His 2019-20 salary ($12.9M) would have been guaranteed last Thursday. "Sitting down in the hotel for four months is very tough for somebody like myself," Howard said. "It was hard for me to block it out completely," Gasol said.Howard said a reported phone conversation he had with Bryant last season that initially soured him on coming to the Lakers was in the past and that he spoke with Bryant on Thursday night and did his best Bryant impersonation in relaying what Bryant told him."L.A. Sitting on the Lakers' practice court with 10 Larry O'Brien trophies staring down at him from Lakers executive vice president Jennie Buss' office and 12 championship banners and eight retired jerseys surrounding him on the walls, Howard quickly was introduced to the expectations that now will be placed on him before he even addressed the media. Dwight Howard played nine games for the Wizards in 2018-19 after agreeing to a two-year deal last July. "So when I got up there, they said those are the trophies. Going that route will enable Howard to decide how comfortable he is in Los Angeles before deciding whether to re-sign with the Lakers or join the "If Los Angeles doesn't work out for Dwight, Dallas will be there waiting for him," the source told Stein.While Howard wouldn't commit to the Lakers past this season, he sounded like a player who looked forward to learning from Bryant, Nash and Gasol and one day taking over the reins of the Lakers.

Come to the Lakers!' The relatively short commute from his hotel to the Lakers' training center in El Segundo enabled the Lakers to schedule a news conference on the same day the trade was made official by the league. Many of the players involved did not play in the NBA for long after the deal. is happy to have you," Howard said, imitating Bryant. A back is very serious, so I'm going to take my time and make sure I'm 100 percent because I want to give everybody 100 percent. I'm really a part of the Lakers. "Howard also was unsure when exactly he would be cleared by doctors to return to the court.Multiple sources told ESPN that Howard is expected to miss the start of the regular season as he continues to recover from back surgery. The Washington Wizards have agreed to a trade that will send the veteran center to the Memphis Grizzlies in exchange for C.J. Jayne Kamin-Oncea/US Presswire "I know … There was a crowd of fans and paparazzi surrounding the hotel as Howard left for the news conference Friday. Grizz continue to get further below the cap line for more moves.Bradley split last season between Memphis and the LA Clippers. Fred Katz: Leonsis says the Dwight Howard trade happened in 15 minutes. I can't wait for that day. This should be his and he should want to accept that challenge. "Howard said Bryant was the first player he talked to since the trade and is looking forward to talking to others and working on his impersonations of Gasol and Bryant, meanwhile, quickly proclaimed the Lakers are "locked and loaded to bring back the title. Thank you for putting up with me during this time. I'm just happy to be here in L.A. It's going to be better." "For the past four months Howard has been rehabbing his back in Los Angeles and staying at a hotel in Beverly Hills. "The first thing was, when we (came) here to practice, they tell us that those are not the real trophies," Howard said. "Howard also held Buss' 2002 championship ring and inspected it before looking up at the championship banners surrounding the practice court and smiling again as he looked down at his Lakers jersey.

Shams Charania of The Athletic was the first to report the Memphis Grizzlies are acquiring eight-time All-Star Dwight Howard from the Washington Wizards.Sources: Washington has traded Dwight Howard to Memphis.According to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski, Memphis is sending veteran wing CJ Miles to Washington in the deal and will waive or trade Howard.The Grizzlies are trading CJ Miles to Washington for Dwight Howard, league source tells ESPN. "Kupchak, who had two back surgeries during his playing career, said Howard's back was a concern but he was confident Howard would return to the court sooner than some are projecting after talking to Howard's physicians. It was like the Mount Rushmore (of Lakers centers) and they had all those guys up there and said, 'Will he join the list of heads with the Lakers greats.'