The Los Angeles Lakers recently parted ways with a valuable member of their championship team from last season in veteran big man Dwight Howard. His departure from the team came as a shock to many as the eight-time All-Star previously announced his return to the Lakers but took an abrupt U-turn and headed to the Philadelphia 76ers instead.
Team general manager Rob Pelinka finds himself in the center of the busy free agency window once again and it was revealed that his future plans for the team may not have been on the same page as Howard's desires moving forward.
“He did not fret over losing Dwight Howard since his hopes for a larger role contradicted the team’s plans to use him only when the matchups called for it.”
The team heavily relied on the production of star forward Anthony Davis who tallied 26.1 points and 9.3 rebounds in 34.4 minutes on the floor in 62 appearances for the Lakers. The presence of Davis eventually relegated Howard and another valuable big man in JaVale McGee to the backseat despite their proven effectiveness on the field.
In fact, the two back-up centers previously failed to see action in the team's Western Conference Semi-Finals matchup against the Houston Rockets due to their opponents playing with a small-ball lineup. However, they were reinstated back on the rotation in the Western Conference Finals against the Denver Nuggets where Howard and McGee took turns in limiting opposing center Nikola Jokic in the paint.
Pelinka already anticipated and promptly responded to both Howard and McGee's recent departures with the acquisition of Montrezl Harrell from the Los Angeles Clippers and Marc Gasol from the Toronto Raptors.
Howard will take his 7.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game average to another playoff-bound team in the 76ers where he will have better chances of vying for a larger role in their frontline rotation.
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