– Anchor the middle
When Howard signed with the Lakers, many assumed that he would slide into the backup role off the bench. However, it seems like Frank Vogel is going to be giving him a chance to win the starting job, and that is an indication that the Lakers must have really liked what they saw from Howard physically in his workouts.
While Howard missed basically all of last season due to injury, he was still playing some good basketball the season prior to that. In the 2017-18 season with Charlotte, Howard played in 81 games and put up some good numbers.
In his one season with Charlotte, Howard averaged 16.6 points, 12.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. These are certainly some good numbers for Howard, and could be an indication that he might be a viable starting center for the Lakers.
While this Lakers team won’t need Howard to score a ton, they would love to see him clean the glass and play some good defense. Vogel’s defense likes to funnel players to the middle, and Howard will have to be ready to alter shots.