Yeah, you read that right. OK, he's not Sam Bowie, but he's not somebody the Lakers should pin their future hopes to. He's very limited offensively, and his attitude is terrible. He is not a franchise player. On my 5 point scale he's a 4, which is All-Star. The scale is:
- 5 - Franchise Player
- 4 - All Star
- 3 - Starter
- 2- Rotation guy
- 1 - Roster guy
- 0- D-leaguer
Howard has trouble scoring without being set up or getting a wide open dunk or layup. After almost ten years in the league he has no reliable post up moves and sloppy footwork. He still gets rung up for offensive fouls and violations and can be defended straight up by big guys who can hold their ground in the paint like Kendrick Perkins. You can't make a guy like that the centerpiece of your team if you want to win a championship. If the Lakers seriously are thinking about ditching Kobe and going with him, they are sadly mistaken. Kobe might be old as dirt and may only have a couple of seasons left in him, but I'd ride with him over Howard any day.
With Howard as the focal point you must have a top notch point guard in his prime (not Steve Nash) to get him the ball in the right places, shooters who can knock down open looks, a guard or wing player who can create their own shot and score 20, and a big man who can come in for him and hit foul shots when it's time for the other team to start fouling him. Hack-a-Shaq did not work because Shaq would get 30 points despite going 5-for-10 from the foul line. Howard can't do that; you will have to pull him in crunch time (contrary to popular belief, you didn't have to do that with Shaq).
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