Luckily, so is Pau Gasol.
A torn plantar fascia pretty much killed what was left of Gasol's trade value this season. The silver lining? It all but ensured that he will be a member of the Lakers heading into this summer. Howard, we're not so sure about.
As an unrestricted free agent, Dwight is able to simply walk away. Or, if he does stay, with his current injury problems and performance, the Lakers may or may not be better off.
When the Lakers traded for Howard, this is the player they thought they were getting.
A five-time All-NBA First Team center who was the reigning three-time Defensive Player of the Year. Instead, this is the version they got.
Good, but not quite the same dominant force that he used to be.
Sure, he is coming off back surgery and has still posted decent numbers, but does the Los Angeles Lakers version of Howard look like the old? Not really, so instead of a stud, the Lakers now have an injury-prone, chemistry-wrecking center that has apparently forgotten how to run the pick-and-roll.
Good thing that Gasol will be around for whatever may transpire this offseason.
If Dwight somehow gets back to the player he once was, is he really the person to lead the Lakers into their next era? The easy-going guy, the person who is always making fun of teammates—like this—as a member of such a storied franchise like the Lakers?
Not when that franchise is led by Kobe Bryant.
Really, do you think that the Black Mamba enjoys playing with this guy? Is he happy about having to likely play out his career alongside him?
Sure, according to Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register, Howard did say that he and his Laker teammates "have years to play with each other.”
But what if they...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
