Many NBA hopefuls will be on the couch to start the 2024-25 season, but that doesn't necessarily mean their careers are finished.
A former Los Angeles Lakers center and eight-time All-Star hasn't inked an NBA contract since the 2021 offseason, but he’s open to returning to the Lakers.
“I would definitely go back to the Lakers,” Dwight Howard told the New York Post on Tuesday.
Howard most recently suited up for the Lakers in 2021, averaging 6.2 points and 5.9 rebounds per contest during his third stint with the organization. He joined Los Angeles for the first time in 2012 via a trade with the Orlando Magic.
Howard averaged a double-double with the Lakers in Year 9 but signed with the Houston Rockets during the 2013 free agency period.
He reunited with Los Angeles in 2019, winning a championship with the franchise in the bubble. The 2008 Slam Dunk contest champion hoped to play for the Lakers again in 2020, but the idea never materialized.
"I was so sad,” Howard told Lakers owner Jeanie Buss during an Oct. 13 episode of the Above the Rim with DH 12 podcast. "I wanted to come back, and I don’t know what had happened. I was hurt because I felt like the team that we had was gonna be back together again. I thought that I had did something wrong. And JaVale (McGee) as well. I wish we would have had the chance to run it back.”
Unfortunately, Howard was unaware that Charles Briscoe, his former agent who recently scammed him out of $7 million, failed to mention the Lakers had an offer ready for the three-time Defensive Player of the Year.
Instead, Briscoe lied and informed Howard that Los Angeles rescinded their original offer after further thought.
“I was shocked to hear the Lakers had an offer for me, but my so-called agent told me lies,” Howard wrote on X/Twitter after the podcast episode. “Same agent that cost me $7 million man. I’m glad me & Jeanie cleared that up. I know it’s too late, but why not. I’m in shape, my former teammate that I went to the finals with is the head coach, AD (Anthony Davis) don’t want to play center no more, me & Jeanie cleared up all the confusion.”
Interestingly, Buss believes the Lakers could have repeated as champions if they had retained Howard and a few additional assets.
"I feel like when you win a championship, that’s when you give the guys a chance to defend their title," Buss told Howard. "But once there was, like, three or four guys not coming back (Howard, Danny Green, Dion Waiters, Rajon Rondo), then it wasn’t the same anyway.”
While the two-time blocks leader may not be the dominant interior presence he was earlier in his career, a potential signing would enable Davis to occupy the power forward position and receive rebounding and defensive assistance from Howard at the five spot.
Time will tell if the Lakers are serious about bringing in the NBA champion.
More NBA: Ex-Lakers fan favorite, two time All-Star continues to tease NBA comeback attempt
