The Los Angeles Lakers are beginning to give up hope on their chances of retaining center Dwight Howard, which is fine because the team could be considering using that cap space to go after Miami Heat star LeBron James next offseason.
Howard is currently being pursued by the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors and more, all teams that have done a great job building for the future.
Meanwhile, the Lakers are stuck with an older roster. The writing may be on the wall here—Howard might leave L.A.
Which is fine, because the Lakers sound content agreeing to a sign-and-trade in order to potentially clear cap space for LeBron. At least according to Grantland’s Bill Simmons:
Key for any Lakers sign-and-trade is LA not taking on salary past 2014. They want to make a run at LeBron next summer, they need cap space.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 5, 2013
PS: Don't be surprised if Nash (expiring in 2015) ends up in a GSW/Howard sign-and-trade, would give Lakers even more 2014 cap space.
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) July 5, 2013
So there you have it. The Lakers may already be set on a major rebuild and run at another superstar. We are a long way out from knowing if this speculated scheme will work, but we have seen crazier things happen in the NBA.
What do you think? Are the Lakers ready to give up hope on Dwight in order to make a run at LeBron?
Follow me on Twitter for more NFL, NBA and MLB news and analysis @Chris_Roling