Via J.A. Adande -- " Dwight Howard wants to be a Laker."
Yes!
I don't know how definitive that is. He's also hinted he wants a max contract from the Magic, and some people think he wants to recruit Chris Paul to join him there. At the very least, the idea that he might want to leave (especially to the team that signed Shaq away from them 15 years ago) would give him some leverage in getting a max contract and/or forcing some personel changes.
Another question though is: should the Lakers get him? That might sound stupid, but I don't think it is. The Lakers have an old team designed to play the triangle offense. Unless they can replace half their players quickly via trade, I don't see them switching to a different offense yet next season. They also are way over the salary cap and have committed a lot of payroll until 2014. Any player not making the minimum will have to be acquired in a trade.
I suppose Orlando might want to make sure they get something for Howard, but would they want to take on the contracts that the Lakers would have to get rid of take on whatever Howard's new contract is? Gasol and Artest are especially expensive. The only way another team takes on more money so the Lakers can reduce their payroll is if they give LA players that are also overvalued. Then what kind of team is Dwight Howard playing on? Kobe and a bunch of scrubs?
Complicating things even more is who the new Lakers coach will be. It's looking more and more like the team quit on Jackson because he was a lame duck. And Jackson had way more clout than the next coach will, whomever he is. For most of the last dozen years, a Laker player who wanted to defy his coach would be daring the media to ask, "Who's smarter, the player or the most successful coach in NBA history?" Next year, players won't be worried about that. They'll be able to get a coach dumped (like they did with Del Harris in the '90s) just like on any other team.
It would not be surprising if Howard didn't want to wade into that swamp. As it is, Howard is taking a risk by not signing a max extension before the new CBA comes into effect. Everyone expects that new contracts will be shorter, cheaper and with less guaranteed money. If I were Howard, I think I'd sign a max extension with Orlando now and then see how it goes. He can always force a trade in the future.
