From Elizabeth Benson, Lakers Nation: In Lakers Nation’s latest edition of our roundtable, we thought it would be only suiting to tackle the subject that every Laker fan is talking about, which of course surrounds the future of Dwight Howard. While we can only wait for free agency to officially kickoff, which is on July 1, the rumor mill regarding Dwight’s future is only just starting to heat up. So, where do some of Lakers Nation writers think Dwight Howard will sign this off-season? Let’s find out.

From Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk: Who do you want to believe? Monday came a report from the very reliable Dave McMenamin at ESPNLosAngeles.com that in his exit interview Dwight Howard expressed frustration with coach Mike D’Antoni to GM Mitch Kupchak. Which isn’t hard to believe if you watched the Lakers at all this year. But when Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register called Kupchak he denied they even discussed that (via Sulia). “Kupchak said he didn’t want any D’Antoni talk from Dwight anyway given Mitch’s insistence that Lakers won’t have any player dictate the coaching situation. To be honest with you, I wouldn’t let it go there anyway,” he said…. “I’m not saying they don’t have differences like with any coach or any player. I don’t think it’s anything that goes beyond.”

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From Dave McMenamin, ESPN LA: The Los Angeles Lakers do not yet know Dwight Howard’s decision for next season, but the All-Star center made his feelings about Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni known before starting his offseason. Nearly three weeks have passed since Howard had his exit interview with the Lakers and there’s been barely a peep out of Howard since. While he hasn’t had anything to say to the press, Howard had a lot to say to Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak back before the relative silence, however. Howard was one of several Lakers – Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol being the most noteworthy — to have an extended separate meeting with the GM after his exit interview with both Kupchak and D’Antoni, multiple sources confirmed to ESPNLosAngeles.com.

From Mark Heisler, Lakers Nation: Another one of those summers looms in Lakerdom.Rather than take the extra $30 million and jumping into the Lakers’ arms as a Hall of Fame wing of great centers had, Dwight Howard will check out other teams. It’s all preliminary. With Howard under contract through July 1, everything–visits, welcoming pageants, talks—is in the planning stage. In other words, this is the off-season’s preseason. Laker fans with enough brain cells left may remember that their last preseason didn’t go so well, what with all the injuries and the 0-8 record. Nor does the off-season’s preseason look like it will be much fun with Howard intent on touring the NBA. The likeliest outcome is still that he stays, after drawing it out as long as possible, raising hopes in as many cities as he can, and ultimately disappointing the maximum number of teams and fans possible.

From Drew Garrison, Silver Screen & Roll: Good for Dwight Howard. Dave McMenamin of ESPN has reported that Howard expressed “frustration” with Mike D’Antoni during his exit interview and all I can say is good for Dwight. That’s what an exit interview is for, right? To express what you think about the team’s direction, what you would like to see changed, and the future. Howard is in line to be the leader of the Los Angeles Lakers – should he accept that mission — and the front office should, without pause, “pop” the question to him.”Will you marry this coach for the next two seasons?” The problem for the Lakers front office is clear. Through a season filled with injuries and a “mid-season early-season” swap of Mikes, the story is the Lakers played well after the All-Star break. They got back on track and looked better than they did to open the season, which wasn’t a huge bar to clear. Howard’s health improved dramatically. They finally had both Steves. Pau Gasol eventually crept back into the lineup and helped cap off their strong finish. Things were in working shape

From Kurt Helin, Pro Basketball Talk: Kobe Bryant thinks this Lakers roster can work. Well, he at least thinks his chance at a much-coveted sixth ring is more likely if the Lakers bring back two of the top big men in the game, as opposed to having just one and restructuring the lineup to be closer to what Mike D’Antoni prefers. So Kobe took to twitter to say what he thinks the Lakers should do as they consider the future ofDwight Howard (a free agent, the Lakers will offer him a five-year max deal) and Pau Gasol.

From Ramona Shelburne, ESPN: The clip runs frequently on Time Warner Cable SportsNet, the Lakers channel in Los Angeles — the day after the Lakers pulled off the megatrade that brought Dwight Howard to Los Angeles, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak walks Howard through the team’s training facility and points at all the retired jerseys on the wall. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor, Jerry West, Magic Johnson … the list goes on. In the foreground, you see some of the Lakers’ 16 championship trophies. Howard grins from ear to ear. Kupchak senses his excitement and turns to deliver a rather perfect line, ”That could be your jersey up on that wall in about 10 years.” The message is clear: All this can be yours.

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.

From Mike Bresnahan, LA Times: Phil Jackson never liked to compare Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan. Believe me, I tried everything. Sometimes I’d ask him after random Lakers practices or before games against Charlotte, the team Jordan owned. Or after games in Chicago, where nostalgia hopefully would add to the mix. There would be a little nugget here, a tiny nibble there, but nothing that mattered. It’s coming out now, though, in Jackson’s 339-page memoir co-written with Hugh Delehanty and available Tuesday: “Eleven Rings: The Soul of Success.” MJ vs. Kobe? Here it is from the man who would know best. “Michael was more charismatic and gregarious than Kobe. He loved hanging out with his teammates and security guards, playing cards, smoking cigars, and joking around,” Jackson said in the book, which was obtained in advance by The Times.

From C.A. Clark, Silver Screen & Roll: Barring some magical turn of events, the Los Angeles Lakers and their fans will be in a situation they haven’t seen in nearly two decades next year. They will play (or watch) the entire season with hopes for success, but they will do so with one eye firmly cast on the year ahead. Steve Nash will still be trying his hardest, of course. We hope Kobe Bryant will make an appearance, and we hope Dwight Howard decides to stay, too. Combine those three players with either Pau Gasol or whatever more suitable pieces can be found for him, and you have the foundations for a formidable roster on paper. Sure, we now know just how badly “on paper” can go, but it is still the only way you can assess how good a team can be in advance while you prepare for the season to come. Under normal circumstances, making sure they have the best team possible for next year would be the only consideration of the Lakers front office for the next few months, but circumstances are not normal. In fact, they may never be “normal” again.

From News Services, ESPN: Kobe Bryant and an auction house that wants to sell memorabilia from his high school days and early pro career are heading for a trial next month, unless they can work out a deal before then. U.S. District Judge Renee Bumb on Monday set June 17 as a trial date, but also set a court-guided mediation session for Friday in a case that’s the manifestation of an ugly family dispute that all sides seem to want to resolve quickly. “Maybe I should have had you bring your witnesses today and we would have tried the case,” Bumb said at a hearing. “You’re all so ready to go.” The main reason she didn’t schedule the trial for an earlier date was that Bryant’s father, Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, said he could not get to a trial sooner because he’s coaching a Thai team in the Asian Basketball League playoffs. The animosity became public earlier this month, shortly after Berlin, N.J.-based Goldin Auctions announced its plan to auction off Bryant’s mementos, which date to his days at Lower Merion High School outside Philadelphia. Goldin’s April 30 announcement promised a June sale of the 100 items of a collection provided by Bryant’s mother, Pamela Bryant.

From Kelly Dwyer, Yahoo Sports: In the spring of 2012, after a disappointing second round ouster, then-Los Angeles Lakers coach Mike Brown met with Kobe Bryant to discuss initiating a Princeton-styled offense for 2012-13. With capable big men Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol already on the team, Brown set to hire former Washington Wizards coach Eddie Jordan, a noted Princeton expert and former Laker player, to be his lead assistant, with Bryant’s full blessing. Things kind of fell apart from there. The offense was thrown for a loop when the team acquired Dwight Howard and Steve Nash later in the summer, as the Princeton eschews the sort of ball domination that makes a player like Nash so effective. After a winless preseason and 1-4 start to the regular season, Brown was let go as head man. Former Suns and Knicks coach Mike D’Antoni, owner of offensive sensibilities that fly directly in the face of the notoriously slowed Princeton O, was then hired. Jordan, sent to the end of the bench, ended up taking a gig to help resurrect the flailing and failing Rutgers NCAA men’s basketball team.

From Gabriel Lee, Lakers Nation: Remember when Harvey Dent said in the Dark Knight  “you either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become a villain?” Well former Laker Derek Fisher has been dangerously tip-toeing that line since being unceremoniously dumped at the 2012 trade deadline for Jordan Hill and cap relief. Lakers Nation felt empathetic towards Fisher when he signed for Oklahoma City the first time around; he never asked to go from the declining Western Conference powerhouse, the Lakers,  to the emerging powerhouse in the West, Oklahoma City. Though he did ask to be released from the Houston Rockets, whom the Lakers dealt him to. Things always tend to work out for Derek Fisher. Since being drafted by the Lakers in 1996 he was never an elite point guard in the NBA, heck he barely cracked the top 20, but with him at the point the Lakers won five championships.