Howard told the story behind the contract negotiations.
Dwight Howard appeared on the ‘Late Night Lake Show’ on the 28th (Korean time) to talk about what happened during contract negotiations with the Lakers after winning the 2020 championship.
Howard has reigned as the best center in the league since the mid-2000s. However, his decline came, and after laying down a lot about his on-court role, he joined the Lakers for the 2019-2020 season.
What Howard, without a championship ring, wanted was a championship. Howard, who started mainly from the bench, recorded an average of 7.2 points and his weight in the team decreased significantly, but he tried his best to contribute to the victory with dirty work and tough play. He also played a role as a cheerleader who boosted the morale of his teammates.메이저사이트
In particular, Howard showed an impressive performance against Nikola Jokic in the conference finals, leading the team to advance to the finals. With his performance, the Lakers rose to the top in 10 years.
After winning his dream championship, Howard decided he wanted to retire with the Lakers for the rest of his career. He wanted a two-year contract, but expressed his intention to stay even though the Lakers offered only a one-year contract. However, the contract did not go the way he wanted.
Howard said, “I thought, ‘Will the Lakers give me a two-year contract?’ I wanted to be in a stable place. But my agent said that the Lakers would only give me a one-year contract. So I left the answer, ‘I’ll think about it for 15 minutes,’ and then called again and said I would sign.”
“I had the belief that if I did well, the team would give me more contracts. So after I decided to sign, I posted a post about staying with the Lakers on social media. However, the agent contacted me again and said that the Lakers had changed their stance by not offering me a contract. He said he had to delete the post, so I was very disappointed and annoyed.”
The Lakers wanted more reinforcement in the center position, and promoted the recruitment of another player instead of Howard. Regarding the process, Howard confessed his honest feelings, saying, “It felt humiliating.”
The Lakers replaced Howard in a short time with Marc Gasol and Montrezl Harrell. A big man team was built that was not bad in terms of quantity or quality, but there were obviously people who missed Howard’s toughness and energy level. The longing grew as the Lakers failed to win the championship in the 2020-2021 season.
I felt a great disappointment in the negotiation process, but Howard and the Lakers’ relationship continued a year later. After one season in Philadelphia, Howard opted for a Lakers comeback in the summer of 2021. Many Lakers fans welcomed Howard’s return.
