7.) Dwight Howard
With the unfortunate news of DeMarcus Cousins‘ torn ACL, the Lakers had to act fast and sign another center. After a series of workouts from what was left of the free-agent crop, the team landed on Dwight Howard.
For all of his quirks both on and off the court, Dwight can still be a productive player if properly motivated. When he’s on, he’s still one of the league’s best rebounders. However, when he’s unwilling to accept a reduced role, he has shown to be a huge detriment to the team.
However, even with all of these issues, Howard has been in the 90th percentile for defensive rebounding percentage ever since his second season in Orlando back in 2005 per CleaningTheGlass. For a Lakers team that is sorely lacking in that category, having a player like Howard will be huge on the boards.
For the Lakers, all that will be — and should be — asked of Howard is to get on the glass, protect the rim, and catch the occasional lob pass, all of which he is capable of doing at an elite level.
It should also be noted that Howard will undoubtedly have the shortest leash he’s had in his career. He’ll be playing alongside two of the league’s best players, for a team with championship aspirations that will not hesitate to waive him should he not accept the role he’s expected to play.