Lakers Rumors : LA Must Let Dwight Howard Walk and Rebuild Roster
Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers
must part ways this summer in order for the
franchise to ensure a bright future. Some have wondered if the Lakers would be inclined to do a sign-and-trade deal with Howard, but Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News recently reported the team would not be willing to do such a deal: "A league source familiar with the Lakers front office's thinking said, 'they'll either re-sign Dwight or walk away with cap space.'"
This lines up with what Yahoo! Sports'
Adrian Wojnarowski reported a few days
earlier when he revealed the Lakers as
having "resisted Clippers overtures" for
such a deal:
Adrian Wojnarowski: Lakers have fully resisted Clippers overtures on a sign-and-trade for Dwight Howard. "They will never do it," source with knowledge tells Y!
It makes sense, from Los Angeles'
perspective. Sign-and-trades can be
complicated endeavors that sometimes
require teams to compromise in order to get
what they want. For the Lakers, compromise is something this franchise can't do any more.
Last season proved the need for a completely revamped roster.
With so much money tied up in the top
players, the Lakers were victimized by their
lack of depth. When said top players went
down with injuries (as is prone to happen with older players), the team collapsed and barely made the playoffs.
This isn't a sustainable model for the future,
and looking at the Lakers' salary-cap situation for the 2014-2015 season, this is a franchise ripe for a complete overhaul.
According to Hoopsworld.com, the only
player on the Lakers' payroll for the
2014-2015 season is Steve Nash—a player
who may well be ready to retire at that point. Kobe Bryant , Pau Gasol, Metta World
Peace and Steve Blake are all in their early- to mid-30s and don't have a lot left in the
tank—not to mention Bryant could miss part of the season, due to his Achilles injury . Should the Lakers decide to roll the dice and re-sign Howard for a king's ransom, it seems more feasible to think the team will repeat its struggles than to think it will suddenly compete for a championship.
The best course of action for the Lakers
right now is to simply let Howard sign with
another team, let the 2013-2014 season
play itself out and plan for a complete retooling of the entire roster going forward. Free agents will always be interested in signing with the Lakers, and the team needs new blood. Granted, going this route would likely result in a miserable season next year—a thought that sends most Lakers fans into a dark place. That said, it would be better to have one or two disappointing seasons than to endure a decade of mediocrity.
(c) BleacherReportLakers
