Dwight Howard Packs up the U-haul and Heads to Hollywood to Join the Lakers

Lakers have now created their own version of the Big Three Show in Los Angeles by acquiring the big man Dwight Howard otherwise known as "Superman." This is in addition to last month acquisition of Steve Nash in the point guard position. The Lakers have now added the NBA's best center and look primed to challenge the Miami Heat for the NBA title next season. This was a great trade for the team, the kind that any front office needs to make should it become available.

The Lakers pretty obviously improved themselves on Thursday night; they are far from a sure thing. Now comes the big question? Should the Lakers shift to becoming more of a pick and roll team with Nash at point guard, or would they feature some uneasy hybrid offenses controlled by Kobe Bryant and Nash? With Howard on board, these questions only become greater concerns. While Nash is one of the best offensive point guards in NBA history and always seems to make everyone around him better, he's also used to handling the ball a lot, when he does pass, it's usually because a shot is clearly available, not because he's beginning to initiate the offense.

This creates a unique question as to exactly how Nash's role will effect a team that also includes Kobe Bryant, another player used to handling the ball A LOT and who hasn't always been a willing to share much with other stars such as Pau Gasol and the newly departed Andrew Bynum.

On a basic level, the Lakers have more than enough high profile new players that they will need time to become comfortable with each other and maximize their production as a unit as opposed to individually. This caused some disfuntionarity in the Miami Heats first season together with their stacked team as well.

Despite these growing pains, there are fairly obvious paths to success for the Lakers. The first one is that any team with Howard, Nash, and Gasol would figure to be a dominant pick-and-roll team; Steve Nash runs the play better than any point guard in the league, and Gasol and Howard are among the best big man to hold up at it as well… The pick-and-roll can take time to perfect with a certain chemistry to gel, and it's not certain that the Lakers will build their offense around this play, either.

Don't forget about Mr. Bryant's ball handling needs, even though Kobe is not the best superstar he once was, he's still good enough to require the ball a fair share of the time. If not can be down rite demanding it as well. Kobe Bryant is still the face of the Lakers, will he be happy running plays through Gasal and Howard, or will he need isolation to continue to succeed? Would he be happy playing the ball off in a Nash/Howard (or Gasol) pick-and-roll in spot? Does Coach Brown have a system in mind for all these players, or will he make it up as it goes along? These are just a few questions that can all be answered, but we don't know when or how that will happen.