Steve Nash Wants Dwight Howard Back, Thinks Team Can Make Mike D'Antoni's Offense Work

Speaking at his charity soccer game in New York City last night, Los Angeles Lakers guard Steve Nash expressed desire in having Dwight Howard back next season.

“We love Dwight,” he said. “We were just scratching the surface last year with all the injuries. We think we can really form something special with a year under our belts.”

This, of course, was a few hours before Chris Broussard’s report that Howard was unlikely to re-sign with the Lakers because of coach Mike D’Antoni’s offensive system.

When asked about this issue, Nash said Howard and the team could “absolutely” succeed.

“He played in Mike’s offense pretty much in Orlando. I think we can make it work. We need to surround him with some shooters and I think he’ll be great in it.”

The two-time MVP is looking forward to bigger and better things for the Lakers on the heels of a disappointing season.

“We can’t judge off last year and at the same time, if it showed us anything it’s that we have a long way to go,” he said. “I think we’ve got to start at the bottom and build new goals and expectations and keep trying to exceed them.”

Those goals and expectations will look a lot different depending on what happens with Howard, who becomes a free agent on July 1.

[Image via USA TODAY Sports]