From TheGreatMambino, Silver Screen & Roll: In just two weeks, the Dwightmare could reach it’s highest peak. That’s when Lakers center Dwight Howard will officially become a free agent, available to be courted by whomever has the will and the wherewithal to sign the three-time Defensive Player of the year to a maximum contract. Lakers Nation seems to be split on whether or not Howard, one of the most polarizing players of his era on and off the court, is truly worth the money and trouble that seem to follow him wherever he goes. Let’s take the pulse of Silver Screen & Roll:

From Dan Duangdao, Lakers Nation: Metta World Peace, a.k.a Ron Artest, joined a local Houston radio station on Monday to discuss a typical day in the off-season, his thoughts on LeBron James’ play in the Finals so far and Dwight Howard’s impending free-agency. When asked about Dwight Howard’s plans this off-season, World Peace quickly dismissed any possibilities of Howard going to Houston: “Well, he’s not going to Houston. I’ll tell you that.” The Houston Rockets are one of the rumored teams Dwight Howard is interested in as they enough cap room to sign him and a young core centered around James Harden, Chandler Parsons and Omer Asik. Regardless of what the Rockets have to offer, World Peace remained confident with his response and further explained his reasoning the only way Ron Artest knew how to: “The bulls that you bullfight…those things that you tie those things to the bulls that make them go crazy? I got two of those things tied to Dwight Howard’s t——–, so he can’t move.”

From Eric Pincus, LA Times: The Lakers’ final non-Mike D’Antoni assistant coach left over the weekend as Darvin Ham joined the Atlanta Hawks under Coach Mike Budenholzer. “Darvin has a great feel for the game and knows what it takes for a team to be successful and compete at a high level,” Budenholzer said in a prepared statement. “He was a smart player who played with intensity and toughness every night and he has gone about coaching the same way.” Dan D’Antoni, brother to Coach Mike D’Antoni, is the only holdover from last season after the Lakers let both Chuck Person and Bernie Bickerstaff go. Phil Handy joined Mike Brown’s staff in Cleveland, while Eddie Jordan took the head position at Rutgers.

From Brett Pollakoff, Pro Basketball Nation: Phil Jackson is unquestionably one of the greatest coaches of all time, but he didn’t get there by placating people or considering the feelings of others — especially those with seniority or who were holding down a higher-level position within the organization. Speaking at an event last week where Jackson was plugging his latest book, he recalled the time he asked then Lakers general manager Jerry West — also one of the franchise’s all-time great players — to leave the locker room so Jackson and the team could be alone to dissect the night’s troubles in private.

From Dan Devine, Yahoo Sports: Kobe Bryant has ranked among the most popular players in the NBA for more than 15 years now, as his legendary scoring prowess, on- and off-court charisma, affiliation with the glamorous Los Angeles Lakers and near-constant exposure to massive audiences through nationally televised games and deep playoff runs have combined to make him one the sports world’s highest-profile figures. He’s also donequite a bit of work over the years to extend his mega-star status into the massive and hoops-mad nation of China — he’s made annual offseason trips there to meet fans and host camps, and appeared in commercials airing in the nation. He’s participated in exhibition charity games and even reportedly briefly entertained the idea of playing in China during the 2011 NBA lockout. He’s built a Chinese social media presence and launched multiple charitable initiatives in the Far East. And so on.

From Drew Garrison, Silver Screen & Roll:The Los Angeles Lakers remain confident that Dwight Howard will re-sign with the franchise this Summer and have had “several discussions” with Howard’s representatives, according to the latest update from Marc Stein and Ramona Shelburne of ESPN. The Lakers may a handful of sign-and-trade options on the table this Summer if their confidence is misplaced, however, including an offer involving Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin from the Houston Rockets. Howard is expected to give the Rockets serious consideration this Summer and Houston has assets to offer Los Angeles, but the Lakers are expected to turn away sign-and-trade offers in favor of maintaining financial flexibility from 2014 and onward, according to Shelburne and Stein.

From Brett Pollakoff, Pro Basketball Talk: When the reports started flying of a possible deal that would net the Clippers Kevin Garnett and head coach Doc Rivers from the Celtics, Dwight Howard‘s name got thrown in the mix at some point as someone that L.A.’s historically junior team would then like to pursue. Talks have stalled between the Celtics and Clippers for now, but the report that the Clips have weighed offering Blake Griffin and Eric Bledsoe to the Lakers in a sign-and-trade package for Howard had plenty of people wondering where the Lakers stand on potential scenarios involving Dwight should he decide he wants out of the Forum blue and gold as a free agent after July 1.

From Gabriel Lee, Lakers Nation: Time for a quick survey – raise your hand if you thought the Lakers would be a force to be reckoned with upon acquiring Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. Vegas sure did, as they had the Lakers at 5:2 odds to hoist the Larry O’Brien trophy in October. Keep your hand raised if you now think after one sub-par season, the Lakers need to press the reset button on this aging and brittle roster. I should see a lot of (virtual) hands up. That’s just the nature of sports in the 21^st century. Few fans have the patience to wait for their favorite sports team to mesh when everything else in their lives is given to them in a nano-second. You can technically reach anyone in the world in an instant through a text message (although, standard message rates may apply). We consume the news instantly through our Twitter feeds. I could go on for days to list the ways technology has accelerated the process of globalization. However, we’re here to talk about the Lakers.

From Eric Pincus, LA Times: Phil Jackson coached Shaquille O’Neal with theLakers.  In his playing days, Jackson was occasionally charged with guarding Wilt Chamberlain. Jackson compared the two legendary centers Wednesday night in Glendale at the Alex Theatreat his “Live Talks Los Angeles” event. “Shaquille didn’t have quite the same athleticism that Wilt had,” said Jackson. “He had the bounce and he had the speed, but he didn’t have the endurance.” As detailed in his memoir, “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success,” Jackson told O’Neal that Chamberlain’s greatest accomplishment came in the 1961-62 season when he averaged 48.5 minutes a game. Jackson challenged O’Neal in their first season together (1999-2000) to get in better physical condition to improve his endurance.

From Zach Harper, CBS Sports: Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant is approaching the end of his career. He’s been in the NBA 17 seasons, will be 35 when he plays his next game, and is rehabbing a torn Achillestendon injury that could either keep him from playing in the 2013-14 season opener or possibly limit his play altogether when he does come back. It’s hard to know just how his body will respond to the hard work and the injury recovery. But don’t think that Kobe Bryant is even thinking about hanging it up any time soon. He’s intent on not only coming back at full strength or better from this Achilles injury, but he reportedly has his mind set on playing until he has won at least two more championships to put his career total at seven rings. Via ESPN Los Angeles:

From Elizabeth Benson, Lakers Nation: A few days ago Hall of Famer Charles Barkley questioned whether or not Dwight Howard has the mental toughness to be a franchise player and to play in the pressure-filled city of Los Angeles with the Lakers. While Sir Charles has spoken his mind, unfiltered or not, throughout his playing career and post-NBA career, Dwight’s mental toughness is a legitimate talking point with the Lakers and the fans.Therefore, Lakers Nation decided to tackle this topic in our latest weekly roundtable by asking some of our writers: Does Dwight Howard have the mental toughness to be a franchise player for the Lakers? Here’s what they had to say.

From TheGreatMambino, Silver Screen & Roll: As hot as the criticism got last season on Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, former head coach Mike Brown and VP of Player Personnel Jim Buss, no man was under more scrutiny than Mike D’Antoni. The mustachioed skipper had one of the most polarizing years in LA history, being blamed for a weak defense and ineffective rotations, but simultaneously being given a pass because of the rampant roster injuries. Even armed with 2 years and $8 million left on his contract, there’s still questions as to whether or not MDA would be leading the Lakers in November. Will Mike D’Antoni be the head coach for the beginning for the 2013-2014 season?

From Dave McMenamin, ESPN LA: It has been nearly 20 years since Magic Johnson coached the Los Angeles Lakers for 16 games in the 1993-94 season*, but the Hall of Famer’s opinions about his former franchise are as strong as ever. Johnson, an analyst for ESPN appearing on KIA NBA Countdown during the NBA Finals, was on a conference call Wednesday with reporters to discuss the Finals and not surprisingly, the subject of the Lakers came up. Below is a transcript of Johnson’s latest thoughts on the purple and gold:

From Dan Feldman, Pro Basketball Talk: Pau Gasol will probably play for the Lakers next season, but he might get amnestied or traded. There’s still a lot up in the air for Gasol in the short-term, especially while the Lakers figure out what’s next for Dwight Howard. Gasol’s long-term future is even cloudier, but he revealed a little insight into his possible plans. Via ElMundo.es (hat tip: Zach Harper of Eye on Basketball): “I don’t know when, but if one day I could return to FIBA basketball, I’d like to do it with Barcelona as long as I can play at a high level and being central to the team.”

From Eric Pincus, LA Times: Steve Nash’s debut season with the Lakers proved problematic, with the veteran guard missing 32 regular-season games and most of the team’s brief postseason. Nash was out early in the year with a leg fracture. Currently he’s rehabbing hip, hamstring and back issues that limited the 39-year old guard in the Lakers’ first-round loss to the San Antonio Spurs.” By the time the season comes around, I expect to be 100% and in a great position to have a great year,” Nash said on a conference call to announce the 2013 Steve Nash Foundation Showdown. In addition to the sixth annual event in New York, Nash will debut his eight-a-side soccer showdowns in Los Angeles, with proceeds benefitting underserved children in their health and education — with a special focus on early childhood education and child abuse research and prevention. “This is a really special event for me,” said Nash. “I’m able to bring together three of my biggest passions: helping children through my foundation, basketball and soccer.”

From Mark Heisler, Lakers Nation: For Kobe Bryant’s sins when he was young and impetuous, the gods sent him Dwight Howard. Once Bryant was the prodigy who wanted what he wanted when he wanted it and O’Neal, seven years older, the one who knew which end was up. Now Howard is the prodigy who wants what he wants when he wants it, and Bryant, seven years older, knows which end is up. Not that anyone was ever like Shaq & Kobe, the superstar teammates who weren’t content to feud in private, trading haymakers in the press, as in 2003 when Shaq announced Karl Malone and Gary Payton had come for him, not Kobe… whereupon Kobe had Jim Gray go on TV to call Shaq a fat malingerer who wasn’t really a leader or a friend, much less his surrogate older brother, having failed to call Kobe after that summer’s arrest (other than to leave a message on his machine).

From TheGreatMambino, Silver Screen & Roll: As hot as the criticism got last season on Dwight Howard, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash, former head coach Mike Brown and VP of Player Personnel Jim Buss, no man was under more scrutiny than Mike D’Antoni. The mustachioed skipper had one of the most polarizing years in LA history, being blamed for a weak defense and ineffective rotations, but simultaneously being given a pass because of the rampant roster injuries. Even armed with 2 years and $8 million left on his contract, there’s still questions as to whether or not MDA would be leading the Lakers in November. Will Mike D’Antoni be the head coach for the beginning for the 2013-2014 season?

From Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk: Kobe Bryant certainly hinted more than once he might hang it up after next season. However did you really think a guy that competitive would walk away? Now his Achilles tendon injury oddly makes it more likely he will return. Kobe does not want his final image on the court to be him slowed because of an injury. So he may come back for a season or two after his current contract expires next summer. That’s what he hinted at with Stephen A. Smith on ESPN Radio (as transcribed by Eric Pincus at the Los Angeles Times). The question was about Tim Duncan possibly getting a fifth ring.

From Michael C. Jones, Yahoo Sports: Los Angeles Lakers fans are easy for the rest of the country to hate. It’s not their fault — they are blessed with many enviable circumstances such as living great weather, rooting for a legendary team, watching superstars come and go every year and all of the ancillary things that come with living in the shadow of Hollywood. But in addition to their team consistently competing for titles, they are known for being notoriously late for games, lacking knowledge of the game’s nuances, sitting courtside at games expressionless for the sole purpose of being seen and chanting for two-dollar tacos during close, meaningful games. Why do some behave this way? It’s a question that deserves further exploration, and one prominent TV personality did just that for us all.

From Eric Pincus, LA Times: The offseason for the Lakers will hinge on a single choice by one free agent. Can the Lakers navigate through Dwight Howard’s free agency? “It’s the one decision we have to wait on,” said General Manager Mitch Kupchak. Whatever decision Howard makes will require a leap of faith. The Atlanta Hawks are one of the teams hoping to lure Chris Paul and Howard and the Clippers’ Chris Paul, although a letter to season ticket holders may be considered tampering. Kobe Bryant has been experiencing a taste of retirement as he slowly works his way back from a torn Achilles. On Friday, Bryant suggested he might play another year beyond his current contract.

From Drew Garrison, Silver Screen & Roll: Who you got – Kobe Bryant or Tim Duncan? Hakeem Olajuwon or Dwight Howard? Robert Horry gave his opinion on both (spoiler: he also took into consideration if Duncan won his fifth championship, something we discussed here just a week ago) in an interview with HoopsHype.When asked who had a better career between Bryant and Duncan, Horry’s selection would be Kobe. From a general manager perspective Horry gives Bryant the nod because he’s going to “sell tickets”" and “put people in the arena”:

From Darren Rovell, ESPN: The Kobe Bryant memorabilia saga has ended with an apology from the Los Angeles Lakers guard’s parents and a settlement that allows less than 10 percent of the items originally intended for sale to be auctioned. Bryant and a company that was auctioning off the memorabilia reached a deal one week before the two sides were due to go to trial in New Jersey. The agreement allows the sale of six items, which Goldin Auctions president Ken Goldin told ESPN.com on Monday morning he is confident still can sell for more than $500,000 combined.Bryant’s parents, who had contracted with Goldin to sell the items, apologized in a written statement.

From Suki Thind, Lakers Nation: We all love/hate Charles Barkley for the same reason: he speaks his mind. I personally like Barkley and how he says what’s on his mind, whether he’s right or wrong. Most recently, Barkley had this to say with regards to Kobe Bryant and his injury on the Dan Patrick Show: “I think he can be a good player. That’s it. Is he going to be an All-Star? He’ll probably be an All-Star because the fans will vote him in. But as far as being a dominant player, that’s not going to happen.” With this, I have to strongly disagree. Barkley actually makes it very easy for me to disagree with him for a few reasons.

From Eric Pincus, LA Times: The Lakers have four potential restricted free agents this summer: Darius Morris, Robert Sacre, Andrew Goudelock and Devin Ebanks. Once the NBA Finals  between the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat wrap up, the Lakers have until June 30 to tender qualifying offers to make any of the four restricted. The team is not likely to give an offer of $1.3 million to Ebanks, who underperformed in his third year with the Lakers. To restrict Morris, who progressed in his second season, the Lakers need to make an offer of $1.2 million. Goudelock, who was signed for the last couple of regular-season games after Kobe Bryant’s Achilles injury, would need a qualifying offer of $1.1 million. Center Robert Sacre’s offer would fall just under $1 million.

From Michael C. Jones, Yahoo Sports: The Dwight Howard saga wears on. As the July free agent frenzy that’s slated to take place when NBA free agency nears, the Houston Rockets are emerging as viable suitors to land the polarizing big man. Whether or not the Lakers are better off without him is a topic for another story (they’re not, by the way), but the fact is they have mortgaged their pride and their future on the fact that he will re-sign with them this summer and try to become the next great center in Laker-land.