Los Angeles Lakers: 5 Reasons to consider signing Dwight Howard

With DeMarcus Cousins out for most, if not all of the 2019-20 season with a torn ACL, the Los Angeles Lakers need a backup center STAT.

When the Los Angeles Lakers signed DeMarcus Cousins in July, the excitement among many Lakers fans was palpable. They instantly expected Cousins to regain his old form and return to being an All-Star, if not a superstar, and be the X-factor that would render the Lakers as prohibitive championship favorites by the start of the playoffs.

What those fans seemed to ignore is the fact that Cousins was coming off two very severe lower body injuries in less than two years – first a ruptured Achilles, then a torn quad.

Now that he’s suffered a third severe lower body injury – a torn ACL – the Lakers need some insurance in the frontcourt. They may not need an All-Star caliber performer to replace Cousins, but they do need someone serviceable.

One possible option – and perhaps the best, given how limited the free agent market is in August, is one that may make most Lakers fans feel like puking – Dwight Howard.

According to Rohan Nadkarni of Sports Illustrated, the Lakers seem to have some interest in bringing him back.

Of course, Howard left the Lakers six years ago on bad terms. After a disastrous, injury-riddled 2012-13 season, Howard decided to sign with the Houston Rockets as a free agent amidst supposed tension between him and Kobe Bryant. He didn’t exactly have the best relationship with James Harden, either.

But it’s been a while, and while time may not heal all wounds, it does seem to heal a good amount of them.

Why the heck should the purple and gold even think about bringing back a guy like Howard? If one puts aside their ego, he sounds better and better the more one thinks about it. Here are five reasons why the Lakers should bring him back.