Dwight Howard Should Avoid the Los Angeles Lakers in Order to Win Multiple Rings

Dwight Howard’s time playing for the Orlando Magic may be coming to an end due to the team’s inability to surround him with strong enough players to make a legitimate title run. The Los Angeles Lakers are believed to be one of the front-runners in the race to secure a contract with the most dominating Center in the entire NBA. Although this would be a great move for L.A., Howard has a much larger chance of multiple championship runs and titles by starting the future of his career with a different franchise. 

The Lakers have been one of the best team’s in the NBA over the last decade but this has come at an extremely steep cost, as they are consistently one of the highest teams over the salary cap. The owners of the league are attempting to keep down the salaries of all the teams and are currently in negotiations with the players’ union to agree on a new collective bargaining agreement. This new CBA is unlikely to have a hard salary cap, but the salary cap is likely to be lowered and the cost of going over will likely be increased.

This year the Lakers already have 11 players under contract at a total of $91 Million. It will probably be near impossible to hold a roster this high over the salary cap with the new CBA that the owners are attempting to secure. Even if Dwight Howard were to be traded to the Lakers, he would need to re-sign with them for the 2012 season.

As the best Center in the NBA, he will easily command one of the highest salaries on whichever team he decides to join.  In 2012 the Lakers will have $56 million tied up in four players (Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol demanding $46 Million) and if Ron Artest and Derek Fisher exercise their player options the team will have over $67 Million on the books for six players. It is hard to see how the Lakers could fit Howard’s contract into the cap, even at a discount, while finding a remainder of the team to play at minimum salaries.

The next year would be even more difficult to sign supporting role players to the team as Kobe Bryant will be paid an extra $3 million, bringing his salary to $30 Million. The team will have $61 Million on four players without Dwight Howard’s contract on their books. Kobe’s bloated salary and a possible change to the league salary cap constricts the ability for the Lakers to bring in the necessary role players to win a championship, even with Dwight Howard.

If the Lakers could determine a way to fit him into the financial scheme, the inability to sign strong bench players would make it a struggle for the first two years of Howard’s time in L.A. to win a championship. If they are unable to win in the first two years, Kobe will be well on the decline that is natural for an aging superstar and the team will be faced with making the decision of how to rebuild the team around Howard. Although it could be done, the doubt around a solid core for the years that could be Howard’s prime should be enough to dissuade him from joining the Lakers. 

The coaching change that has occurred for the Lakers could lead Howard looking elsewhere as well. If Phil Jackson were still coaching and would be for a few years, there is no doubt that Howard would find the coaching to be a great situation. The issue that could come up for L.A. is that there are other coaches in the league who have proven there ability as the coach of a championship team and have a young superstar to help Howard win championships. 

Dwight Howard would be putting himself in a much better situation if he decided to leave Orlando and join a team other than the Lakers. Although they should still be considered, teams like the Chicago Bulls, Boston Celtics, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks and Oklahoma City Thunder all offer a solid core for years to come. 

The Chicago Bulls would provide Dwight Howard with Derrick Rose, who is young enough to help Howard win championship over almost a decade and has a head coach with an extremely defensive-minded coaching style. The Boston Celtics would provide Howard a transition period with the Big Three (depending on who retires after this year), while allowing a simultaneous rebuild around Rajon Rondo, Jeff Green and himself. Not to mention Doc Rivers is signed on for five more years, giving Howard one of the best coaches in the NBA at his side during his prime years.

The New Jersey Nets are a rising team that, if Derron Williams re-signs, could put together a strong group of players around Williams and Howard. The owner has made it clear he will do anything in his power to win championships and that could be enough to persuade Howard. Oklahoma City would require some movements to be made as they have two centers already signed, but a core of Russell Westbrook, Kevin Durant and Dwight Howard would be nearly unstoppable in the west.

The New York Knicks are not the best fit for Howard, but they still provide him with scoring support and a stronger core with Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire. The bright lights of New York could bring Howard to the big city in search of championships and a different lifestyle than what he experienced in Orlando.

Overall the Los Angeles Lakers can’t provide Howard with as great of an opportunity over the long term as some of the other teams. Playing with Kobe Bryant would greatly help Howard, even as he ages he is still one of the best players in the game, but after Kobe leaves the game or declines more Howard would be all but alone again. He has a greater chance of winning multiple titles during his career if he joins a different team.