Dwight Howard decides he will play with Lakers in Orlando

Dwight Howard confirmed his plans to join his Lakers teammates in Orlando, Fla., saying Monday during an appearance on CNN that he planned to donate his salary for the rest of the season to a charity called Breathe Again.

Howard had been at his Atlanta-area home during the break, but was following the league’s testing protocols remotely. His teammates expected that he would join them, but Howard was concerned about both promoting social justice issues and spending time with his children. The mother of his 6-year-old son died suddenly because of complications from epilepsy in March.

The Lakers had been in constant communication with Howard from general manager Rob Pelinka to various players.

“We have been working very closely — and I’ve been in contact with Dwight often and his agent,� Pelinka said on June 30. “As you guys know, there was an opt-out date that Dwight did not give notice that he was opting out. So we are going to continue to work through those extenuating circumstances with Dwight, support him, support his 6-year-old son and hope for the best that he would be a part of our roster in Orlando. But that will be a continued process.�