Dwight Howard was confused.
On a group led by LeBron James and Anthony Davis, Howard had been seen as a key function participant throughout the Lakers’ 2020 NBA championship season. However he wasn’t introduced again the next season.
“I was so sad. I wanted to come back,” Howard stated on this week’s episode of his “Above the Rim with DH12” podcast. “And I don’t know what had happened.”
His visitor, Lakers controlling proprietor Jeanie Buss, was additionally confused — by Howard’s remark.
“You took an offer from the Philadelphia 76ers,” Buss informed him.
Throughout a dialog that appeared genuinely heat and caring, Howard and Buss cleared the air concerning the finish to the second — and most profitable — of Howard’s three stints with the Lakers. The eight-time All-Star indicated he had been led to consider by his agent on the time that the group had little interest in re-signing him as a free agent.
“So, like, I don’t even know what the truth was because what I was told was that you guys didn’t have an offer for me,” Howard stated.
Buss responded: “Oh, no, that’s not true. We made an offer. We did.”
Howard replied: “I never even knew that. He told me — well, actually, he said that you guys had an offer, and then he said you guys took the offer back and said, ‘No.’”
Later within the dialog, Howard double-checked.
“So y’all did have an offer for me?” he requested.
“Yes!” Buss answered.
She defined that with the NBA’s wage cap, generally it may be difficult to get the timing proper in making contract affords to construct a roster.
“I think for a player, if a team is saying, like, we have a contract but you have to wait to sign it or we gotta sign other players first, it’d just seem like you’re not a priority,” Howard stated.
Buss responded: “I can see why you would feel that way and [that’s] probably what another team trying to sign you would say to you to put us down. But that’s not who we are. And you know that.”
Each Howard and Buss agreed that the Lakers might have gained extra championships had the 2020 group stayed collectively. As a substitute, a number of gamers, together with Rajon Rondo, left as free brokers, whereas the group traded away gamers like Danny Inexperienced and JaVale McGee.
“Do you feel like if we would’ve kept the team together we would’ve won a couple of championships?” Howard requested Buss.
Buss replied: “I think so. I feel like when you win a championship, that’s when you give the guys a chance to defend their title. … But once there was, like, three or four guys not coming back, then it wasn’t the same anyway.”
Howard ended up signing a one-year take care of the 76ers however returned to the Lakers for 2021-22, the final of his 18 seasons within the NBA.
“It’s so good to have the conversation because now it doesn’t leave room for miscommunication. We have an understanding,” Howard stated. “Because for years I was so hurt by that. … It just seemed like we had something, but it’s just like we didn’t pursue it like we should have on both ends.”
Buss added later: “We would have been better off staying together. But it was, like, a misdirection or a misunderstanding.”
