“Dwightmare” 2.0: Will he stay?

Will he stay or won’t he?  After much scrutiny and damage to his image over the last few seasons, Dwight Howard finally signed a one-year extension to stay with the Orlando Magic last season. Not expecting him to stay put, the Magic ultimately decided to trade the three time defensive player of the year to the Los Angeles Lakers in a mega-deal. With Howard, Steve Nash and longtime-Laker Kobe Bryant, the Lakers were expected to become a dominant team once again. But injuries and poor play have made the Lakers a below-average team thus far in the season. Howard has been a target of blame for the Lakers’ struggles because of his play and the questioning of his mental ability to play in a city like Los Angeles and with another star player in Kobe Bryant. The idea of trading Howard before the trade deadline swirled up as the Lakers continued their struggles. Yet Mitch Kupchak and the entire Lakers organization, stood pat and didn’t do anything drastic like trading their center. The Lakers believe that they can re-sign the big man to a multi-year deal and make him a Laker for years to come. Many believe that Howard will only be a Laker for this season but I believe that he will re-sign with the Lakers and help them regain their status as NBA elite. Here are three reasons why:

Is Dwight Howard the right building block for the Lakers’ future? Do they have a choice at this point? By Howcheng (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

1. Where else is he going to go?: 

As we all know, Howard wanted to go to Brooklyn rather than the Lakers but that dream is dead and Howard would be smart to let it die. The Nets are way over the cap after trading for Joe Johnson and his almost $20 million contract. There would be no way for the Nets to sign Howard. The next option might be Dallas, which looks promising but isn’t so much. Why would Howard want to leave playing with an aging 34-year old Kobe Bryant to go and play with an aging 34-year old Dirk Nowitzki? That would be the most pointless free agent move in NBA history. The Mavericks would love to get Howard but that isn’t likely to happen. The final team that might make sense would be the Atlanta Hawks. Atlanta is Howard’s hometown and they will only have about $18 million left in guaranteed money on their entire roster when the season ends. The Hawks, I believe are the only legit threat to the Lakers for Howard. They could sign Howard and re-sign forward Josh Smith, whom Howard has been friends with dating back to their pre-school days. Together, combined with Al Horford, the Hawks could have one of the scariest front lines in the NBA.

But in the end I believe he will stay with the Lakers because where else is he going to go if he wants to win a title like he says he does? The Lakers can also give him the most amount of money guaranteed, with up to $30 million more than any other NBA team. The Lakers know how to win championships and the best place for Howard’s career is in Los Angeles. I think he likes the spotlight and idea of being in Hollywood. As long as Kobe is around, Howard will be second fiddle to him but if that means winning, I’m sure Howard will learn to deal with that.

2. His image is damaged enough:

During the whole “Dwightmare” fiasco, Howard severely damaged his image as the “nice” guy and this is bad news to Howard. He likes to be loved by everyone and hates when people look down on him and rightfully so. How bad would it look if Howard left Orlando for the Lakers then left them after one season, especially the one the Lakers are currently having? He hasn’t put up very impressive numbers thus far this season, although some of that goes back to his still injured back and now shoulder. Howard seems to be trying to re-write his image, kind of like LeBron James did a couple years ago after leaving Cleveland for Miami. And the first and best way to do so would be to stay with the Lakers and sign an extension with them. Howard owes it to the fans to be truthful with them and he can start by telling them he is staying. This way it takes pressure off everybody and the Lakers can start playing the way we all expecting them too.

3. He is finally showing maturity: 

After recent home wins over Boston and Portland, Howard has started to show some of his capabilities as a basketball player. He’s showing energy and has played the way Orlando fans remember him playing and it has resulted in two wins for the Lakers. He most recently was quoted for basically taking the blame for the many losses early in the season because of his lack of energy and spark. This is something new from the big-man, he’s finally showing some maturity, something that has been questioned since his arrival in Los Angeles. To me, this is a sign that Howard is planning on staying with the Lakers because why else would he come out and say those things? If he was planning on leaving the Lakers at the end of the year, I don’t believe he would take the blame as he would then be trying to get the best contract for himself. Howard’s mature statements a good sign for the Lakers and their fans and hopefully turns out to lead to a contract extension to stay in LA.

In the end:

Howard and the Lakers have struggled this season so far, currently sitting in the ninth seed in the Western Conference but surprisingly only sit three games back of the eighth seed. For the Lakers to make the playoffs, it will take all out focus and hustle plus they need some teams ahead of them to start losing. But the Lakers can’t worry about that, all they can do is play their game, win and hope that everything turns out for the best. No matter what happens this season, the most important thing is that the Lakers re-sign Dwight Howard back. As much as I hate the say this, he is the future of the franchise. With a healthy Dwight, I believe the Lakers will return to their winning ways and bring glory and dominance back to this franchise. As for this season, Kobe made a guarantee about this team making the playoffs so let’s see if he and the rest of the Lakers can back it up.