On November 26th, Beijing time, many Lakers players left the team in the free market and joined other teams to win a major contract. In the past season, the Lakers have gathered a three-tier team of James, Davis and Howard. It seems that they are most likely to stay in the offseason, but Howard suddenly changed his attitude and joined with a contract of 2.6 million. The Philadelphia 76ers. For this reversal, Howard and the Lakers executives have their own opinions, but what is certain is that Howard left the Lakers not because of salary issues. Compared with last year, Howard only got 10,000 more salary.
The Lakers revealed to the team reporter that Pelinka was not unhappy or angry because of the loss of Howard, because the team has no way to satisfy Howard in future plans. The team needs a center player who can play part of the game. So they signed Gasol with 5 million and chose to pay in installments, which means that next season, Gasol will only occupy 1.5 million in salary space. In the United States, Yang Yi revealed that Howard thought he would stay with the team because he proposed a one-year contract of 3 million yuan, and the Lakers did not make any response.
Lakers star O'Neal publicly criticized Howard many times after the game, accusing him of being active on social media and establishing himself as the core of the championship. In fact, he did not play an important role. Throughout the finals, Howard's role and tactical status declined, which also caused his dissatisfaction. He wanted more playing time instead of sitting on the bench. In addition, he said that he did not want to continue playing for free. Compared with Howard last season, the mentality has changed again. If the Lakers keep Howard, it is likely to cause problems in the locker room.
Howard’s departure also created a estrangement with the Lakers. After confessing the team’s departure, Howard’s remarks were not expressed by other Lakers players. For example, after Rondo announced his departure from the team, James also forwarded and said that : "Good luck, we can't win without you." Compared to Rondo's departure, Howard has publicly stated on social media after joining the Philadelphia 76ers, "Let us bring a championship to the Philadelphia team." Only 14 words put down last year's calm attitude. Now Howard is eager to get a big contract and playing time after winning the championship, so leaving the Lakers is not difficult to understand.
