How Dwight Howard Must Improve to Become LA Lakers’ Leader Someday

There's no doubting the talent that Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard possesses. Anybody that hasn't been living under a rock for the past five years can tell you he's the most gifted big man the NBA has to offer.

The question with Howard is his motivation, and whether or not he's got enough of it to be a cornerstone on a franchise as prestigious as the Lakers.

The expectation that comes along with the Lakers—from the players, front office and fanbase—is to win a championship every year. It's not to be competitive, it's not to qualify for the playoffs, it's not to win the Pacific Division—it's to win a championship.

Every year. In order to meet that expectation, you need to embrace it, and it's questionable whether that's something Howard is willing to do.

Part of what's holding Dwight back, at least as far as ultimate success with the Lakers is concerned, is that he doesn't have his priorities straight. His impending free agency following the season has been highly publicized, and it's posing a problem for Howard when it comes to focusing on the present.

To an extent, this is understandable. After all, Howard's going to make a life-altering decision as part of free agency, and as such, he must perform his due diligence in making sure whatever destination he chooses is the correct one for his future.

At the same time, he shouldn't allow that to skew his actions during this season.

With the Lakers still sitting in 10th place in the Western Conference and three games out of the playoff picture, the time for urgency is now. That's especially true now that Pau Gasol has gone down with an injury that will cause him to miss an extended period of time.



Howard's already been sidelined with an injury of his own. But now that Gasol is out, the team really needs his presence in the lineup. That's caused Kobe Bryant and the Lakers organization to push Dwig...

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