HoopsHype.com Rumors

Kevin Ding: Dwight: "If we want it, we've got to go take it. That's what we've got to do the next game. I believe that the guys are going to do it." Twitter @KevinDing

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard 

John Denton: Steve Nash on the Hannah Storm ESPN show on former #Magic C Dwight Howard: "In some ways I think the Orlando experience is still with him." Twitter @JohnDenton555

Los Angeles Lakers, Steve Nash, Dwight Howard 

Dave McMenamin: Dwight Howard on the team dinner Friday: "What we said is going to stay between us. We had a good talk though, good time." Twitter @mcten

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard 

Jeff McDonald: How many times should we expect Dwight on the foul line this series? Tony Parker: "I don’t know, you should ask Pop. But a lot." Twitter @JMcDonald_SAEN

Los Angeles Lakers, San Antonio Spurs, Tony Parker, Dwight Howard 

Arash Markazi: Dwight's not touching the possibility of D'Antoni coming back. Sticking to his "I'm just focused on the playoffs" mantra. Twitter @ArashMarkazi

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard 

Mitch Kupchak continues to be confident that Dwight Howard will re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers this offseason, when the center becomes a free agent. “I expect it,” Kupchak said Tuesday. Howard had 26 points and 17 rebounds in Sunday's win over the San Antonio Spurs, the Lakers' first game without Kobe Bryant. “For the last six or seven weeks, we’ve been seen him playing like he played in Orlando,” Kupchak said of Howard. RealGM

Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Mitch Kupchak, Dwight Howard 

The Orlando Magic are one of the youngest franchises in the NBA, which is a little hard to believe. They've made the NBA Finals twice, and featured some of the best and most iconic players of the past three decades: Shaquille O'Neal, Penny Hardaway, Grant Hill, Tracy McGrady, and Dwight Howard. And yet, the team is only coming up on its 25th anniversary next season. With that in mind, the Magic have unveiled a new logo to commemorate a quarter century of basketball. "This new look provides us an opportunity to reflect on where we've been and look forward to where we are headed," team CEO Alex Martins said in a press release. "Our silver season logo signifies the history we are creating each day—every game, every play, every moment really is history in the making." USA Today Sports

Orlando Magic, Shaquille O'Neal, Dwight Howard, Tracy McGrady, Penny Hardaway, Alex Martins, Grant Hill 

Dwight Howard had been there. To the operating table, to the dark place a career-threatening injury can plunge a superstar into, and down the long, frustrating road that comes next. He'd been there, and so he is determined to be there for Kobe Bryant as he goes through the same experience now, trying to come back from a completely torn Achilles tendon. Saturday afternoon Howard visited Bryant at the hospital before and after he'd had surgery. And it won't be the last time. "I know how he feels," Howard told ESPNLosAngeles.com. "It hurts. I just wanted to be there." ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Injuries 

Even before Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant went down in a heap Friday night, his season ending with the Achilles tendon pop heard 'round the basketball world, there was an expectation within the organization that Dwight Howard would eventually take over this team. While the center who will be a free agent this summer has continued his noncommittal stance about whether he will sign with the Lakers or head elsewhere, two people close to him said they fully expect him to return. The people spoke to USA TODAY Sports on the condition of anonymity out of respect for Howard's decision to wait until the summer to make his final choice. USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Dwight Howard 

D'Antoni has a hard time looking past the next few days because of the task at hand, but said he's confident Howard will ultimately see the many benefits of staying put come free agency time. "You wonder a little bit (about his decision), but our whole focus and job now is to make the best of the situation right now, and then he'll make that decision and he'll make the best one for him," D'Antoni said. "But again, in my (mind) it doesn't get any better than this...You know what? You go through some stuff, but it has worked out. I'm happy with the team, where they are mentally. I'm happy with the situation and I feel pretty good about our possibilities." USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Dwight Howard 

Howard, who spent parts of this season frustrated with his lack of consistent involvement in the offense that Bryant always dominated, refuted the idea that his absence means he will now take over. "People assume that, because Kobe is out, that we all have to try to go for 30 points every night," Howard said. "That's not the case (just) because he's out. We have to play great team basketball, get everybody involved. Stats — it looks good on paper. It looks good for the highlights. But we win the game on the other end, playing defense and just going out there and going hard. "It's not about the points that we put up, so I'm not looking to go out every night and get 60 (points). That looks good. That would be great for myself, but the main concern is just winning a championship and doing it together. I just want to win. It's that simple. I want us to win the championship and have a big turnaround from where we started this season. That's the only thing that matters to me." USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard 

Howard downplayed whether Bryant's injury could affect his decision to re-sign with the Lakers this offseason when he becomes an unrestricted free agent. "That's for this summer," Howard said. "The two games we have left and the playoffs is all that matters." Long Beach Press-Telegram

Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Dwight Howard 

As much as Howard felt for Bryant and his injury, he was irked at the notion that the Lakers were finished. “We’re not clueless,” Howard said. “We know how to play basketball. Look at the guys on this team. We know how to play. We’re not going sit up here and act like we don’t know what to do now that Kobe’s out. We’re all sad that he’s gone; we’re hurt. All of us came here with the same mission and goal -- and the same goal -- and to see our top dog go down hurts all of us, but we can’t sit up here with our heads down from now on. “We got to move forward. I don’t think he wants us to keep our heads down. He wants us to go out there and fight just like he would fight, and that’s what we’re going to do.” ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard 

With his teammates gathered, Howard stood in front of them and spoke for the first time as the team leader. “I just told them that [Lakers management] put this team together for a reason, and we all know how to play basketball,” Howard said. “We’ve all done special things in our career before, and it’s time to do it again. We’ve all been blessed to play with Kobe, but we all have talent too, and we have to show it.” ESPN.com

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard 

Bryant has one season left on his contract (worth $30.4 million), and would likely return just as the Lakers are facing a free agency period in the summer of 2014 that could have the likes of King James himself on the market. What's more, one has to wonder how center and free-agent-to-be Dwight Howard will assess his situation with this drastically-changed Lakers landscape. Before Bryant's injury, all signs had been pointing to Howard wanting to re-sign with the Lakers. USA Today Sports

Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard 

While there has been speculation the Dallas Mavericks will make a run at Bucks’ restricted free-agent guard Brandon Jennings, the Mavs’ first and foremost free-agent priority is Lakers center Dwight Howard. Racine Journal-Times

Dallas Mavericks, Los Angeles Lakers, Milwaukee Bucks, Free Agency, Dwight Howard 

When the Warriors played the Lakers on March 25, the Warriors walked away with a 109-103 victory, and Lakers center Dwight Howard walked away with stitches in his busted lip — courtesy of a David Lee elbow. After that game, Howard said, “I will remember this game. I will remember that shot. He said he wasn’t trying to do it. You can look at the play and see it for yourself. I will take care of it later.” San Francisco Chronicle

Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard, David Lee 

So he was asked again what he plans to do about it? “Listen, I’m not going to do anything stupid to mess up our team. Don’t go out there looking and expecting me to go MMA on David Lee. There’s no need for that. My teammates need me on the floor, and they need me for the playoffs. I’m not going to do anything stupid to mess up myself or mess up David Lee. There’s a right way to go about it, and that’s to just play ball.” San Francisco Chronicle

Golden State Warriors, Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard, David Lee 

NBA analyst Marc Stein joined Fitzsimmons & Durrett on 103.3 KESN-FM this week to discuss the Mavs. Here are some highlights: On what the Mavs plan to do this offseason: “They’re going to go for Dwight (Howard). They’re going to go for Chris Paul. The overwhelming likelihood is they’re going to strike out on both counts so what trade can they make to put next to Dirk (Nowitzki) to carry that team burden with him. It’s obviously not there right now. There is no question it’s difficult. What they have to offer right now is cap space and I suppose the prospect of future picks. That’s really it. They don’t have a heck of a lot of young assets and that’s what gets teams excited. That’s how Houston was able to get James Harden. They had a bunch of young assets that OKC said we have to jump on this now before this stuff is off the table. The Mavs aren’t in that position.” Dallas Morning News

Dallas Mavericks, Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Lakers, Free Agency, Trade, Chris Paul, Dwight Howard 

All the signs suggest otherwise. But Dwight Howard still believes this disappointing 2012-13 season will eventually morph into him and his teammates holding the NBA’s Larry O’Brien trophy. “If we get in the playoffs, there’s no doubt in any of our minds that we can win a championship,” Howard said. “It’d be stupid of me to say if we get in the playoffs, we’ll be out in the first round. You have to have confidence in our team.” Los Angeles Daily News

Los Angeles Lakers, Dwight Howard