Lakers News: Free Agent Ex-LA Big Man To Meet With West Rival

A possible return for the future Hall of Famer.

Following a one-season reprieve, three-time Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard is reportedly looking to return to the NBA with a different recent title team.

Sources inform Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium that the free agent 2020 LA champ is set to confer with the Golden State Warriors next week to potentially shore up the club's frontcourt.

Among the list of players yours truly would have considered least likely to become Warriors, Howard is only a slightly less improbable (hypothetical) new veteran addition than another 2023 Warrior, Chris Paul.

The 6'10" big man was an eight-time All-Star and All-NBA selection in his prime during an 18-year run in the league. He joined the Lakers during three non-consecutive seasons at very different moments in what will eventually be a Hall of Fame career. 

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year first was flipped to LA ahead of the franchise's ill-fated 2012-13 "This Is Gonna Be Fun" season, along with Steve Nash. A back injury kept Howard from playing like his peak Orlando Magic self, though he was still an All-Star that year. He clashed with incumbent LA All-Star shooting guard Kobe Bryant. A fourth Hall of Famer, power forward/center Pau Gasol, was also on that starry club, which finished with a 45-37 record and an ignominious first round Western Conference playoffs exit. Howard's most successful stint (from a team perspective) with LA came in 2019-20, when he inked a non-guaranteed veteran's minimum deal with the team and emerged as a fun bench role player for the Lakers' 2020 title run. He then joined the club for another ill-fated stint loaded with washed-up Hall of Famers, in 2021-22. Los Angeles finished with a dismal 33-49 record and missed the playoffs.

In 2022-23, Howard played for the Taoyuan Leopards of Taiwain's T1 League, enjoying a fairly dominant international stint. The veteran big man was named the T1 League Most Valuable Import, an All-T1 League First Teamer and a T1 All-Defensive First Teamer.

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