Why Dwight Howard Has Already Committed to the Lakers Long-Term

Every time Dwight Howard steps on the floor for a practice it's another step in the right direction for the Los Angeles Lakers. It seems he's already ahead of schedule (although a schedule for his return was never really released) to return to the team.

Just add that to the long list of positives that have been surrounding the Howard-Andrew Bynum trade they made back in August. 

That, combined with the fact that it's come out that Andrew Bynum's knee injury, which has been described as a bone bruise, might be more serious than originally thought. 

So it basically took a little over a month for us to remember that Bynum has had a career riddled by injuries. It's surprising that it took that long.

This is the kind of thing that always seems to go right for the Lakers. They make a steal of a trade for an excellent player and then, to put the icing on the cake, the guy they traded ends up going downhill. It's like when the Lakers still snaked Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar out of the trade for Shaq.

If there's any reason to believe that Howard is going to be playing for the Lakers past this season, it's the basic belief that these things always seem to work out in L.A's favor. The worst thing that ever seems to happen to this team is Kobe Bryant having to play with Smush Parker in between dynastic enterprises.

It's going to be a while before we know for a fact that Howard will be returning; he's got no reason to sign an extension during the season. If he were to sign an extension before becoming a free agent then it would mean signing a shorter deal with smaller raises between each season, leaving over $20 million on the table.



With that, it's obvious that it should be of no concern when Howard inevitably declines to sign an extension. However, I do think you'll hear at some point during the season that the Lakers "expect" to re-sign him in the offseason, a report that Howar...