Dwight Howard will be rejoining the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that most felt was a long shot. Some still recall that forgetful 2013 NBA offseason where the 6-foot-11 turned his back and chose to play for the Houston Rockets. Aside from that, the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year has had his squabbles with Lakers legends in Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal.

Howard was one of several big men being considered to replace an injured DeMarcus Cousins. Boogie suffered an untimely ACL injury which will likely keep him out of the 2019-20 NBA season. Other players trying out were Joakim Noah and Mareese Speights. Despite injuries the past years, Howard got the nod.

There is no question that Howard, when healthy, can be a force to reckon with. But it seems that someone had influenced the selection - Anthony Davis. The whole thing was revealed on the Stephen A. Smith Show on ESPN Radio, singling out a familiar reason where the 26-year-old cager did not want to play the five position.

“The reason that Dwight is a Laker is because Anthony Davis doesn’t want to play the five. He doesn’t want to play against the big centers in the Western Conference. He needs a big dude next to him that can eat up some of those minutes and take some of that physical pounding from Nikola Jokic or (Jusuf) Nurkic or any of the centers you want to name out West ... Anthony Davis doesn’t want to be that guy, and so he had a big say in whether or not Dwight was going to be cast in this role for them.”

The whole thing hardly comes as a surprise. It was the same understanding that most felt when Cousins suddenly signed with the Lakers in the offseason. And while Howard seems like a plausible choice, the next question is how healthy will he be for the coming NBA season?

The second coming of Howard pales in comparison to the same player most saw when he was still with the Orlando Magic. His NBA career has taken a different route, and the eight-time All-Star has been slowly eased out of the top stars of the league.

Playing for the Washington Wizards last season, Howard played only nine games due to back issues. He showed some semblance of promise with the Hornets the year before, numbers that could. And while he does hold career averages of 17.4 points and 12.7 caroms in 1,035 games, it is his durability that could dictate if he still has a chance at reviving a faltering pro basketball career.