Will Dwight Howard, Great Center With the Lakers, Sign a New Contract With Them or Join a Competitor?

The biggest question in the NBA now, with the season over and the Miami Heat established as the champions, again, is, will Dwight Howard stay with the Los Angeles Lakers next season or does he no longer want any part of Kobe Bryant and Mike D'Antoni and LaLa Land?

The Lakers even put up billboards all over Los Angeles begging him to re-sign, which of course is the best option for the Lakers given their overall lack of financial flexibility.

But even as good as he was on a sore, surgically repaired back last season, I don't get the sense the people in the locker room would be devastated if Howard left.

Kobe Bryant is too proud to beg, especially for a player he clashes with so obviously. Steve Nash would want a bounce-back season without worrying every possession whether Dwight is happy or not. Pau Gasol can claim his post in the center of that Lakers offense.

And we can all guess at this point Mike D'Antoni wants no part of Howard anymore, especially since there seems to be a "him or me" message coming from Howard's camp.

So how genuine are those pleas for Howard to stay put? Is firing D'Antoni, and embarrassing themselves further as a franchise, a prerequisite for re-signing Howard? And if he does go elsewhere, what's Plan B for L.A.?