On Tuesday, the Lakers will dispatch the next phase of their plan to woo D12.
As noted by ESPN's Marc Stein, the Lakers will get the last of the five face-to-face meetings Howard had scheduled beginning at 12:01 a.m. ET on Monday, a group that also includes the Houston Rockets, Golden State Warriors, Atlanta Hawks and Dallas Mavericks, in that order:
If you buy into the rumor mill surrounding Howard's thought process, ESPN's Chris Palmer posted this tweet on Tuesday morning to give Lakers fans some momentum before their in-person meeting takes place:
According to ESPN's Dave McMenamin and Ramona Shelburne, both Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash will be part of the contingency that meets with Howard on Tuesday in L.A., and the duo note that the roster of individuals to pitch to D12 is still being finalized for when the Mavs are done with their Tuesday sit-down with the All-Star center.
Per the report, the Lakers will use their relationship with Time Warner Cable as a potential talking point for the meeting. The NBA league office reportedly ruled that talking point as acceptable on Monday, and McMenamin had these two Twitter posts to clear up any confusion about potentially breaking league rules:
While the Lakers wait, they'll have to face the fact that Howard has a number of options on the table and will continue to have those options after L.A.'s meeting with the 27-year-old is over on Tuesday afternoon.
One of those options is the Mavericks, who are sending Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Cuban to headline their pitch during the second full day of the pitches to Howard.
As noted in the McMenamin/Shelburne piece, the Mavs have a strong r...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
