The Los Angeles Lakers have already gotten off to a strong start to their offseason, acquiring point guard Dennis Schroder from the Oklahoma City Thunder. Now, with the NBA Draft and free agency set to begin, they have their sights set on keeping two of their own. L.A. would like to re-sign both Dwight Howard and Markieff Morris.
According to a report from Lakers reporter Brad Turner, the Lakers are targeting retaining both Howard and Morris this offseason, despite quite a bit of interest in both players around the league.
Howard is going to be difficult to re-sign for the Lakers. He is expected to receive a lot of interest from the Golden State Warriors, who are in need of a starting center. Morris, on the other hand, will be sought after for his ability to play a versatile power forward role.
After defeating the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, the Lakers don’t need to make too many moves. They need to make sure that they retain Anthony Davis, which seems all but done already. LeBron James is still in town as well.
Keeping the roster as intact as possible would be a wise decision. The players fit well together and the Lakers had the most success that they could have possibly had.
Howard ended up averaging 7.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game with the Lakers this season. He also chipped in 1.1 blocks per game. Morris ended up playing in 14 regular season games with the Lakers, averaging 5.3 points and 3.2 rebounds per game.
It will be interesting to see if the Lakers are able to hold on to these two guys. Both players are going to have quite a few offers to choose from.
Expect to hear plenty more news about the Lakers as they look to repeat as champions in 2020-21. Dwight Howard and Markieff Morris are going to hit free agency and we will have to wait and see if they return to Los Angeles.
