Dwight Howard is seeking a contract starting at $24 million per season.

Howard is expected to conduct his meetings in his hometown of Atlanta with the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics securing the first meetings.

The Portland Trail Blazers and Charlotte Hornets are also interested in Howard.

Howard declined his $23.2 million player option for 16-17 with the Houston Rockets to become a free agent.

Al Horford wants to see the Atlanta Hawks improve their roster this offseason before committing to sign long-term with the team.

The Hawks traded away Jeff Teague before the draft to acquire the 12th overall pick that became Taurean Prince. Kent Bazemore is also a free agent of the Hawks.

Atlanta has been swept in each of the past two playoffs by the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Horford was an All-Star in 2015 and 2016 as the Hawks had a resurgence under Mike Budenholzer.

According to Mark Berman of Fox Houston, the Houston Rockets will meet with Horford on Friday.

The Oklahoma City Thunder are pursuing Al Horford and have been making calls around the NBA looking to clear a massive amount of cap space.

Horford played for Billy Donovan at Florida and the two remain close.

The Thunder have a vacancy at power forward following their trade of Serge Ibaka to the Orlando Magic.

Enes Kanter and Kyle Singler have been shopped to teams with cap space.

In conversations with rival teams, the Thunder have indicated they will know which route they are taking early in July.

The Atlanta Hawks would like to re-sign Kent Bazemore but he'll receive significant interest in free agency.

The Milwaukee Bucks, Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets are three teams that will pursue Bazemore.

Bazemore has emerged as a productive two-way wing over the past two seasons with the Hawks.

Bazemore began his career with the Golden State Warriors.

Dwight Howard has scheduled free agent meetings after July 1st with both the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics.

Howard is a free agent three seasons after signing with the Houston Rockets in 2013. Howard declined his $23.2 million player option with the Rockets for the 16-17 season.

The Celtics have pursued Howard in the past via trade.

Howard is a native of Atlanta and has received interest from the Hawks previously. Paul Millsap is under contract at power forward for the Hawks, while Al Horford will be a free agent.

Howard could meet with as many as five teams in free agency. The Miami Heat have yet to book a meeting with Howard but could emerge after showing preliminary interest.

The Los Angeles Lakers' top priority in free agency is Kevin Durant but they are also interested in Harrison Barnes, Hassan Whiteside and Al Horford.

The Lakers have enough cap space to sign multiple max contract players.

Los Angeles also hired Luke Walton as head coach and they feel he and their young players make for an attractive situation to prospective free agents as they try to turnaround after multiple seasons of a rebuild.

The Atlanta Hawks will compete to re-sign Al Horford with the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets, Orlando Magic, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Boston Celtics and Brooklyn Nets.

Horford is a free agent for the first time in his career.

The Hawks can offer Horford a fifth season and more lucrative raises than any rival team. Atlanta's offseason goal appear to be to re-sign Horford and Kent Bazemore.

Horford has been an All-Star in each of the past two seasons.

The Atlanta Hawks have interest in both Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard this offseason.

The Hawks hope the presence of Grant Hill can help them secure a meeting with Durant.

Howard is a native of Atlanta and he'll be a free agent after declining his $23 million player option with the Houston Rockets.

Atlanta's offseason priorities also remain re-signing Al Horford and Kent Bazemore.

While the Golden State Warriors will pursue Kevin Durant as their first option in free agency, they have alternate plans in place and that includes going after a big.

The Warriors believe they can't thrive without a center who attacks the rim and scores inside.

Golden State is considering pursuing Al Horford, Joakim Noah and Hassan Whiteside.

Opposing defenses began to abandon Andrew Bogut and Festus Ezeli, which made stopping the Warriors' primary options simpler.

Isaia Cordinier had a promise to be picked by a team selecting in the late 30s or early 40s of the second round.

Cordinier asked teams not to pick him because he was guaranteed to be brought to the NBA immediately but the team reneged on the promise at the last minute.

Cordinier ended up being picked at 40th overall by the Atlanta Hawks.

Cordinier will likely sign a one-year deal in France and join the Hawks in 2017.