Dwight Howard would not be traded – NBA Report
Dwight Howard may not have merged into the Los Angeles Lakers as swiftly as the franchise has hoped, but there is not a scintilla of possibility that they will trade the star big man before the February 21 deadline.
A few days back, Los Angeles Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak had ruled out the possibility while talking to Newsday and according to sources close to the situation, the centre has been told the same.
The leaves the Lakers at risk of getting nothing in return for Howard, should the player decide to leave as a free agent on July 1st, but the Lakers are apparently confident that Howard will stay. There are many reasons
to believe so.
Firstly, the Lakers might not be clicking as of now, a 23-26 record is an indicator, but Kobe Bryant and his Lakers provide Howard the ideal opportunity to win his maiden NBA championship, something he hasn’t been able to do so
in his nine year career so far. Secondly, the Lakers are the only franchise which would be able to offer a maximum deal – five years and roughly $118 million. All the other potential suitors would only be able to award the All-Star centre $ 88 million for
just four years. This can be the deciding factor for Howard when it comes to making a choice this summer.
When asked about the scenario recently, the big man avoided the question and instead stressed the importance of winning the championship;
"Right now, my only focus is to get us into the playoffs and win the championship," Howard said in an interview Monday with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. "Nothing else matters at this point. I understand, you know, what the Lakers want.
And I also understand that right now, there's no need for all the circus and all the stuff that happened last year [with Orlando] to start back up. I don't want it, my team doesn't need it, I don't need it, and frankly, our fans don't need it neither."
Given his history with trades, Dwight Howard is certainly right to take this approach.
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