We all learned from the saga in Orlando, that when Dwight Howard has a major decision to make things can be dragged out as long as possible. Dwight isn’t even an official free agent until July 1st, but we have our first update in what might become to be known as ‘Dwightmare 2.’
The speculation has been heavy that if Dwight doesn’t return to LA, two teams in Texas have the best shot at acquiring the talents of the 27 year old center. Specifically, the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks. According to CBS Sports’ Ken Berger, Howard is at the very least intrigued by the possibility of playing with the teams.
With six weeks to go before Howard becomes an unrestricted free agent, the team that is said to intrigue him the most is the Houston Rockets, according to multiple people briefed on internal conversations surrounding Howard’s free-agent decision. The Rockets have a young star, James Harden, who has proved himself worthy of playing the leading role for the franchise; a budding 3-point shooting threat in Chandler Parsons; a defensive-minded coach in Kevin McHale; and Omer Asik, the kind of 7-footer Howard is believed to want next to him in the frontcourt.
It’s up to you to determine how much stock you want to put into a report like this. As with Dwight, we know things can change over night as far as what he wants.
I will say that I think the Lakers have every expectation that Dwight will be back in the purple and gold next season. Worth noting, I spent some time last week at the NBA Draft combine in Chicago earlier last week. I ended up seated directly behind Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak and head coach Mike D’Antoni. This may have been just a coincidence or something deeper. But when the centers hit the floor to work out for teams, both Kupchak and D’Ant0ni left their seats and decided not to watch them work out. I read it as a “we already have our franchise center” movement.
If these reports are true and Dwight could take his talents elsewhere, I think Kupchak and D’Antoni might regret not looking at some of the incoming big men in this draft.