Dwight Howard prefers to wait until completion of this coming season before considering an extension with the Lakers.

Howard has one year left on his contract for $19.5 million.

"I think the best thing to do is talk about it at the end of the year," Howard said Thursday afternoon at the Lakers practice facility. "We just went through that last season, basically, and I don't want to go through it again or see anyone have to go through it.

"This is going to be my decision, and I'm going to wait till the end of the year. But I'm happy to be in L.A. This is a great place. I love the coaching staff and I love the organization for everything they've done for me since I got traded here.

"Hopefully I'll have a long career here in L.A."

Howard is thankful for the opportunity to compete for a championship.

"Coming here to play with Kobe, Steve, Pau, and Metta (World Peace) is the ideal situation for me," Howard said. "All those guy are great players, and there's something I can learn from each one of them, and hopefully I can blend right in with everyone.

"I'm not going to come right out and guarantee that we're going to win a championship. But I can assure every Laker fan out there that we will bring our "A" game with us every time we step onto the court."