ESPN

LOS ANGELES -- Sunday could be the last game Dwight Howard plays for the Los Angeles Lakers.

The question is: Should it be?

The Lakers have already made their intentions clear. They want Howard back.

"Dwight is our future," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said back in February to debunk all the trade rumors that were swirling.

"It's hard to get talent in this league, and to have a talent like Dwight Howard, we have no intention of trading Dwight Howard," Kupchak continued. "He belongs to have his name on the wall [as a retired uniform] and a statue in front of Staples [Center] at some point in time."

They certainly won't be erecting a statue based on Howard's 2012-13 alone. In a season that started with Howard coming off of spinal surgery -- later admitting that his back could have feasibly kept him out of the lineup until March -- and included Howard missing six games because of a torn labrum in his right shoulder, Howard never lived up to the "Superman" reputation that preceded his arrival here.

The nine-year veteran made his seventh All-Star team, but his 17.1 points per game were his lowest average since his second season in the league, his 12.4 rebounds were his lowest since his third season, and his 49.2 percent mark from the foul line represented the second straight season he's shot less than 50 percent from the charity stripe. Not to mention the former three-time Defensive Player of the Year winner finished tied for 14th in the voting for the award this season.

With Kobe Bryant going down with a season-ending Achilles tear, Howard's numbers have increased to 20.6 points, 14.0 rebounds and 3.0 blocks on 55.7 percent shooting from the floor in five games as the No. 1 option with Bryant gone. But the Lakers have gone just 2-3, including 0-3 to open up their first round series against the San Antonio Spurs.

All year long, when asked about his future plans after this season, Howard's go-to response was that he was only concentrating on winning a championship in L.A. in 2013.

Barring the Lakers becoming the first team in NBA history to come back from an 0-3 deficit to win their series against the Spurs, and then somehow going on to win three more series without Bryant on the court, Howard's championship goal will go unfulfilled this season.

So, what will he decide to do?

While the Lakers have been forthright with their plan to build around Howard, the 27-year-old has been evasive as to whether he sees his future including L.A.

When asked about what the offseason could bring following Saturday's practice, Howard said, "I haven't thought about it."

Even if Howard wasn't telling the truth, he can't act on any decision he would make for more than two months; he becomes a free agent July 1.

At that point, Howard can sign a five-year, $118 million contract to stay with the Lakers, or a four-year, $87.6 million deal with another team.

While the extra $31 million in guaranteed money might not seem like as big a deal for a player who is on a career track to warrant yet another max contract when his next one is up, Howard learned that he isn't as indestructible as he thought this season, after only missing seven games total in his first seven seasons in Orlando.

According to several sources familiar with Howard's thinking, Howard will likely explore free agency before reaching his final decision. In today's media landscape, that means there will be a circus in July while Howard hears pitches from the likes of the Dallas Mavericks and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Even if it is merely Howard doing his due diligence before making a major life decision, the frenzy it is sure to create will give Howard a taste of the backlash he could face if he ultimately decides to uproot from L.A. just one year removed from the "Dwightmare" that surrounded his exit from Orlando.

As bad as Howard's first season in Los Angeles went -- from a coaching change, to myriad injuries, to the death of the Lakers' legendary owner Dr. Jerry Buss, a media spotlight that criticized him for everything from his free throws to lack of effort to the headband and arm sleeve he wore -- L.A. is still set up to be a place for his career to blossom.

The things that could give him pause, mainly his relationship with Bryant and his belief in Mike D'Antoni, can be worked on, and if Howard indeed signs a five-year deal, odds are he'll outlast both of those guys in L.A. anyway.

While Howard has been tight-lipped when it comes to answers about his future plans all season long, maybe his true intention has been on his Twitter profile all this time.

Howard's avatar shows him in a gold Lakers uniform staring down at a basketball that he holds in both of his big hands. Behind him hang the uniforms of legendary Lakers big men: George Mikan's No. 99, Wilt Chamberlain's No. 13, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's No. 33 and Shaquille O'Neal's No. 34.

His Twitter bio is three words: "After the ring!"

We'll find out sometime in the coming months after the season whether he'll continue to seek that ring with the Lakers, or if he'll have to change that avatar of his.

Contract disputes are about money. The person seeking the contract always wants more than the person handing out the contract wants to give.

Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and coach Rick Carlisle might not yet describe this lingering contract situation as a dispute, but the bottom line is that Carlisle has yet to ink a new deal. Neither side is talking about it, so it can only be assumed that money is a central issue.

Carlisle earned $4.5 million in the fourth and final year of his contract this past season. That ranked him seventh at the start of the season, according to Forbes, among the league's highest-paid coaches. Three of the top six on the list didn't make it out of the season. Mike D'Antonio ($6 million, tied with San Antonio's Gregg Popovich for second) resigned from the New York Knicks, Nate McMillan ($5.5 million, fourth) was fired by the Portland Trail Blazers and Flip Saunders ($4.8 million, sixth) was fired by the Washington Wizards.

According to Forbes, Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers is the highest-paid coach in the NBA, earning $7 million this season. He's in his 13th season as a head coach and eighth with the Celtics, who hold a 1-0 lead on the Philadelphia 76ers in the East semifinals. Rivers and the Celtics won the 2008 championship and returned to the Finals in 2010, losing to the Los Angeles Lakers in seven games.

Is Carlisle looking for Rivers-type money? Or perhaps the $6 million that Popovich, a four-time championship coach, is pocketing this season? The NBA's Coach of the Year has the Spurs in the West semifinals on the heels of a first-round sweep.

In Carlisle's third season in Dallas, he molded a group of title-less veterans into unexpected champions, providing Cuban and the franchise with its first title. While the Miami Heat, the team the Mavs dispatched in the NBA Finals in six games, rewarded coach Erik Spoelstra with an extension in December prior to the start of the season, Carlisle's reward never came.

Cuban dismantled the title team and the season was a struggle from start to finish. Dallas ended it 36-30 in the regular season and then was swept out of the first round by the Oklahoma City Thunder under coach Scott Brooks, who is also coming to the end of his contract and will command a bigger payday.

Cuban claims it's simply not his business style to grant extensions (the 2006 extension he gave Avery Johnson backfired). But now that the season is over and still no deal exists, it figures that either the two sides are negotiating a workable salary or that Carlisle, who would be a hot commodity as a free agent, is keeping his options open.

After all, the Mavs' future, in terms of its roster as Dirk Nowitzki turns 34 in June, is as unsettled as ever in Cuban's dozen years as owner.

One of the game's top coaches today and one of the game's all-time best point guards certainly believe Jeremy Lin is no fluke.

Mavericks coach Rick Carlisle and Jason Kidd were highly complimentary of the one-time Mavs summer-league hand after he had 28 points and 14 assists to lead the New York Knicks past Dallas.

"He played terrific," Carlisle said. "He was good in the pick-and-roll and more than anything he lined us up one-on-one. He threw in two or three shots at the end of the shot clock, and one or two of them were 3. You have to give him credit, he’s playing great."

And Carlisle and Kidd believe he can continue to play great because of coach Mike D'Antoni and the offensive system he employs. As Carlisle noted, Steve Nash was a two-time All-Star when he left Dallas to play under D'Antoni with the Phoenix Suns. It didn't take long for Nash to become a two-time MVP.

"He's in a situation where the system is right for him and he's got the right coach," Carlisle said. "Mike D'Antoni's as good a coach of point guards as we've seen in this league in a decade. Lin is in a good position, he's with the right coach and they've got the right personnel around him."

Kidd said he is impressed by Lin, who has closely followed Kidd's career and told him so as the players took the court. Both hail from the San Francisco area.

"He's playing extremely well and he's taking D'Antoni's offensive system and he looks a little bit like Steve Nash out there. Nash has had a lot of success running that system and I got to go through that system in the Olympics and it's a point guard's dream."

Monday means “The Come Up” –- looking ahead at the Mavericks’ schedule. This week is a little light with only three games, but some tough sledding and one of the best nights of the year at the AAC are all on the docket. And it go a lil' summin' like this:

Two teams in need of a big win

The Phoenix Suns come to town Tuesday with a nice overall record, but they are reeling of late and some analyst/writer types have doubted the validity of their beefy record. Sound familiar?

Phoenix fell to 15-6 last night after the Lakers ran them by 20. That’s their third loss in four games -- with 17 being the closest margin. In all three losses they failed to reach the 100 point mark – the only three times that’s happened this season to a team that averages over 110 and outscores their opponents by an average of 4.5.

To be fair, the Suns have played 14 of their games on the road and are undefeated at home, but this is another roadie for them so it’s fair to assume the travel has caught up with them. Considering that this game is followed up with trips against Orlando, Denver and San Antonio, and life stays hard for Phoenix.

Nash is doing the MVP routine with a league-leading 11 assists, and his 17 points a night comes on over 50 percent shooting. You know what Amare Stoudemire does, and adding Channing Frye to play the five and spread the floor was a nice off-season move. Of the Suns’ top seven scorers, only Stoudemire isn’t shooting above 40 percent from behind the arc -- and that’s because he’s only taken one and missed it. This is the Mike D’antoni-styled Suns, which means a Mavs team coming off back-to-back season low scoring outputs has a good opportunity to do something about it.

Does this game still bring back awful memories?

In my little old opinion, the Miami Heat are pretty underrated. Well, their starting five are at least.

Not much needs to be said about Dwyane Wade. He’s one of the five best players in the league. Watching him and Kobe go at it last Friday night was that whole “amazing happens” thing to the fullest.

The Heat’s ultimate fate this season will really just come down to how much Michael Beasley can grow into stud second banana learning how to play off of D-Wade. You pretty much know what Jermaine O’Neal and Quentin Richardson will give you, but how much can Beasley improve on his current 15 and 7 on 45 percent shooting (22 percent from three)?

Miami is one of those teams that practically averages the exact same numbers as their opponents. With a team that isn’t very deep, they want to stay in the game and put it in Wade’s hands at the end and let him win it for them.

That’s kind of a microcosm for what this whole season is about.

Miami is in a holding pattern – waiting to see what they can do with their cap flexibility this upcoming summer when they’ll resign Wade and put the ball in his hands to see who he can talk into coming and playing with him in a beautiful city full of beautiful people. Just keep it close and let him win it for you.

Best night of the year

The Charlotte Bobcats are in town Saturday for the Seats For Soldiers event. Courtside season-ticket holders give up those amazing seats to a group of amazing men and women who have put their lives in harm’s way to serve this country. It’s proven to be an emotional, special night the last few seasons.

Charlotte has started to get their act together since they acquired Stephen Jackson and played .500 ball in the 10 games that he’s been in the lineup. Larry Brown teams defend, often to the detriment of their offense. But one can argue that Jackson has had a definite impact in that regard as the Cats have even broke the 100-point threshold in three of the wins since he arrived.

But with D.J. Augustin seemingly taking a step back this season, only in Jackson, Raymond Felton and Gerald Wallace (to a lesser degree) do the Cats have dudes who can really put the ball in the basket in a way that causes big stress.

And like most mediocre teams, Charlotte is also bad on the road with only one win. But to their credit, it was on the second night of a back-to-back (against the Wiz), which is noteworthy since Charlotte will be playing the Spurs the night before.

One last thought - Dallas fans who were so paranoid about the Mavs potentially becoming “that” team to lost to the Nets will get a chance to actually see “that” team. Charlotte lost to New Jersey last Friday just one game after the Nets lost to Dallas to set the record with an 0-18 start.