Lakers receive permission from Grizzlies to speak to Dwight Howard

The potential dialogue between Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers is heating up as the Purple and Gold now have permission from the team that technically employs him to speak about filling a void at center after DeMarcus Cousins suffered a torn ACL last week.

Shams Charania of The Athletic reported that the Lakers have received permission from the Grizzlies to speak with Dwight Howard, who is currently on the Grizzlies but is unlikely to start the season with them.

The Grizzlies are granting the Los Angeles Lakers permission to speak with Dwight Howard, league sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 18, 2019

According to ESPN’s Ramona Shelburne, the Lakers are doing their “due diligence” and the Lakers are only one team Howard’s camp is talking to.

Regarding the Lakers and Dwight Howard, a team source says their interest is more “due diligence “ after the Boogie injury. Memphis has granted permission for Dwight and his camp to speak to teams, one of which is the Lakers.

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 18, 2019

The Grizzlies currently have two players on their roster that the Lakers would like to add like Andre Iguodala, but given Iguodala being slightly more sought after than Howard at this stage, it makes sense for them to hold onto him. They could also use the added wing depth with Iguodala and they already have two young centers in Jaren Jackson Jr. and Jonas Valanciunas, making the need for Howard basically non-existent.

The Lakers currently have one open spot on their projected 15-man roster for next season.