After billboard signs, a team meeting and a Time Warner Cable presentation, the Los Angeles Lakers lost the Dwight Howard sweepstakes. Howard chose to take his talents to H-Town, joining forces with James Harden the the Rockets.
[Tweet of the Night: Dwight Howard makes official announcement of his decision to play for Houston]
The Lakers—as a team—are moving on without the All-Star center. However, it appears that the Lakers’ PR and marketing staffs are not on the same page with basketball operations.
Golden State Warriors All-Star power forward David Lee has the scoop.
Guess they didn’t get the memo yet on Sunset Blvd… http://t.co/UQD5O6ZdWw
— David Lee (@Dlee042) July 8, 2013
Lakers’ D12 marketing campaign as seen on Sunset Blvd.
How does something like this happen?
As soon as it became evident that Howard was moving on, shouldn’t whichever staffer is responsible for billboard advertising have gotten on the phone to request the “STAY” billboards be taken down?
Nevertheless, the Lakers basketball operations staff—Owner Jim Buss, GM Mitch Kupchak and head coach Mike D’Antoni—have moved on.
The Los Angeles Lakers have agreed to a one-year deal with free agent center Chris Kaman.
It’s true, I am going to be going back to LA and it’s to play for the Lakers! I am excited about this move and can’t wait to play! #Lakers
— Chris Kaman (@ChrisKaman) July 8, 2013
Kaman’s deal is reportedly worth the mini mid-level exception (approximately $3.2M).
While he won’t replace Dwight Howard’s production, the deal allows LA to maintain its cap flexibility for the summer of 2014, when star players like LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh can all choose to opt out of their contracts with their current teams.
The Lakers are hoping to pull off a Pat Riley-esque free agent coup next summer. Additionally, with Kobe Bryant recovering from a surgically repaired Achilles tendon, they may also be in the lottery hoping for either Andrew Wiggins or Jabari Parker.
2013-14 is shaping up to be quite an intriguing season for Los Angeles Lakers fans.
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Tweet of the Night: Chris Kaman
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Michael writes the Tweet of the Day for SheridanHoops.com and is an Atlanta Hawks, Southeast Division NBA Featured Columnist for BleacherReport.com.
Follow him @MBrumagin