Dwight Howard Practices for first time with Lakers

After all the speculation, all the talk and then the signing Dwight Howard practiced for the first time with his new team, the Los Angeles Lakers.  He had a long workout on Tuesday with the new starting lineup and reported that he had no problems with his back.  Howards had surgery for a herniated disc back in the spring and was part of one of the biggest media events the NBA has ever seen.

Don’t get too excited just yet as Howard and the organization aren’t going to showcase him to the public until they are sure he is physically ready.  He has stated that there is no timetable as to when he will actually play with the Lakers.  Both Kobe and Pau Gasol seemed to think he looked good in his initial workout, but I would be interested to see how he feels today or in the days to come.  With an investment like this I’m sure he has specialists poking and prodding to make sure he doesn’t overdo it. 

While Howard won’t play in the Lakers’ season opener against Dallas he does expect to get some minutes on the floor during the preseason.  DW said that he planned to show up for practice again on Wednesday and see how it feels.  He seems to be realistic with his expectations and is just taking things one day at a time.  It is going to be really interesting to see how all these egos interact together in the upcoming season on the biggest stage in NBA basketball, LaLa land!