NBA Rumors: No Love Lost Between The Diesel And Dwight Howard

Dwight Howard looks pretty close to returning to Hollywood and fills up the slack left by DeMarcus Cousins. The Los Angeles Lakers are looking to add another wide-body inside the paint after the 29-year-old suffered an ACL injury recently.

As mentioned in a previous post, the Lakers worked out several big men recently. Aside from Howard, Los Angeles also checked out Joakim Noah and Mareese Speights. But it appears that eight-time All-Star has the inside track although he will not be getting a guaranteed deal. Regardless, Howard's second coming is met by criticism considering he previously turned his back on the purple and gold. Aside from that, he has been struggling through injuries the past years.

Speaking of people who don't think highly about the three-time NBA Defensive of the Year, retired Lakers center Shaquille O'Neal seemed to care less about Howard returning to Hollywood. He was spotted by TMZ Sports at Papa John's in Atlanta as he was giving away free pizza to kids and the 47-year-old made it look like he did not know Howard or at least did not seem to care.

For those who did not know, O'Neal and Howard are not exactly the best of friends. Both have been trading shots through the years - including the latter using the 2000 NBA MVP's Superman moniker. Apparently, that did not sit well with The Diesel.

Looking ahead, it will be interesting if Howard can at least reach the level O'Neal reached when he donned the purple and gold. But the first thing that he may have to do is swallow his pride a bit. There is no question that he is no longer the dominant force that made him one of the coveted players in the past.

For now, he needs to try and rebuild himself and blend in with the Lakers. He failed to strike it well before with Kobe Bryant. Now, he has to find a way to blend in with LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

Aside from that, his durability will be monitored closely. Since leaving the Lakers, he has been struggling with his health. For him to last long, he needs to be healthy for the Lakers, especially since the team is tipped as one of the favorites for the coming 2019-20 NBA season.