Beverly Hills Hotel turned into plea for Dwight Howard to re-sign

The Lakers continued their courting of free-agent center Dwight Howard with a modification to the legendary Beverly Hills Hotel.

The face of the venue that inspired the Eagles’ “Hotel California” is now adorned with Howard’s No. 12 jersey.

[UPDATE 10:58 p.m.: Apparently the Lakers’ official twitter account used a bit of creativity to mock up the picture, instead of decorating the actual hotel.]

On Thursday, General Manager Mitch Kupchak said he remains “optimistic” that Howard will re-sign with the Lakers in July.

The Houston Rockets, Dallas Mavericks and Atlanta Hawks (among others) are expected to make major pitches for the veteran center.

The Lakers also put up billboards in Hollywood and at Staples Center with the message “Stay.”

Howard has yet to state his intentions, other than exploring free agency.

In other news, Howard will be in a Chinese basketball movie entitled, “Amazing,” featuring Carmelo Anthony.

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Email Eric Pincus at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @EricPincus.