Dwight playing coy with media about Lakers

[Biohazard]

But he didn't say no

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/21 ... rs_In_2012

[The Skyhook]

If he said no then the media still wouldn't leave him alone. They would say well if not L.A. then he wants New York.

[Hunter103]

And if not NY, Sacto.

[Dolgopolov]

If Dwight comes to la I'll probably be a lakers fan again

[SniperHawk10]

If Dwight comes to la I'll probably be a lakers fan again

Here's to me hoping he doesn't come near the Los Angeles area then..

[magicfan9109]

I would be devastated
Hint- look at screename.
Seriously though guys, do you think he could pull a shaq and what is your cap situation like etc...?

[Jetset]

I would be devastated
Hint- look at screename.
Seriously though guys, do you think he could pull a shaq and what is your cap situation like etc...?

If you don't win next season, I could see him bolting I hate to break it to you. In the Summer of 2012-2013 the players who will still be under contract for one extra year are Kobe, Pau, Artest, and Blake. And Together all four of their contracts add up to be a total of $58,108,109. The players who are expiring are Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, and Derek Fisher with his player option. LAL would likely send a deal of Bynum, Walton or Odom, and picks in exchange for Howard. The Lakers also might have to shed the salary of Artest in a separate deal.

[MagicMamba88]

Dwight Howard says if he could play with anyone, he'd choose Kobe Bryant.

video evidence from LA Times
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1kji9Vpu2RA

[Wavy Q]

Don't get your hopes up. I'm fine with the fans that joke and prod at people about Dwight coming here, but the people that actually take it seriously are being extremely unrealistic.

[KB24TBOTB]

If Dwight comes to la I'll probably be a lakers fan again

Here's to me hoping he doesn't come near the Los Angeles area then..

Haha this kid gives me a good laugh

[KB24TBOTB]

[url][/url]

Don't get your hopes up. I'm fine with the fans that joke and prod at people about Dwight coming here, but the people that actually take it seriously are being extremely unrealistic.

NBA where amazing happens

[DEEP3CL]

Don't get your hopes up. I'm fine with the fans that joke and prod at people about Dwight coming here, but the people that actually take it seriously are being extremely unrealistic.

+1

Further more even with players expiring around the time he's a FA, we'd have to do a S&T anyway to make it happen. But reality is this won't happen, I don't even look forward to it at all. Now I can see Dwight leaving if they don't get over the hump, but it won't be here nor New York unless they plan on unloading guys they just got.

[The Laker Kid]

Don't deny it, the writing is all over the wall

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/201 ... s-jay-leno

He said that being on Leno's show was one of his "list of life goals". Watch the videos--He enjoys being in LA. He loves the spotlight.: http://www.sportsgrid.com/media/dwight- ... ppearance/

[Jetset]

Don't deny it, the writing is all over the wall

http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/201 ... s-jay-leno

He said that being on Leno's show was one of his "list of life goals". Watch the videos--He enjoys being in LA. He loves the spotlight.: http://www.sportsgrid.com/media/dwight- ... ppearance/

It's not about Howard wanting to come here or not. It's about whether or not we can actually get him here in 2012. Deep's right there are other destinations that look better prepared to get him than the Lakers right now. With this new CBA that going to be in effect, it's going to be difficult getting Howard here. We'd basically have to strip our roster of everyone not named Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol and try and build on the cheap. Kobe would also have to restructure his contract if we're going to be bringing in another max player because 2012 is the year his contract starts to balloon, and in 2013 he's owed 30 mil.

Deep is wrong about one thing though, if Howard uses his early termination option and becomes a free agent we could sign him outright by declining the Bynum option, but we'd also have to get rid of Odom. I too thought we would have to orchestrate a S&T with Orlando if a deal is going to happen, but my fellow RGM peers corrected me on that.

Bottom line is, although its sort of pipedream-ish it could happen and I wouldn't write off the Lakers as his possible destination. But unless somthing changes and we start preparing, it's not looking well.

[DEEP3CL]

Deep is wrong about one thing though, if Howard uses his early termination option and becomes a free agent we could sign him outright by declining the Bynum option, but we'd also have to get rid of Odom. I too thought we would have to orchestrate a S&T with Orlando if a deal is going to happen, but my fellow RGM peers corrected me on that.

Jet even if we declined Drew's option we'd still be over the cap. The only other players that are in limbo are Fish and LO, Fish is a "player option" I know for sure he'll pick up and LO is not guaranteed. The new CBA will really determine if we're even in the hunt to land Howard in the first place. Just because a players contract expires doesn't mean we get that money back automatically. Even if you sub those contracts we're still at 63,908,109 mil, that's still over todays cap. The only way to land D12 is thru S&T, meaning we'll have to pick up Drew's option and trade that along with another player to satisfy the CBA.

And the comment you made about Kobe restructuring his contract isn't allowed under the current CBA nor will it be in the new one. Players were once allowed to do that in the 80's but is was thrown out once the CBA was restructured in the mid 80's.

[Slava]

I'm pretty sure we can work a team under the cap to get a S&T done. Bynum and Odom will be the major pawns along with rookies. Even if Orlando doesn't want anything to do with our players they can get cap relief/high picks from a 3rd team which will soften the blow of losing Dwight.

It ultimately depends on what Dwight and Lakers want to do. The players' will is the deciding factor.

[Jetset]

Deep is wrong about one thing though, if Howard uses his early termination option and becomes a free agent we could sign him outright by declining the Bynum option, but we'd also have to get rid of Odom. I too thought we would have to orchestrate a S&T with Orlando if a deal is going to happen, but my fellow RGM peers corrected me on that.

Jet even if we declined Drew's option we'd still be over the cap. The only other players that are in limbo are Fish and LO, Fish is a "player option" I know for sure he'll pick up and LO is not guaranteed. The new CBA will really determine if we're even in the hunt to land Howard in the first place. Just because a players contract expires doesn't mean we get that money back automatically. Even if you sub those contracts we're still at 63,908,109 mil, that's still over todays cap. The only way to land D12 is thru S&T, meaning we'll have to pick up Drew's option and trade that along with another player to satisfy the CBA.

And the comment you made about Kobe restructuring his contract isn't allowed under the current CBA nor will it be in the new one. Players were once allowed to do that in the 80's but is was thrown out once the CBA was restructured in the mid 80's.

Fisher isn't in any limbo his move is quite simple, he's going to accept the players option. I'd actually be ok with this as long as his ass on the bench by then. Yeah I agree L.O.'s in limbo because if we stand a shot at getting D12 he has to go.

Interesting stuff about the restructuring of contracts. If we can't restructure Kobe's contract then it's looking near impossible for us to not only trade for Howard, but to maintain the Big 3 for the 2013-14 season. That means Gasol would have to be traded no matter what.

And thanks for the clarification, the whole Bynum S&T was the point I tried to drive across the GB and I was told that the Lakers could still get Howard without picking up the option on Bynum. (Note to self: Never take GB posters seriously).

[MagicMamba88]

SHowardCooper Scott Howard-Cooper
Red alert, Orlando. Red alert. Kobe suggested realtors for Dwight Howard. "He's a good buddy and I'll help him whenever I can."

http://twitter.com/SHowardCooper/status ... 0355135488

2nd tweet:

SHowardCooper Scott Howard-Cooper
Kobe only did it out of the goodness of his heart, of course. No other motivation. BTW, Howard, not Kobe, first mentioned it to reporters.

[Kalidogg24]

Green Alert Southern Cali beaches. Green Alert

D12 will be residing on the West Coast soon.

[MagicMamba88]

Kobe working on Howard to L.A.?

Impending 2012 free agent Dwight Howard explains how Kobe teased him all weekend about finding him a realtor in L.A.

video: http://sports.yahoo.com/video/playe...68#nba/24258868