I hate to say it was the last time the Lakers made the playoffs... I blade Dwight for our 6 and 7 year playoff drought. Wouldn't of had to rebuild these years if not for him and chemisty issues.
Ew, no. If anything, Dwight Howard did the Lakers a big favor by not re-signing. He was already on the decline due to back surgery. Howard had some decent years after he left, but he never regained his Magic form. With Kobe coming off a ruptured Achilles, how good would that team have been? Howard would have made the Lakers better but not good which means they would have lost all of those draft picks. Because the Lakers sucked so bad, they only owed the Magic two second round draft picks due to the Stepien Rule.
I guess one could maybe make the argument that the Lakers could have traded Howard for assets had he re-signed. Then again, Jim Buss and Mitch Kupchak never wanted to rebuild the right away. They would have either kept Howard too long (diminishing his value) or blown those assets on like Greg Monroe or something. Being trash for so many years in a row was weirdly the best thing that happened to the team moving forward. It gave Jeanie a reason to fire her brother, the same man who hired his bartender as an advisor. It eventually led to the Lakers having the assets to trade for Anthony Davis.
Many Lakers fans are salty about the way Howard left. I’m not for the reasons stated above. Also, without that trade, the Lakers would have signed Andrew Bynum to a maximum contract. He only played 26 more games in his career after getting traded and has been out of the league for like half a decade. I’d entertain the Lakers bringing Dwight Howard back because it’s such a low risk move. He’d be on a minimum contract. If he’s still a fucking clown, waive him. With DeMarcus Cousins injured, the Lakers need a body to keep Anthony Davis from playing defense against opposing centers. Send Howard out there; protect Davis.
I’m not saying Dwight Howard is the only option, just that I wouldn’t absolutely hate it. There would be plenty of skepticism, mostly regarding his attitude.