Los Angeles Lakers rumors: Jason Kidd helped land Dwight Howard

Recent Los Angeles Lakers rumors involve Dwight Howard, as it was revealed that Jason Kidd is a big reason for him joining the team.

There have been plenty of Los Angeles Lakers rumors in recent days as the team was looking to fill out the roster. With DeMarcus Cousins tearing his ACL and putting his season in doubt, the team needed to find another center.

After a few workouts, Dwight Howard looks like he will be joining the team. In addition to Howard, the Lakers also brought in Joakim Noah and Marresse Speights for workouts and interviews. Ultimately, it was Howard who was settled on.

Bringing Howard into the fold has its risks, but he was able to convince the organization and some players that he has changed his ways. Anthony Davis, JaVale McGee and Rajon Rondo were all at the meeting and left convinced that Howard could be trusted and that he is a new person.

Howard had a lot of convincing to do. For years he has said that he has changed his ways only to run into the same problems. Despite that, he still had some people vouching for him. One of those people happen to be a part of the Lakers organization and helped get things rolling. That person is Jason Kidd.

According to Shams Charania of The Athletic and Stadium, Kidd played a critical role early on in the process to get Howard back to the Lakers. Kidd and Howard played together during the 2008 Olympics and that relationship has remained strong since.

Kidd was the first person that Howard spoke to about the possibility of signing in Los Angeles. Howard told him about what he had learned in recent years and that he was ready to make the necessary changes to his game to become a role player.

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Kidd was convinced that the change was sincere and then had to get other prominent people in the organization, such as LeBron James, Frank Vogel, Rob Pelinka and Davis, on board.

Howard reportedly had a convincing and emotional meeting with the Lakers that helped him seal the deal. He also made a great first impression by showing up early and working out.

D12 was scheduled for a meeting and workout on Thursday. However, he showed up early and worked out at the facility on Wednesday.

"“Dwight didn’t need to be here the day before the actual workout,” one source said, “but he was.”"

That kind of initiative is great to see. Howard knows that his NBA future could hang in the balance because of how things have gone the last few seasons. The Lakers are presenting him with an opportunity to rebuild his reputation on a contending team.

The Lakers aren’t going to be relying on him to save their franchise. The heavy lifting will be done by James, Davis and Kyle Kuzma.

Howard just has to be a complementary piece, rebounding and protecting the rim. If accepts that smaller role and commits to it, this could be a great redemption story after how poorly things went during his first stint in the purple and gold.