Why This Trade Makes Sense For The Los Angeles Lakers
While Alex Caruso has played a big role for this team over the years and was a key player in their championship run last season, Dwight Howard is a guy who they desperately need right now ,especially given their lack of toughness in the frontcourt this year.
Howard is a better overall defensive player than both Montrezl Harrell and Marc Gasol. With the struggles Gasol has had on both ends of the court this season, his role is slowly starting to wither away in L.A. The Lakers are one of the better rebounding teams early in the year, as they currently rank 4th in the NBA in total rebounds per game, but down the stretch, if Gasol is still not giving them any production, they will need someone else to turn to.
Last season, Los Angeles used a “two-big” lineup in the postseason consisting of Anthony Davis and either Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee in the starting lineup. Not only did this make them tough to guard in the interior, but it gave them plenty of height to be a great defensive team.
Montrezl Harrell is a guy they want to utilize off the bench in the second-unit and if Gasol cannot give the Lakers meaningful minutes, maybe it is best if they bring back either Howard or McGee in their efforts to repeat as champions.
Given how many options on offense the Lakers have, they do not need Dwight Howard to come in and contribute much offensively, as they will ask him to continue being a physical and tough interior defender. Last season in Los Angeles, Howard averaged 7.3 rebounds per game and 1.1 blocks per game.
If the Lakers were to trade to re-acquire Dwight Howard, they would likely look for similar production from a season ago and ask him to play the same way he did during their championship run. While he would likely only play 15-20 minutes per game, his ability to rebound and play solid defense when Anthony Davis is out of the game is what makes him valuable.
Trading away Alex Caruso may not sit well with Lakers fans and may seem like a big loss, but they have plenty of guys like Wesley Matthews and Talen Horton-Tucker who could easily fill his minutes and find success doing so. Los Angeles definitely needs Dwight Howard more than they need Alex Caruso right now.
