If the Los Angeles Lakers are exploring the possibility of trading Dwight Howard before the trade deadline on Thursday, they don’t want anyone to know about it. During an interview with ESPN’s Colin Cowherd on Wednesday, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak had nothing but praise for his center.
In fact, praise would be an understatement. Kupchak said the team has no intention of trading Howard and that he expects him to be in LA for many years to come. It even sounded like he expects Superman to be a Laker legend before his career is over. Kupchak said people are going to view Howard a lot differently when he wins his first championship and added the following tidbits.
Kupchak: “Dwight is our future.”
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) February 20, 2013
Kupchak said he has gotten calls from GMs even this morning on Dwight Howard but he will not be trading Howard.
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) February 20, 2013
Kupchak on Howard: “He deserves to have his name on the wall and a statue in front of Staples at some point in time.”
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) February 20, 2013
We’ve seen GMs lie countless times in an attempt to gain leverage in trade negotiations, but very few take it as far as Kupchak did. For further evidence that Kupchak is being truthful, ESPN’s Chad Ford even said in a chat with fans (via Black Sports Online) that it’s possible the Lakers would keep Howard over Kobe Bryant if Dwight gave the team an ultimatum.
“I’ve heard rumblings that if Howard told Laker officials this summer that the only way he’d stay in LA is if Kobe leaves, the Lakers could end up choosing Howard over Kobe,” Ford wrote.
Rumblings are usually just that, but the feeling around the team is obviously that Howard is going nowhere. I don’t know if the Lakers would trade Kobe simply because Dwight told them to, but it sounds like they have every intention of trying to sign Howard to a long-term extension this offseason.
