Dwight Howard Is The Future Of Los Angeles Lakers, GM Mitch Kupchak Says

Dwight Howard is the future of the Los Angeles Lakers, the team’s general manager said, putting down reports that the team is fed up with the All-Star center.

Howard has reportedly been the source of tension in the team’s locker room and been the subject of many trade rumors, but GM Mitch Kupchak stood by Howard.

“Dwight is our future,” Kupchak told The Herd with Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio on Wednesday. “Kobe [Bryant] has one more year on his deal [this year, plus one]. That’s all I can bank on or this organization can bank on. I have no idea if he wants to continue to play beyond next year. As of now, we’re looking at a two-year window, [and that] plays to the urgency of the situation and how we build the team. … This team’s window to win is this year and next year.”

Dwight Howard himself has been noncommittal when asked about his future with the team, saying he was focusing on this year and had no control over what the team does in the offseason.

“There’s no need for me to make a decision right now,” said Howard, who will be an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season. “My goal hasn’t changed. I want to win a championship and I want to win one here. I’m here right now and this is our chance to get one this season. It’s been tough, but we have an opportunity to change all that.”

The tone wasn’t always so positive from Lakers on Dwight Howard’s future. When the center was slow in returning from an injury a few weeks ago, Kobe Bryant told the press that the team’s faltering season called for more urgency than Howard was showing.

Dwight Howard has also been the center of many trade rumors, with Pro Basketball Talks nothing that at one point it seemed certain he would be gone in the offseason.