even after a miserable season in Los Angeles, Dwight Howard isn’t ready to leave the Purple and Gold.
During his exit interview earlier this month, the big man confirmed he wants to return to the Lakers, citing his love of the city and the fans.
“Do I want to come back? Why would I want to leave?” Howard said during his exit interview on Monday. “I want to be cemented somewhere. I love being here, I love the fans… I would just really like an opportunity to where I can really go out and go out with a bang. I’ve only got a couple years left, so I want an opportunity where I can go out and show my skills and talent and do it in the right way, but also win. I feel like I deserve that.”
Howard averaged 16.2 minutes this season, a career-low for the 8x All-Star. He also saw career-lows in points and rebounds.
If given the chance, the Atlanta native hopes to be a bigger part of the rotation in the future.
“Well obviously I personally still feel like I can do more and bring more, just given the opportunity,” Howard said. “But I’m grateful that I had another opportunity to come back here and play here in L.A. I know it didn’t end the way that we all hoped for and expected it to, but looking back on this season and there’s a lot to be very thankful for. I thought we ended the season yesterday with some really good energy.”
During his exit interview Dwight Howard noted that he wants to return to Los Angeles next season
"I want to be cemented somewhere. I love being here, I love the fans." https://t.co/vy9AujWHnF
— Silver Screen and Roll (@LakersSBN) April 14, 2022
There’s no telling what the Lakers will look like in a few months, but it might do the Lakers some good to keep Dwight. As an experienced big who can defend the paint and score under the rim, he brings a valuable skillset to the team.
Whatever the case, it will be interesting to see what the future has in store.
