It shouldn’t be much of a surprise at this point given his impact over the course of the season and five blocks in last night’s win, but the Los Angeles Lakers are set to fully guarantee the contract of center Dwight Howard, according to ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.
Howard signed a non-guaranteed deal with the Lakers in late August as they were looking for someone to fill the void left by DeMarcus Cousins, who tore his ACL in the summer. Howard has had a resurgence for the Lakers in a bench role, averaging seven points and seven rebounds while shooting nearly 74% from the field, which would be by far a career-high.
Although Anthony Davis deserves the most credit for leading the Lakers to a No. 4 defensive rating, the fact that the Lakers have no drop-off at the center spot when Howard comes into the game is a major reason for their success this season.
After being written-off as someone whose productive NBA days were behind him, Howard has not only proven to be useful but has done so for one of the best teams in basketball. While many assumed his contract would be guaranteed, a Hall of Famer returning to form shouldn’t be taken for granted.
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