Will Dwight Howard Re-Sign with the L.A. Lakers?
Ever since Dwight Howard was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers at the beginning of August, all the talk has been pure speculation and loose predictions about, well, everything.
How well the Lakers will play together, whether or not Howard is a legitimate MVP candidate, how good the Lakers defense will be with Howard in the middle, whether or not Howard is right for the spotlight of Los Angeles. Basically everything that has to do with Howard playing with the Lakers has been discussed twice.
A few days ago, I wrote a bit about what the Lakers are going to need to do to ensure that Howard is still playing for them beyond this season. However, I realized that I never really answered the question of whether or not he would actually stay.
Here's what we know right now.
First of all, Brooklyn is no longer an option. The only way Howard would be able to end up with the Nets next season would be if the Lakers agreed to a sign-and-trade after this season. Seeing as how there isn't much the Lakers would want (outside of Deron Williams), it seems to be an unlikely scenario.
Beyond that, the only other team that Howard has expressed any interest in joining is Dallas. This came at a time when Howard was looking for a way out of Orlando. Dallas was there; they had a good player to team with and an owner with bottomless pockets. It's an attractive destination, without a doubt.
However, the problem arises that Los Angeles is going to be able to offer Howard another year and bigger raises each year as the owners of his Bird rights, meaning Howard would walk away from a year of financial security and nearly $30 million if he signed with Dallas straight up. Once again, the only way around this would be a sign-and-trade, which wouldn't be very lucrative for the Lakers.
What may seem suspicious to people will be when Howard declines the maximum extension that Los Angeles will likely offer him during the season. It's not something any superstar signs anymore because they can only get four years out of it, rather than five years if they re-sign after becoming a free agent.
Everything really only leads to one conclusion: Howard is staying.
Oh sure, there are tons of factors that have yet to be explored and really can't be until training camp starts. Kobe and Dwight might not get along; Howard might not be fond of the scrutiny of the Los Angeles media; Howard might be playing the biggest prank ever and might just re-sign with Orlando to screw with us; Metta World Peace might bite Howard in practice. All are entirely possible.
However, there are too many signs pointing toward Howard staying in Los Angeles, which might be the best thing for him in the long run. He'll get to play nice with the media for a few weeks, fans will see him dunk once and block a shot or two, and he's going to be immediately accepted.
Sure, in every other city in the league there is going to be hostility, but it seems like it's going to be better for Howard to stay with the Lakers, who have a large fanbase, rather than risk being further ostracized if he were to spurn the Lakers next season.
The deal going through at all was a good sign that the Lakers had some inkling that Howard would re-sign with them after the upcoming season. Mitch Kupchak isn't one to throw caution to the wind with the entire future of the franchise hanging in the balance.
There are just too many factors working against Howard ending up on another team that would both be deemed acceptable by Howard's narrow requirements and would have the cap space to sign him if it were to become a possibility.
Get used to seeing the best center in the NBA on the Lakers for a while; it's not like it's a feeling that's hard to remember.
