Lakers still hopeful Howard will play

Dwight Howard's status for the resumption of the NBA season remains uncertain, but the Los Angeles Lakers don't plan to replace him on the roster.

Coach Frank Vogel confirmed the team's position on Wednesday while speaking on a conference call with media members.

"We've been in communication with Dwight the whole way," Vogel said. "We don't know what the level of participation is yet. He wants to play. We're hopeful he's able to join us. We're hopeful and optimistic that he'll be able to join us in Orlando.

"We don't have any intention of replacing Dwight's roster spot when we believe he'll hopefully be able to join us."

The Lakers and 21 other NBA teams will head to the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex near Orlando next week ahead of the restart of play July 30.

Free-agent guard JR Smith, meanwhile, has signed with the Lakers for the rest of the season to aid their championship push.

Xinhua - Agencies