According to Ken Berger of CBSSports.com, Howard is in no rush to commit to a Lakers return, and in fact, he's apparently giving some serious thought to a few other teams, particularly the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks.
Though Howard is adamant his free agency not be marred by the circus-like environment that surrounded his departure from Orlando last summer, word already has spread to multiple levels of his support staff that Howard re-signing with the Lakers is far from a done deal.
Howard can talk about avoiding a circus all he wants, but if we've learned anything from the way he's handled virtually every public decision of his basketball life over the past couple of years, it's that he craves the attention that comes with situations like this one.
If we step back and look at the situation logically, it seems like Howard can't possibly be serious about leaving Los Angeles, can he?
For starters, Howard can make about $118 million on a five-year deal if he re-signs with his current team. Moving to another team as a free agent or as part of a sign-and-trade would limit Howard to "just" $88 million on a deal that could only span four years.
The NBA set up its collective bargaining agreement to encourage star players to remain with their teams, and by looking at Howard's situation, it's pretty clear that it achieved its goal in that regard.
And in theory, Howard's additional Los Angeles income wouldn't just be limited to his salary. Everyone knows that the endorsement dollars are bigger where the market is more robust, and L.A. gives D12 the opportunity to make a mint away from the basketball court.
In addition, Howard ...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
