Dwight Howard, who opened his third stint as a player with the team on Friday, continued a theme LeBron James touched on in a now-defunct tweet that put doubters of the revamped Los Angeles Lakers on alert. He said L.A. has a bunch of players that have been overlooked during its time in this league.Howard stated that Russell Westbrook was underappreciated when he was asked about him, the triple-doubler whom the Lakers acquired in a trade with Washington Wizards. "I think that all of us have been underappreciated. But, I know we all appreciate one another. Each of us appreciates what we bring to this team."Howard and Westbrook will be the only two high-wattage players on next season’s Lakers. This team could feature six future Hall of Famers between them, plus Carmelo Anthony, Carmelo Anthony, and three of last season’s Lakers team members in Marc Gasol, Anthony Davis, and Marc Gasol.Together, the six players have earned 55 All-Star appearances as well as six NBA championships. They also received five MVPs and four Defensive Player of Year awards.It is however, a full group of geriatrics according to NBA standards, with the exception of Westbrook, 32-year-old, and Davis, 28 year old. According to ESPN Stats & Information research, this will be the first time that a pair of 19 year-old veterans has played together in league history.Howard, who turns 36 in December, stated that Howard should take good care of himself off the court and be disciplined with his work ethic. Howard said, "We all came to this place for a reason. I don't believe we can just stop at the great opportunities in front of us."I believe we have new life. All of us coming together to play, I think it will provide new life. Being able to see who is on our roster and who's going along with us every day, I think it's going be a source of new life. It will be difficult to contain our energy, I believe.Howard and James teamed up with Davis to win the Orlando NBA bubble championship last October. L.A.'s second bid for the title fell flat after the Lakers lost three consecutive games to the Phoenix Suns, despite being 2-1 ahead. They were then bounced out of round one of the 2021 playoffs.After the Lakers' first round flameout, L.A.'s front office completely restructured their roster, trading Kyle Kuzma and Kentavious Caldwell–Pope for Montrezl Harrell, Montrezl Harrell, and a 2021 pick for Westbrook. Only four of last season's players, James, Davis, and Gasol, were retained, along with Talen Hutton-Tucker who was re-signed to an extension worth $32 million for a three-year contract.On Friday, the Lakers welcomed back Trevor Ariza (previously played for the team) and Wayne Ellington (previously signed veterans minimum contracts). Horton-Tucker was also present at the news conference. Also, Malik Monk and Kendrick Nunn were introduced.Ariza, 36, said that "we've all been playing for a long while." He also revealed that Westbrook was traded to L.A. 20 minutes later and Ariza started to recruit Ariza to the Lakers. "We have all done amazing things just by being in this league for so long. It will be incredible to see all the minds and talents come together.Howard acknowledged that it was difficult to sign with Philadelphia 76ers after not being able to reach an agreement with L.A. at the time, but his general tone upon his return echoed Ariza’s optimistic attitude.It's a difficult thing to comprehend. Imagine all of us together on the floor, not as an All-Star team or Olympic team but for an actual season. Howard stated. Howard said, "That's going be amazing. All of our men are hungry. We want to win. We want to be in the best possible shape."I think it will be an amazing year this year with everyone on the floor practicing, working hard, and understanding that there is only one mission: to win a championship."
