Dwight Howard found a home with the Houston Rockets on July 5,
which left a handful of his former suitors scrambling to execute
their backup plans.  And while it would have been understandable
if the Dallas Mavericks, Atlanta Hawks, Golden State Warriors
and Los Angeles Lakers had embarked on grief-fueled spending
sprees, it turns out that none of the other competitors for
Howard's services are recklessly blowing their money.   Los
Angeles Lakers  Harry How/Getty Images  If any team could have
been expected to panic in the aftermath of the Dwightmare, it
would have been the Lakers. But because the team remains planted
firmly in luxury-tax territory, it couldn't overspend on free
agents even if it wanted to.  L.A. has nearly $80 million
committed to next season's salaries. So the only moves the
Lakers can make on the free-agent market this summer are going
to be league-minimum signings and perhaps the use of their mini
mid-level exception.  Either way, the Lakers aren't going to
break the bank this summer.   G