Report: Dwight Howard would like to play for Lakers again

Legendary center Dwight Howard is apparently interested in joining the Los Angeles Lakers for a fourth stint.

Howard first played for the Lakers during the 2012-13 season, which ended with Los Angeles getting swept in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs.

Expectations were high for that season, but things just didn’t work out between Howard and Kobe Bryant. Howard left the ensuing offseason to join the Houston Rockets, but later found his way back to L.A.

The three-time Defensive Player of the Year was part of the Lakers squad that won the NBA title in the 2019-20 season, which was finished inside a bubble in Orlando, Fla. Howard then played for the Philadelphia 76ers the following season before rejoining the Lakers for the 2021-22 campaign.

Howard didn’t play in the NBA this past season as he played in Taiwan, but he seems to be open to returning to the league. Curiously enough, he mentioned the Lakers as one team he’d be able to make an impact for

“Okay, you got Miami Heat,” Howard told Complex. “You got obviously, the Lakers. The [Golden State] Warriors. The [Sacramento] Kings. But the Kings, I would say the Kings got a couple centers so they probably wouldn’t. But the Kings. The [Atlanta] Hawks. I’m from Atlanta, go back home with the Hawks.”

The eight-time All-Star then offered some interesting words about his relationship with the Lakers.

“It’s been crazy,” when asked if he’d want to return to the Lakers. “It’s been crazy, but it’s just for some reason we just clicked. I don’t know, you could have a little girlfriend or whatever and it’s just, y’all done been together, y’all done broke up. You done tried other girlfriends but it’s just some type of connection y’all got.

“That’s how we feel about the Lakers. Man, it’s just something that we got this connection. I don’t know. It got to work. It got to work. But I do love the Lakers, man. We had the championship run there and I wish we would’ve had a chance to keep going because that was the squad right there. We had everything. We had everything.”

Los Angeles reportedly remains open to potentially adding a veteran center, though it’s unclear whether or not Howard is under consideration.

Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka has hinted that the team is pursuing a big man with “stretch 5” capabilities. Howard has only hit 21.4 percent of his 3-pointers in his NBA career, though it’s important to note he’s only taken 103 shots from beyond the arc. He made 22.9 percent of his 3-pointers this past season in Taiwan.

It’ll be interesting to see if the Lakers do end up reuniting with Howard. The team reportedly views Jaxson Hayes, one of its offseason acquisitions, similarly to the 2020 version of Howard.

The Lakers have built a solid roster and will likely be one of the top contenders in the Western Conference this season after making it all the way to the Western Conference Finals last season as the No. 7 seed.