No more…Where will Dwight Howard go? Will Dwight leave the Lakers? Does Mark Cuban have enough money to entice Howard? Will he go to the Warriors? Will the Rockets be a championship contender with Dwight next season? This NBA saga is over.
On Friday, Howard chose to leave the bright lights of Los Angeles to join the dynamic James Harden in Houston. With this acquisition, the Rockets immediately become a contending team in the West. By them adding the biggest free agent to an already young and explosive team, things look exciting in Texas.
While with the Lakers, Howard averaged 17.1 points and 12.4 rebounds per game. Meaning his numbers didn’t show a decline, so the question is… why did he leave the place that has a legacy of great big men?
Howard was upset for the majority of the season, and the chemistry was never there. Los Angeles Laker Head Coach Mike D’Antoni’s up-tempo system was not an ideal fit for the big man. Although the Lakers made the playoffs as an 8th seed, the season was considered an epic failure. The “nightmare” season for Howard is over and he did what he needed to do… left the Lakers.
Next season, Los Angeles will be rebuilding. Kobe Bryant will be coming off of an Achilles’ heel injury. So, the Lakers may among the bottom dwellers.
Houston will drastically get better, and hopefully Howard will finally stop whining and be happy and satisfied with a team.
The irony of Friday’s events is that Howard’s former team, the Orlando Magic are in the best shape since the 2012 blockbuster trade that sent Howard to Los Angeles, former Lakers center, Andrew Bynum to Philadelphia, and the 76ers’ superstar, Andre Iguodala to the Denver. Iguodala has also signed elsewhere, leaving the Nuggets to play for the Golden State Warriors. Although the Magic had the worst record out of the 4, they are the only team that has players from the trade on their current roster.
Now, the NBA universe can get back to business. Now that Howard’s decision is no longer an issue, everyone can refocus on the sport and not the sideline antics of one of its biggest stars.
Kristopher Colley, II is a junior at Morehouse College.
