordan and contacted the Suns about a deal involving Phoenix’s No. 4 pick.