Kobe Bryant is planning on giving Dwight Howard plenty of space to explore his options before deciding whether he wants to re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Howard will make in-person recruiting visits to the Houston Rockets and Dallas Mavericks, amongst possible other suitors. 

"For me, you kind of let him do his due diligence and then move in and talk to him and figure out if this is a place he wants to be," Bryant said. "We all want him here. But then that's when the selling begins (after Howard is courted by other teams). You don't start the selling process right before he goes and does all this stuff. You want to get the last word. You want to have the final word and the closing argument.

"I'll give him a little opening statement, but then I have to make sure I have the final word."