Even
after every disappointment in the Los Angeles Lakers' lost season, Kobe Bryant
still wants to keep their roster together.
Pau
Gasol agrees, although he knows he might be out.
And
Dwight Howard is in no hurry to decide whether he'll rejoin this talent-loaded
group that didn't meet its expectations.
Howard's
impending free agency was prominent in the Lakers' minds as they headed into
the offseason Tuesday with their exit interviews. General manager Mitch Kupchak
said he's "hopeful" and "optimistic" Howard will re-sign
with Los Angeles after his first season ended in a first-round sweep.
But
Howard, the seven-time All-Star center, wrapped up his first season in Los
Angeles by vowing to make his decision in his own best interests, giving no
indication he favored the Lakers over any other team.
"I'm
going to take my time, get away from the game, get away from my phones and
everything, just clear my head," Howard said. "I think I deserve that
right, so that's what I want to do. ... I do what's going to be best for
myself, what's going to make me happy. At the end of the day, I can't control
who likes me, who dislikes me, but I have the right to be happy. That's what
I'm going to do."
Howard
was ambivalent about his first season on the West Coast, although he expressed
love for Los Angeles when pressed. Howard said he returned from offseason back
surgery several months earlier than expected because he wanted to win with
Bryant and the Lakers, only to watch their season dissolve with an early-season
coaching change and major injuries to almost every player in their rotation.
Howard
isn't saying where he wants to play, but the Lakers will court him aggressively
and confidently.
"I
know in my heart that this is the place where I think he should be,"
Kupchak said. "We have a great legacy, a great history of great players in
this city dating back to when the franchise came here in 1960, and he certainly
fits the mold. But I don't want to get ahead of the game and take anything for
granted. ... He's earned the right to make an informed and calm decision."
Howard
could re-sign with the Lakers for five years and $118 million, or sign with
another team for four years and $88 million. Bryant joked he'll invite the
boyish big man to his home in Orange County to watch cartoons.
"He's
at a crossroads in his career," Bryant said. "I think Los Angeles is
the perfect spot for him to assert himself and put his foot down and have his
career really take off and be what it should be. There's no greater place for a
center to play than Los Angeles."
The
Lakers have several other decisions to make this summer, but coach Mike
D'Antoni's future still looks secure. Kupchak gave another vote of confidence
to his first-year coach, saying "nothing has changed" from his
declaration two weeks earlier that D'Antoni is expected to return in the fall.
If
he's in charge in autumn, D'Antoni thinks the Lakers will play much the same
style in which they finished the regular season, assuming the same players
return. The Lakers improved significantly late in the season during their 28-12
run to the playoffs, with Gasol and Howard finding remarkable chemistry at
times.
Gasol's
fate is unsettled because of his $19 million-plus salary for next season and
the Lakers' luxury-tax situation. Bryant's recovery from his torn Achilles
tendon also weighs heavily on what's sure to be a busy offseason after the
franchise's championship dreams ended in the first round.
Yet
another offseason of uncertainty "can be a little draining" for
Gasol, he said.
"It's
not ideal, but I accept the circumstances," he added. "The future is
uncertain, there's no doubt about it. There's a possibility I could be gone, a
possibility I could stay. I don't know the percentages. ... It will be
difficult if that was my last game, just because of the way I feel about the
team, the city and my time here."
Bryant
isn't ready to end his five-year partnership with the Spanish 7-footer, and he
still believes the Lakers' star-studded roster can be a title contender with a
year of good health and togetherness. Bryant doesn't see why Los Angeles
wouldn't try to keep every bit of the talent it assembled last year, now that
the players have spent a year of trial and error learning to play together.
"I
was pretty clear: I want Pau here," Bryant said. "It's not even a
question. It's not even a discussion. I think he gives us the best chance to
win a title. You bring Dwight back, and we're off and running, but you also
have to look at how well they started playing together. That puzzle finally got
solved. We were all just clicking and rolling. Unfortunately, circumstances
beyond our control put a wet blanket on it."
Bryant
also scoffed at the idea D'Antoni or anybody should have stopped him from
playing heavy minutes down the stretch to his season-ending injury, noting he
was only following the example of Magic Johnson and Michael Jordan by checking
himself in and out of games - and he did it when Phil Jackson coached the
Lakers, too.
"You
think Mike is really going to tell me when to go in and out of the game?"
Bryant asked with a smirk. "You really can't ride Mike too hard about
this."
Bryant
said the Lakers must improve their "length, speed and athleticism,"
but sees few additional weaknesses. Los Angeles must decide how much it can add
while preserving the majority of the 2014 cap space, with Steve Nash the only
current player with a deal past next summer.
Bryant
had speculated he would probably retire after next season when his contract
ends along with Gasol's deal, but he's no longer even leaning that way.
"I
don't know," the fourth-leading scorer in NBA history said. "This
season kind of threw me a curveball."
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