Dwight Howard Willing to Give Los Angeles Another Shot, Offers Anthony Davis Advice
Dwight Howard told Arash Markazi of the Los Angeles Times that he is not against making a return to Los Angeles this season for either the Lakers or Clippers and also offered up advice to Anthony Davis on how to handle this upcoming season.
Howard, who was traded from the Wizards to the Grizzlies earlier this offseason, is set to be on his eighth team in the last nine seasons counting his quick stint with the Nets, who bought him out before the start of last seasonafter trading for him, allowing him to go to Washington. However, there is talk Memphis will also let the three-time Defensive Player of the Year go before the start of the season, paving the way for him to find another squad.
Howard said he is open to either a second run with the Lakers or giving it a go with the new-look Clippers.
"I don’t know what's going to happen, but I do love L.A.," Howard told The Times. "Staples Center is going to be rocking this season. When I played there it was rocking every night. The atmosphere is crazy, not just for the Lakers but the Clippers too. I just think all the hard work they've put in is paying off now. They've always been viewed as the Lakers' little brother, but they decided to stand out and be different and you have to thank guys like Blake Griffin, DeAndre Jordan and Chris Paul for laying the foundation for this team, and then what Doc [Rivers] has done has been great. This is just all that hard work paying off."
Howard also mentioned how he would go about handling the season if he were Davis, who came to the Lakers under similar circumstances to Howard. Both players were six-time All-Stars before their trades and had spent their entire careers up until that point with one franchise.
Howard suggested enjoying Los Angeles as much as possible, which was something he said he was able to do despite his team not having the best success on the basketball court during his one year there.
"I would tell him to just enjoy the moment and enjoy this season," Howard told The Times. "When I was here, unfortunately things happened where we didn't win, guys got hurt, but I enjoyed the city, I enjoyed the people and I had some really great relationships with people that came from being out here.
"So there were some positives. We just didn't win that season, and that's what happens when you play basketball. Things may look good, but injuries and other issues may happen and things might not work out, but I still had a good time in L.A."
