There are at least three reasons why pursuing and signing Dwight Howard may not have been the best move.
We have been down this road before, an injury causes the Lakers to make a quick decision that
seems sound but really doesn’t end up working out. We won’t name players, but we’re sure you
could name a few.
Recently, Demarcus Cousins, our Lakers center we were so excited for and about, tore
his ACL in a practice. Devastating news, for him and everyone.
Steve Kerr came out and expressed his thoughts about the injury telling the media that he
knows that injuries are a part of the game but that Cousins has suffered “Two most feared
injuries for NBA players,” which is an injury to the Achilles and a torn ACL which can take a
player out for an entire season and that is almost unheard of. Everyone hopes Cousins recovers
but we don’t know what he has decided to do yet.
Thank goodness the Lakers re-signed JaVale McGee to the center position for the 2019
season, seemingly as the backup for Cousins. That’s a positive move since McGee has heart,
he has endeared himself to Lakers fans and has some huge upside. He’s not done developing
his game and he is a bright light on the bench. But it seems we need one more huge big or
versatile small big if that makes sense.
Names were floating around and tryouts were announced through Twitter, not officially from the
Lakers but it seem reasonable. Names floated around were Dwight Howard, Joakim Noah, and
Gortat according to Adrian Wojnarowski, “[…] Lakers planning workouts with available centers,
including Joakim Noah and Dwight Howard. Marcin Gortat is a consideration, too.” Tania
Ganguli added Marreese Speights to the list of players the Lakers are working out.
I was more in favor of Kenneth Faried. He did not get a tryout.
Faried was the better option, he can play multiple positions and he has a longer career ahead of
him because he’s younger. He hustles, he’s a glue guy that plays defense and fills multiple stats
columns. In 2018-19 he averaged 24.4 minutes scoring 12.9 points, 8.2 rebs, .7 Assists, .6
steals and .8 blocks per game making 58.7% from of his field goals. Faried is a game-changer.
He can come into a game and change the outcome. That’s what the Lakers needed.
Reason No. 1 – Dwight Howard had his chance on the Lakers
Fans we spoke to felt Dwight couldn’t handle the pressure in Los Angeles, that he ran away as
soon as he got the chance and showed hardly any respect to the city or organization after
leaving. It was rumored that Kobe Bryant thought he was soft.
When the Lakers tried to keep Howard when he was a free agent back in the 2013 offseason,
the Lakers pulled out all the stops and literally begged him to stay when he was 27 and the
league’s top center including billboards. He didn’t. Instead, he chose to sign with the Lakers rival
Houston Rockets. Howard was supposed to be and signed on to be the Lakers franchise star.
Lakers fans had to swallow the huge pill, and it was nasty going down.
Howard is now 33-year-old who will be playing in his 15th season in the NBA has played for four
teams since the Lakers, Houston (who he chose over the Lakers in 2013), Atlanta Hawks,
Charlotte Hornets, and the Washington Wizards. He carried none of them to the Championship
as well as suffering several injuries along the way. The 6-foot-11 Center only played in nine
games last season.
On July 6, 2019, the Washington Wizards traded Howard to the Memphis Grizzlies for C.J.
Miles. The Grizzlies have granted access to the Lakers for a tryout, but this Lakers fan wants
them to release Andre Iguodala, not Howard.
If you are a potential franchise player and you rejected one of the most storied franchises in the
league disappointing the fans, it can only mean disaster for the Lakers. There are enough fans
upset at even the thought of Howard coming back to the Lakers to make this whole discussion a
no-go.
Reason No. 2 – Off-the-court Issues
Dwight Howard has been caught shacking up in hotels with 16-year-old young women. Granted
it was legal in the state he did it in, but that behavior is ripe for potential trouble.
He recently injured his back and on Nov. 30, 2018, he had back surgery in Atlanta last season.
Howard has ranked No. 1 in six seasons during his NBA career in Defensive and Total
Rebounds (2007-2012). In 2008 and 2009, Howard ranked No. 1 in blocks as well.
He’s played on seven teams and he seems to have stayed the same guy with the same result.
Howard’s brand has suffered a bit with Twitter rumors about his sexuality, and that should not
be a factor, but when you combine that with 16-year Old women, it gets murky and risky for a
franchise.
One rumor is that Howard is not a great teammate, he is not a locker room guy. Zach
Lowe spoke about what types of things go down in a Howard locker room on a podcast
Lowe: You ask why, and one account was, like, Dwight would give these speeches
before the game about how everyone is playing hard, we want unity, we’re going to
… and then go out and play like a blah game where he demands post touches and
doesn’t rotate as hard as he could. And everyone is like, “Why are you speaking in
the locker room?” But that’s all anecdotal. It’s just crazy how these stories come out
after every stop in his career.
Reason No.1- Skillset
Fans have said that his skill set and role on teams overlap with what JaVale does for the
Lakers. It would be great to bring on a player with a bit different skill set to help the Lakers
adjust to teams who show them different offensive schemes.
Howard came to meet Lakers after dropping 25 pounds; showed his back was healthy. Lakers want him to protect rim/rebound in limited role. There was sense Howard realized he hit "rock bottom" and had been humbled. Still they'll judge him on actions, not words. He's been warned.
— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 23, 2019
