Matt Slocum/Associated Press

If the Atlanta Hawks decide to trade Dwight Howard, the return for the 31-year-old center would be minimal.

Per ESPN's Kevin Arnovitz, who polled eight NBA front office executives, the best possible Hawks return for dealing Howard would be a second-round draft pick and salary-cap relief.

Howard was Atlanta's big free-agent signing last summer, getting a fully guaranteed three-year deal worth $70.5 million to take the place of Al Horford, who later signed with the Boston Celtics.

ESPN.com's Zach Lowe reported in January the Hawks had "exploratory talks" with the New Orleans Pelicans about a deal involving Howard.

It was not an easy homecoming for Howard, who is from Atlanta. His 13.5 points per game marked his lowest scoring average since his rookie season in 2004-05, and he averaged a career-low 29.7 minutes per game.

In Atlanta's playoff series loss against the Washington Wizards, Howard only scored more than 10 points once and played less than 30 minutes in five of the six games.