The NBA's free agency period is set to commence on July 1, but players will not be able to sign a contract until July 10.
With that being said, Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak has until then to try to convince Dwight Howard to re-sign for the long term.
"I think the word I've used is 'optimistic,'" Kupchak said Thursday night after emerging from the Lakers' war room following the NBA draft. "I think I'm optimistic. I understand that there's a possibility (Howard) won't (re-sign), and I probably don't have any more information than anybody in this room does. I'm aware of a lot of the stuff that's flying back and forth, a lot of the rumors, so there's a realistic possibility that he won't be back. But I'm optimistic that he will."
Kupchak was referring to reports about there being "very little chance" that the All-Star center will return to the Lakers. He compared Howard's situation to what Kobe Bryant went through as a free agent in the summer of 2004 where Bryant became close to joining the Los Angeles Clippers and also considered signing with the Chicago Bulls.
"Very similar. Scary close," Kupchak said. "Kobe visited with teams -- more than one team, there were several. I remember we were on pins and needles. We'd just gotten beaten and Phil [Jackson] left for the first time and we traded Shaquille [O'Neal] and there was a lot of uncertainty about what Kobe would do; a lot of rumor. Very similar to what's going on right now. When the phone call (with Bryant's decision) came in, we really didn't know which way it was going to go. I would say it's very similar."
Previous rumors suggested that Howard will either opt for the Dallas Mavericks or Houston Rockets due to the pieces they currently already have on their roster.
The Mavericks have recently formulated a plan to rid themselves of their No. 13 pick in this year's NBA Draft with the hopes of luring Howard from the Lakers.
The best case scenario for the Mavericks is that they'll land Howard for next season and have him playing alongside Dirk Nowitzki, Vince Carter and Shawn Marion as the team's core for the season. They would have only the $2.5-million exception plus veteran-minimum contracts left with which to build the rest of the roster, although they do plan on making a strong run at retaining Brandan Wright.
As for the Rockets, they plan to offer a sign-and-trade to the Lakers which will ship Omer Asik and Jeremy Lin to Los Angeles in exchange for Howard.
The Rockets will have the cap space to sign Howard outright after the expected shedding of Thomas Robinson's contract, but sources say that the Rockets will certainly attempt to convince the Lakers to take in return Asik and Lin in a sign-and-trade deal for Howard.
With either team Howard is sure to be the recipient of plenty of benefits, being that either Texas team at this point would save him a substantial amount of cash by paying no state income tax, which early estimates are suggesting could reach $10 million over four years.
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