Lakers Rumors: Dwight Howard An Option To Join LeBron James After Warriors Sign DeMarcus Cousins?

The Los Angeles Lakers have made some head-scratching moves since signing LeBron James to a four-year contract. They’ve surrounded the NBA’s best player with a couple of the league’s wackiest players in Lance Stephenson and JaVale McGee. L.A. signed former James nemesis Rajon Rondo and overpaid Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to the tune of $12 million for one year.

Could even more interesting additions be on the way? If it's up to Dwight Howard, that might be the case.

Howard, 32, is expected to be bought out of his one-year, $23.8 million contract by the Brooklyn Nets after being traded to the team earlier this offseason. That would turn him into a free agent, and he reportedly has eyes on going to the Lakers to play with James.

Howard reportedly had interest in joining the Golden State Warriors or New Orleans Pelicans, but it appears that both teams have gone in other directions. The defending champs used their mid-level exception to sign DeMarcus Cousins to a deal that rocked the NBA Monday night. New Orleans gave Julius Randle a two-year, $18 million contract, potentially eliminating themselves as suitors for the center.

Would the Lakers pass on Howard as well? The team has limited cap space, and the number of impactful free agents on the market has quickly dwindled. Howard was productive last season with averages of 16.6 points, 12.5 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 81 games. He’s averaged a double-double in all 14 of his NBA seasons.

Assuming he doesn’t return to Charlotte, Houston or Atlanta, Howard will don his fourth different uniform in the last four years next season. He’s among the most disliked players in the league, and it might be part of the reason why the Hornets sent him to the Nets last month.

The Lakers already had one failed experiment with Howard. The team acquired him from the Orlando Magic prior to the 2012-2013 season, forming what was expected to be a title contender with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Steve Nash on the roster. Howard and Bryant clashed, and the team was swept in the first round of the playoffs before the center went to the Rockets as a free agent after just one year in L.A.

If the Lakers want any chance of competing with the Warriors next season, they’ll have to add some more pieces around James. Maybe that means trading for Kawhi Leonard or taking another chance on Howard in hopes that he can contribute to a championship contender.

Perhaps the Lakers' current roster is what the team will look like for the 2018-2019 season, and it'll be at least one year before James can even fathom getting Los Angeles back into the championship picture.