Mike D’Antoni didn’t mention Dwight Howard’s name once in a lengthy interview with Mike Bresnahan that appeared in Sunday’s Los Angeles Times.
But the implication of what he did actually say was unmistakable.
As you’re likely well aware by now, Howard was never a fit with the Lakers, and in hindsight, there was virtually zero chance of him re-signing to play there under a max contract that would run for the next five years.
The team had to try to retain Howard in free agency, because when healthy, he’s one of the game’s top five players and a complete game-changer on the defensive end of the floor. But now that he’s gone, D’Antoni feels that the sailing may be a bit smoother from a chemistry standpoint next season.
Addition by subtraction? The Lakers can only hope, despite their very public courting of Howard that started a mere eight weeks ago and crashed and burned barely a week later.
“We’ve definitely improved our shooting and I think the chemistry will be better just because the uncertainty has gone away,” D’Antoni said. “A lot of people will know their roles better and what’s going on on the floor better. Dealing with free agency day to day, we won’t have those problems.”
D’Antoni doesn’t have to mention Howard by name, because it’s obvious the Lakers will be a more harmonious unit without him next season. They won’t be as talented and there will be no championship expectations, of course. But if nothing else, the season should be among the more drama-free that we’ve seen in Los Angeles in quite some time.