Thinking About Dwight Howard’s Next Contract

Darius Soriano —  May 20, 2013 — 8 Comments

To be completely honest, I can’t find the strength to get worked up over any report regarding what Dwight Howard will or won’t do when it comes to his impending free agency. I just can’t do it. We’re still only in the middle of May and free agency doesn’t begin until July 1st…there’s simply too much time left in the process to get worked up over this stuff.

That said, the very well regarded Ken Berger of CBS Sports is reporting that Dwight Howard will explore his options in free agency and that teams like the Rockets and Mavericks “intrigue” him. These are teams with good players, cap space, and other desirable traits that should intrigue Dwight. I can’t blame him, I’d be intrigued too. Again, though, I can’t get too caught up in this stuff. Not only is it early, but this is Dwight’s call to make and he can do so on his timeline. He’s earned that right.

So, rather than focus on where Dwight may (or may not) go, let’s look at a different aspect of Berger’s report. One interesting thing he mentioned was the point about compensation and Dwight’s next contract. Here’s the relevant passage:

The clear advantage for the Lakers in their effort to re-sign Howard is the 2011 collective bargaining agreement, which allows LA to give Howard a five-year deal with annual increases based on 7.5 percent of his first-year salary in a new deal — which will be in excess of $20 million. Another team with cap room to sign Howard could only give him a four-year deal with 4.5 percent annual increases — the same arrangement Howard would be limited to if he agreed to leave via a sign-and-trade.

But Howard is only 27, and barring a career-ending injury, he’ll clearly get one more max deal after this one. A four-year deal with an opt-out after three years, for example, would in some ways be preferable to Howard because he’d hit the open market again at age 30 and could then secure his five-year max deal.

The mechanics that Berger mentions are 100% spot on. The Lakers can offer a longer and richer contract. The annual raises would be larger and that 5th year in the contract the Lakers offer would be around $30 million dollars. That’s nothing to sneeze at.

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In Dwight Howard, Laker Analysis
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Around The World (Wide Web): Kobe, Free Agency, Dwight, Laker History

Ryan Cole —  May 20, 2013 — Leave a comment

From Drew Garrison, Silver Screen: Dwight Howard will finally be a free agent July 1. After a few years of breaking up, then making up, with the Orlando Magic front office he was finally sent out of Florida and into Los Angeles, becoming aLaker. Howard joined a star-studded lineup featuring Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Steve Nash. They were going to pick and troll the entire league. We all know how the season played out. Injuries stacked, expectations crumbled, and the Lakers were swept out of the first round of the NBA playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs. Nothing has changed since. Bryant continues to rehab his Achilles, and the Lakers front office continues to hold their collective breath as their two superstars’ statuses remains in the air.

From Jovan Buha, ESPN LA: Those expecting a major upheaval from the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason are likely to be disappointed. Unless Dwight Howard bolts in free agency or Pau Gasol is traded, the primary cast of this season’s underachieving squad is all but certain to remain intact as the Lakers look to preserve cap space for the summer of 2014, when only Steve Nash and Howard would be on the books and the team would be in prime position to reload. Heading into the 2013-14 season, the Lakers have five players under guaranteed contracts:Kobe Bryant, Gasol, Steve Blake, Jordan Hill and Nash. While Metta World Peace has an early termination option, he’s likely to remain with the team and not opt out. Jodie Meeks has a team option, meaning the Lakers decide his future, but he’ll probably return since his salary is relatively inexpensive ($1.5 million). Chris Duhon has a non-guaranteed deal and can be waived by June 30 to alleviate cap space.

From Suki Thind, Lakers Nation: For our second edition of historic box scores, we’ll take a look back at Magic Johnson’s legendary performance against the Philadelphia 76ers in the 1980 NBA Finals. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar the Lakers’ leading scorer and rebounder at the time–badly injured his ankle during Game 5 of the Finals. Although he returned to the game to score 14 points in the fourth quarter and lead the Lakers to a close victory, he simply couldn’t go in the potential championship clinching Game 6. That set the stage for then-rookie Magic Johnson, who shifted his role from playing point guard to starting at center. Not only did he start at center, but he ended up playing all five positions! In one of his greatest performances–and certainly his most memorable–Magic Johnson led the Lakers to the 1980 NBA championship by putting up 42 points, pulling down 15 rebounds, and dishing out seven assists.

From Eric Pincus, LA Times: On Sunday night, Kobe Bryant announced “Kobe up Close,” an Aug. 15 charity event to be held at Nokia Theatre. “I’d like to officially announce that I’m partnering with the Sports Spectacular to help eradicate homelessness,” said Bryant in a pre-recorded video, aired at the Sports Spectacular 2013 gala at the Hyatt Regency Century Plaza Hotel. “You can learn about my past, present and future,” said Bryant of the event, which will be hosted by Jimmy Kimmel. “It’s for an incredible cause.”

From Zach Harper, CBS Sports: Internet rumors can spread like wildfire and lots of people will believe them without considering the source. A hoax Twitter account got the ball rolling on the idea that Kobe Bryant was going to say goodbye to the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA by retiring this summer. Bryant did have a major announcement this past weekend for his fans, but it had nothing to do ending his basketball career.

In Morning Links
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The Work That Is Needed Will Be the Work That Is Done

Darius Soriano —  May 18, 2013 — 54 Comments

“I’ll push myself to exhaustion.”

If there’s one characteristic that defines Kobe Bryant’s career it is the work he has put in to become the player he is. As much as he’s been gifted his physical characteristics and that innate feel for the game that all the greats have, he’s also honed his skills through thousands of hours of hard work and made himself into the player he is. In a way, it’s that drive to be the best and the subsequent work it has inspired that has separated him from many of his contemporaries.

Kobe will need to call on that ethic now more than ever in staring down his latest challenge. His rehabilitation from his torn achilles tendon is the one of, if not the, biggest obstacles he’s faced in his career and in order to come back anywhere near the player he was before before the injury, he’ll need to push himself to levels that I can’t even imagine. Whether he can actually achieve this goal remains an open question, but if there’s one player who we can’t doubt will push himself that extra mile it is Kobe.

After all, his career has been built on putting in that extra time and, as the video shows above, vigorously working to become the player we’ve seen for 17 years.

In Kobe, video
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Friday Forum

Dave Murphy —  May 17, 2013 — 10 Comments

The playoffs continue to roll with the Memphis Grizzlies heading for a down and dirty showdown with the San Antonio Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. For the Los Angeles Lakers, the story continues to be whether Dwight Howard will or won’t resign and how to fill in the gaps around a core group of expensive veterans. General wisdom holds that Lakers need to preserve the ability to rebuild during the 2014-15 season when Kobe and Pau’s contracts come off the books. The new CBA doesn’t give much wiggle room regardless – the upcoming season poses the challenge of fielding a supporting cast through the team’s own free agents, the mini mid-level exception, veteran minimum deals, the 49th pick in the 2013 draft and any potential Pau Gasol trade.

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In Lockout News, Morning Links
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Kobe Bryant’s Shooting Habits Aren’t What You Might Think They Are

Darius Soriano —  May 16, 2013 — 35 Comments

If you’ve followed the Lakers at all over the course of Kobe Bryant’s career, one theme that is revisited often relates to the stagnation of the Lakers’ offense and how that relates to Kobe’s shot volume.

On one side of the coin is the argument that Kobe shoots a lot because his teammates stop moving, instead choosing to watch him work with the ball in isolation. Kobe’s a gifted scorer in these situations, and the argument says when he gets the ball it’s easy to sit back and hope that he can do something positive with it.

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In Kobe, Laker Analysis, video
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