If you love somebody, set them free. Because maybe their career will take a significant hit and then you get them back at a significant discount.

That is where the Lakers find themselves, welcoming back Dwight Howard as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

Once beloved sporadically over the course of the 2012-2013 season, Howard quickly turned into a Staples Center pariah when he left to play for the Houston Rockets the next year.

He would make the All-Star team just one more time, during his initial foray in Houston. After that, Howard has struggled to stay healthy, find a fit and regain his superstar form.

Fast-forward to Friday afternoon and Howard looks to be on his way back to donning purple and gold.

Lakers are entering a Howard partnership with caution. For years, he’s talked about making changes in how he interacts with coaches and teammates. He’s still saying those things now, but the ability to cut him without cost keeps leverage with organization. https://t.co/Q7i5NcAtJA

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 23, 2019

Dwight Howard’s agent, Charles Briscoe of Briscoe Sports Group, has completed buyout with Grizzlies officials, and Howard will sign with the Lakers once he clears waivers, sources tell @TheAthleticNBA @Stadium.

— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 23, 2019

First, the bad news.

Howard is not the same plug-and-play center who can go out and get you 20 points and 10 rebounds a night.

He last played nine games for the Washington Wizards, averaging 25.6 minutes, 12.8 points and 9.2 rebounds per game.

While he is one season removed from a 16.6 point, 12.5 rebound campaign with the Hornets, there is obvious concern about his health after a season recovering from back surgery.

The good news is actually very good.

Howard doesn’t need to be a superstar on a team that already features LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

He doesn’t need to be a prolific scorer with Kyle Kuzma on the floor. And when it comes to spacing the floor, the roster already boasts a bevy of promising shooters.

The Lakers just need the 33-year-old to do the bare minimum for this second marriage to go well.

Howard needs to be exactly what he is and nothing more, a big presence down low who can clear boards, put back shots and be committed to setting screens.

As Wojnarowski explains, Howard has been “humbled” and is locked in to making what might be his final stop a successful enterprise.

Howard came to meet Lakers after dropping 25 pounds; showed his back was healthy. Lakers want him to protect rim/rebound in limited role. There was sense Howard realized he hit “rock bottom” and had been humbled. Still they’ll judge him on actions, not words. He’s been warned.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@wojespn) August 23, 2019

Also, there is very little risk to the Lakers. Yes, they do now have a full roster. But there isn’t any guarantee that Andre Iguodala—the presumed player the Lakers would have added—will agree with the Grizzlies on a suitable buyout.

Howard is a player they need right now, and he can only benefit by being welcomed into the fold immediately so that he can get accustomed to the new coaching staff and make any pre-preseason workouts James decides to throw.

The pressure is clearly on Howard who needs to blend in rather than stand out this time around. He needs to work hard and show that he can help a contender if he hopes to have a career beyond not just this season but Jan. 7.

As ESPN reports, Howard will agree to a one-year, non-guaranteed contract, so the Lakers can cut him by Jan. 7 “without cost to the team.”

Dwight also met some Lakers players in this process. He convinced everyone that he’s genuine in wanting to play the role the Lakers need. And if not, he’ll be waived. https://t.co/39EkPqvrUj

— Ramona Shelburne (@ramonashelburne) August 23, 2019

Getting Howard to return isn’t at all surprising. It just took the Lakers signing LeBron James, overcompensating on signing guards and forwards in his second year and seeing one of their two centers on the roster, DeMarcus Cousins, go down with an ACL injury.

It also took a dramatic fall from grace for Howard whose wacky antics clearly wore thin on a league that evolved from big-man dominance to bulk shooting from behind the arc.

See, it was always meant to be.

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