Seemingly the only thing that might hinder the Lakers hopes of competing for an NBA title this season is the health of their newly acquired All-Star center, Dwight Howard, who is still recovering from back surgery during the off-season. There has been no timetable set for Howard to make his debut in purple-and-gold, but the man who pulled the trigger on the blockbuster trade that sent Andrew Bynum out of town, Mitch Kupchak, says that he optimistic D12 will be ready sooner, than later.

From the Sports Illustrated interview :

SI.com: Can you update Dwight's status? How is his back coming along?

Kupchak: We had the doctors and the back people obviously examine him and he's on track. He should recover completely. Certainly, we're not going to rush him to play in the first practice or the first preseason game or the first game. It's going to be when he feels and when our people feel he's completely recovered. But our understanding of the rehabilitation is that he's on track to a complete recovery.

SI.com: Any sense of a timeline? Is the regular-season opener still a possibility?

Kupchak: We haven't had those kinds of discussions. There's no need for anybody to set a timeline right now, but we're comfortable with his work and where he'll be.