Dwight Howard News

And now, even with the future's of Kobe Bryant 's Achilles and Pau Gasol's employment hanging in the balance, only one story will dominate the back pages in Hollywood this summer: The Lakers' divisive big man is a free agent once again this summer; free to sign with any team he chooses.

With next-to-no progress in naming a new coach for the Phoenix Suns or any of the other coaching positions, it stands to reason that everyone's waiting for the guys still coaching in these playoffs.

It's clear things didn't go as well as expected for the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2012-13 season.

December 22, 2012; Oakland, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Jordan Hill dunks the ball against the Golden State Warriors during the fourth quarter at ORACLE Arena.

It was not the sort of season Steve Nash envisioned when he agreed to a trade last summer that brought the 17-year NBA veteran point guard to the Los Angeles Lakers .

That way, it's the LAKERS that don't want him and not the other way around. He'd also recieve his max money that way as well.

The Dallas Mavericks figure to have a lot of roster turnover with several impending free agent departures, but that also gives them flexibility on the open market.

According to a teammate, it's time Gang Green moves on from Mark Sanchez. This from a Jets player, who asked not to be identified: "Everyone on the team likes Mark personally but there's a general feeling among some of the players that maybe it's time to give someone else a chance." The player went on to say that he estimates that 80-90 percent of ... (more)

Although Alvin Gentry has a standing invitation to join Mike D'Antoni's staff as an assistant coach for the Los Angeles Lakers next season, he'd prefer to return to Los Angeles as a head coach ... with the Clippers.

Chris Paul and Dwight Howard might play together one day, but probably not with the Lakers.

Jackson recently spoke on ESPN's Mike & Mike in the morning, where his quotes were recorded on the issue.

Mar 30, 2013; Sacramento, CA, USA; Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard dunks the ball against the Sacramento Kings in the third quarter at Sleep Train Arena.

The Lakers enter the 2013 draft with very clear needs and some interesting prospects available in the late second round they might be able to take advantage of.

LeBron James was a unanimous pick for the All-NBA team and Kobe Bryant earned his record-tying 11th first-team selection.

AUGUST 10: Dwight Howard is introduced to the media as the newest member of the Los Angeles Lakers by General Manager Mitch Kupchak during a news conference at the Toyota Sports Center on August 10, 2012 in El Segundo, California.

Carmelo Anthony played through the playoffs with an injured left shoulder. The injury was a torn labrum, according the New York Daily News .

SI.com's Chris Mannix unveils his first mock draft and projects Duke center Mason Plumlee and 19-year old point guard Dennis Schroeder to the Atlanta Hawks.

We're back with a brand new live blog for Day 2 of the Draft Combine. Last year, Day 2 had drills on one side of the building and agility testing on the other.

Phil Jackson picked up the phone and Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak was on the other line.

Because of their clear intentions of making a huge run at Dwight Howard, the Mavericks will have to consider all options when it comes to assets on their roster.