i am not seeing howard declining, though the fundamentals in offense is really a suspect. the defensive presence he can give is A if not A+. he’s the only guy in FA that we can lock for several years and be the 1st piece in rebuilding process when Kobe retires (sad), and i believe that he’s the best talent we can get, with our limited financial problems.
with todays handling of salaries, Howard should be given max deal, as you can count on him on defense. i am not expecting a 30ppg 15rpg from him, i think that is difficult to achieve, but having him on the defensive end can really help our team. again, for bringing in future talent.

the real threat is the houston team, i remember they used a different approach on J.Lins contract so that new-york wont be able to match, however i am not good with salaries so I am hoping we can outwit them and we can lock D12.

personally, i want howard to wear lakers uniform next year, however, if he choose to take his talent to texas, i’ll accept that and cement my impression of him that he does not want to be given high expectations.

as for the team i am rooting this playoffs, its the heat. i thought they are locked in the east but these Pacers are real, i see them as the Spurs of the Eastern conference.

Somehow he has to learn he is a part of a team and not necessarily the primary leader – even with Kobe missing in action. That is the huge lesson that Kobe had to learn from Phil Jackson. Being the leader doesn’t mean you always lead in everything – sometimes you have to simply join in and stop complaining – see the old Derek Fisher.

The piece above has some good food for thought. Watching the trajectory of other big men – most of whom weren’t as dependent on athleticism as Dwight – has some relevance. Rehashing the Olympics tales also reminded me why I hated Dwight so much before we traded for him.

Perhaps the best line that sums up Dwight: “When your best player isn’t a leader, but he isn’t a follower, either … where are you really going?” Best description I’ve heard of Dwight. Few leadership qualities with a leader’s ego.

All that said, it makes perfect basketball sense to re-sign Dwight. He’s still a top 4 player at his position, while some on here would argue higher. And I do think his health will improve dramatically next year, although he’ll likely never reach his peak again. Not signing him doesn’t open up cap space and doesn’t really serve any purpose; it would mean the end of a championship quest for Kobe (and possibly push Kobe into retirement soon). I won’t be sweating bullets at all this summer, either way. If he goes, that’s less of his childish antics I have to tolerate in the future.

Dwight’s finals appearance trumps anything Paul has done in his career. Rondo and Westbrook do from a career standpoint too but all those guys get far more criticism than Paul. Seems a bit shaky.

Chearn- Great comment! You won’t hear anyone saying ‘live by the ‘Bron, die by the ‘Bron’ after his 2 turnovers passing for the big shot.

About Lebron. Dude is amazing. He is absolutely the best player in the world right now, but I claim he needs Wade to step up and take more of the load.

Set aside the off-court drama (if you can), and honestly ask yourself, “Is Dwight a guy I want to watch? Or pay to watch?” For me, it’s a resounding “No” answer.

Between the lack of a refined post game after nearly 10 years as a pro, the atrocious free throw shooting, poor passing, and seeming lack of competitive fire — I’ve only seen one prior Lakers’ season (in 2004-05) that was less interesting to follow than this past one, and that was largely due to Dwight.

And next year will be worse, with no Kobe.

The narrative will hopefully change if and when Kobe makes a successful comeback from “The Injury.”

Now you know why Kobe is a bad man. When the game is on the line he is WILLING to be the goat or the hero.

Commentators: Lebron is tired of carrying 4 players up and down the court.
Really?!!! When Kobe plays the same type of game he’s freezing out the players on his team and being selfish. Can you say double-double standards?

Deep down inside Batman (Lebron) can’t do it without Robin (Wade).

#Kobe

Looks like its gonna be a long summer.