The Los Angeles Lakers are trying to get coveted center Dwight Howard to remain with the team and have decided to pull out all the stops. There latest tactic, according to ESPN Los Angeles, is the use of giant billboards.
The large signs begin right at the Lakers home where there is a huge banner hanging on the side of the Staples Center. It reads, “Stay.”
According to team spokesman John Black, the team has chosen “various key locations” where they will place “six or seven” billboards pleading for Howard to stay.
There is also a billboard above Hollywood Boulevard with the same exact word. The hashtag #STAYD12 has been placed on both signs. This is most likely an effort to get fans to use social media and join in on the Lakers attempt to keep Howard in purple and gold.
If you thought the team would simply stop at billboards visible to everyone in LA, you are mistaken. Black said the Lakers plan to put a full-page advertisement in the Los Angeles Times.
Black called the move a “company-wide initiative” which means both sides of the team—basketball operations and the business side—are onboard.
Although this is the first time the organization has shown this much attention and desire to a free agent, Black said the team has shown this type of appreciation in the past to guys such as future Hall of Fame center Shaquille O’Neal.
On Tuesday, general manager Mitch Kupchak called Howard the Lakers’ “future.”
Howard plans to hear offers from teams—possibly the Houston Rockets, Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors among others—before making a final decision on where he’ll end up.
The Lakers can offer Howard a max deal of $118 million for five years. The other teams can only go up to $87.6 million for four years.
"I will sit down with these teams and hear what they have to say," Howard said in a recent interview with the Orange County Register. "See if their plans and my plans fit and go with the best option that will help my game expand, and get to where I want to get to."
Recently future Hall of Fame guard Kobe Bryant said he wants the opportunity to make the last pitch.
"You don't start the selling process right before he goes and does all this stuff," he said in a previous interview with ESPN LA. "You want to get the last word. You want to have the final word and the closing argument."
Howard is not allowed to sign a new contract until the NBA stops the moratorium on new business July 12.
Howard was injured for part the 2012-2013 season but finished the year with averages per game of 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.45 blocks.
