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Dwight Howard thought he deserved Defensive Player of Year award last season

Dwight Howard had a big smile on his face a day after making his debut for the Los Angeles Lakers, but he still feels the sting of how things ended in Orlando when he thinks about his trophy shelf.

Howard was recognized as the best defender in the league as well as the best interior defender when NBA.com announced the results of its annual survey of the league’s 30 general managers Monday, but Howard still wants to know why he isn’t the reigning Defensive Player of the Year.

“I thought I should have won it last year, to be honest with you,” Howard told reporters after practice Monday. “I was a little bit upset about that.”

Tyson Chandler of the New York Knicks was named the league’s DPOY last season, ending Howard’s three-year run as the award winner. Chandler earned 45 first place votes and 311 total points to take home the trophy.

— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles

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Dwight Howard makes good first impression for Lakers

Deconstructing Dwight, Part 1 of dozens of chapters to come, undoubtedly.

The Lakers center took the court Sunday for the first time with his new team and showed exactly why he was different from Andrew Bynum. Markedly.

Dwight Howard has instincts that his predecessor has rarely shown, scoring five times off alley-oop passes and teammates’ missed shots in an exhibition game against Sacramento. Unlike Bynum, Howard’s not a guy who needs the ball in the post, though he showed a left-handed hook shot against the Kings.

Howard is ambidextrous, the result of a childhood accident in which he broke the wrist of his dominant (left) hand and learned to shoot with his right. He passes with his right hand, shoots free throws right-handed and shoots from the post slightly more with his left hand. But only slightly.

“Dwight’s body is far more genetically gifted than Andrew. Andrew has had some issues obviously in his lower extremities in both knees,” said Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person, who worked with Bynum last season and now Howard.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

Bid to buy Memphis Grizzlies on NBA agenda this week

Robert Pera’s bid to own the Grizzlies is on the agenda for consideration by the NBA’s Board of Governors at its meetings Wednesday and Thursday in New York City, sources familiar with the process told The Commercial Appeal.

If the board approves the deal, only one hurdle would remain before the completion of the first ownership transfer in the Grizzlies’ 11 years in Memphis: Pera’s group would then have to close the deal with current owner Michael Heisley. Pera agreed in June to buy the team from Heisley for what is believed to be $350 million.

Three-fourths of the board, which is made up of the majority owners for each of the 30 NBA teams, must vote in favor of Pera’s bid for the ownership transfer to be approved.

Pera will be the largest shareholder in the prospective ownership group but will own less than 50 percent of the franchise, two sources familiar with the deal said.

— Reported by Geoff Calkins of the Memphis Commercial Appeal

Austin Rivers leaves Hornets game with sprained ankle

New Orleans guard Austin Rivers said he expects to be ready for the start of the regular season after the Hornets rookie sprained his right ankle in a preseason game Monday night.

Rivers did not return after he landed awkwardly on a layup attempt in the second quarter of the Hornets’ 87-74 loss to Dallas. The Duke product, the 10th overall pick in this past summer’s draft, had X-rays on his ankle and those came back negative.

New Orleans coach Monty Williams said Rivers will undergo an MRI on Tuesday. Rivers had surgery on the same ankle in June to remove bone spurs.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Toronto Raptors waive Jerel McNeal and Chris Wright

The Toronto Raptors announced Monday they have waived guard Jerel McNeal and forward Chris Wright.

McNeal saw action in one preseason outing, while Wright was a DNP-CD for all six games.

The roster now stands at 16. The Raptors continue their preseason schedule Friday at Memphis (8 p.m. ET). Toronto opens the 2012-13 season at home Oct. 31 versus Indiana (7 p.m. ET).

Wizards rookie Bradley Beal tweaks ankle

The last thing the Wizards want or need these days is another injury. That much is certain given that they’re already without John Wall (left knee), Nene (plantar fasciitis) and Kevin Seraphin (right calf).

So when highly touted rookie Bradley Beal fell Monday afternoon at Verizon Center, having twisted his left ankle during five-on-five drills and yelped out in pain, a hush fell over the practice.

After being tended to by Wizards head athletic trainer Eric Waters, Beal stood and tried to shake off the pain but was walking with a noticeable limp. He headed to the locker room under his own power as practice wrapped up.

— Reported by the Washington Post (Blog)

Kobe skips Lakers practice to rest ailing foot

Kobe Bryant has skipped the Los Angeles Lakers’ practice to rest his aching right foot.

The Lakers announced Monday that Bryant’s foot is sore and bruised.

Bryant was injured during the third quarter of the Lakers’ 99-92 preseason loss to Sacramento on Sunday night. He stayed in the game and scored 21 points.

Bryant has fought a handful of nagging injuries in training camp this month.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Lakers waive Chris Douglas-Roberts and Greg Somogyi

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived Chris Douglas-Roberts and Greg Somogyi, it was announced today.

Douglas-Roberts, a three-year NBA veteran out of the University of Memphis, was originally selected by the then-New Jersey Nets in the second round (40th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft. Douglas-Roberts has appeared in 155 NBA games (53 starts) for the Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks, recording career averages of 7.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 20.6 minutes. The 6-7 forward spent the 2011-12 season playing for Virtus Bologna of the Italian League, where he averaged 12.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 27.0 minutes. Douglas-Roberts played in four preseason games for Los Angeles where he averaged 4.0 points and 0.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes.

Somogyi, a 7-3 center out of UC Santa Barbara, played all four years for the Gauchos where he posted career averages of 3.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 12.2 minutes. In three preseason games with the Lakers, Somogyi averaged 1.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 7.7 minutes.

The Lakers training camp roster now stands at 16 players.

Gilbert Arenas may play in China

Gilbert Arenas is nearing an agreement on a one-year contract with the Guangdong Southern Tigers of the Chinese Basketball Association, a source told Yahoo! Sports.

Arenas, 30, was a three-time All-Star who averaged 20.7 points over 11 seasons for the Golden State Warriors, Washington Wizards, Orlando Magic and Memphis Grizzlies. He was suspended for most of the 2009–10 season after bringing guns to the Wizards’ locker room. He averaged 4.2 points and 1.1 assists while playing in 17 games for Memphis last season.

— Reported by Marc J. Spears of Yahoo Sports

Pacers exercise Paul George option, release Luke Nevill, Sundiata Gaines and Blake Ahearn

The Indiana Pacers announced Monday they have exercised the team option on forward/guard Paul George for the 2013-14 season. George will be entering his third season with the team.

It’s a no-brainer that the team would hang onto George. This was a completely expected move.

The Pacers also announced Monday that center Luke Nevill along with guards Sundiata Gaines and Blake Ahearn have been released, putting the Pacers’ roster at 15. Nevill saw limited game action in two games, scoring one basket. Gaines also played in two games, scoring four points, and Ahearn played in three games, scoring five points.

The Pacers close out the preseason this week with games at Cleveland Tuesday night and at South Bend, IN, Friday night against the Chicago Bulls. They will open the regular season Wednesday, Oct. 31, at Toronto, visit Charlotte on Friday, Nov. 2 and have the home opener in Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Saturday, Nov. 3, against the Sacramento Kings.