Los Angeles has a long history of being able to get great players to come to their team, but with Dwight Howard it is slightly different for one reason. He is essentially a rental for the season until his contract expires and free agency hits.
Unless the Lakers want to lose Dwight, they have to lock him up with an extension soon.
There are a few things that Los Angeles should be worried about when it comes to Dwight re-signing. First, he seems to have a problem with being remembered as just another great Laker center. Instead, Howard wants to have his own legacy.
The issue with that is there is no way he will carve out his own legacy in Los Angeles, and Dwight knows it. He has to know that by following Shaquille O’Neal’s footsteps in moving from Orlando to Los Angeles, he will always be linked to Shaq.
Even in the introductory press conference, Howard made a point to say that he won’t try to compete with the legacies of old Lakers, instead bringing his own style to Los Angeles. It’s impossible to do that, however, and Howard must know it. He is already being compared to the Lakers' great history of big men, which includes George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaq.
Something less important which still must be considered is that Howard just joined an old team. He has to be looking around and noticing that this team really has a two year window for a championship, especially since Bryant has hinted at retirement after that.
There is no reason Dwight wouldn’t try to win a championship this season, then bolt to another team like Dallas where he can make his own legacy. Nobody would fault him, since he didn’t choose where he was traded and made no promises about re-signing if he was m...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
