Dwight Howard Plans to Take His Time Before Deciding on Future

Dwight Howard’s 2012-13 campaign came to an end after being ejected in the Los Angeles Lakers final game of the season, but we won’t know anytime soon whether or not that was his final walk off the court as a member of the Lakers squad.

Howard said in his exit view that he will test the open market, but he doesn’t plan on rushing his decision.

“I’m going to take my time, get away from the game, my phones and everything and just clear my head,” Howard said, via the team’s official website. “I’ll do what’s going to be best for myself, what’s going to make me happy. I can’t control who likes me, who dislikes me, but I have the right to be happy.”

All signs point to Howard returning to the Lakers, however, he has been unpredictable throughout his entire career, so you can never rule anything out.

Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash have both publicly stated they would like Howard to return to the Lakers and common sense tells you that the Lakers want Howard back, too.  Bryant is nearing the end of his career and dealing with a major injury, so the team needs to find a star for the future. That would be Howard.

Once Howard officially becomes a free agent after July 1, one team to keep an eye on will be the Houston Rockets.

While Howard would like to take his time making a decision, Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak thinks the sooner a decision comes the better.

“I think he has complete faith in the organization. I think he does like living here. I think it’s all good, which leads me to why I’m optimistic,” Kupchak said. “I think he understands that the sooner he makes a decision, the better it is for everybody. I don’t know if that means a week, a month or seven weeks.”

Let the drama begin.