Hoops Nation

Just yesterday, RealGM.com’s Jarrod Rudolph reported that Dwight Howard was “excited” about the opportunity to play for the Los Angeles Lakers. Chris Broussard from ESPN also confirmed the report that Dwight Howard is ready to join Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Moments ago, Ric Bucher released an article stating that Dwight Howard’s agent denied any reports of his client being ready to sign an extension with the Lakers, or any other team he is potentially traded to. As expected, this drove the NBA fan-base bonkers.

What most fans do not understand is that Rudolph and other trustable sources made it very clear that Dwight Howard would re-sign with the Lakers at the end of the 2012-13 season, rather than immediately signing a contract extension. Why? Because the new CBA would only allow Dwight Howard to extend his contract for 3 years, $60 million. If he decides to wait until the end of the season and let his contract expire, the Lakers, or any other franchise he is traded to, can use bird rights to offer him a maximum contract, which is over 5 years, $100 million.

According to Rudolph, there is no “flip-flopping” going on with Dwight. He will re-sign at the end of the 2012-13 season, as previously reported. The latest report on Dwight Howard comes from Sam Amico from FOX Sports. According to his sources, the Lakers are “supremely confident” that Dwight Howard will re-sign with the Lakers once he’s there.

(Via Hoops-Nation.com)