Dwight Howard is rewarded for insubordination in trade to Lakers
I'm amazed that Dwight Howard could've behaved in such a manner, he was one of the most likable players in the NBA.
I can really sympathise with Magic fans (i'm a Cavaliers fan), the upcoming season is going to be brutal but come draft time, the Magic will pick up a new name that the fans will fall in love with, and they'll rebuild, bit by bit. They've got some nice young players on the roster already, Harkless, Vucevic and Nicholson, if they can add Shabazz Muhammad to their ranks, that would be a promising and fresh cluster of youngsters for Orlando to develop.
I agree he was incredibly liked prior to the Dwightmare.
I'm sorry for you loss as a Cavs fan, losing Lebron had to hurt terribly, but the way it was done was even worse. If you compare it to Lebron leaving the Cavs it hurts slightly worse because at least they got some young talent out of it and not only some late first round picks.
i dont feel bad at all for the magic yea howard is a pos BUT the magig could have traded him long ago for lopez humprhies brooks and picks legit way too start over or the rockets deal and had lamb white jones and either patterson or motie again legit way too start over too when more draft picks are added u can start competing again sooner rather than later
I hate it when sports writers compare professional athletes to us regular workers or kids.
Ok, I get it he changed his mind about wanting to be traded, which team he would go to, staying, resigning, getting his coach fired. He made mistakes, he shouldnt have resigned for 1 more year, that was stupid, that's on Howard.
But I feel Howard paid his dues to the Magic. The Magic should have traded him earlier or said no. Why did the writer bring up the Magic paid Howard $30 M the last 2 season? That's not even a lot by NBA superstar standards. See Rashard Lewis and Jermaine Oneal.
When Howard decided he didnt want to be in Orlando, it's not like he can phyically quit his job and apply for a position with the competitor of his choice. He played the "business," by using his star power the best he could. And now the Magic less value than the could have.
I got more annoyed with ESPN talking about Howard than anyone, but I dont blame Howard and I dont agree with the writer of that article.
Dwightmare is not over, it's just beginning for the rest of the league.
SI article on the Howard trade that I 100% agree with:
When a child cries in the NBA, he gets to spank his parents. This is one lesson of the Dwight Howard saga, which is finally over, or at least on hiatus, until Howard says he won't re-sign unless his team plays three home games a year on Mars, forcing the franchise to buy Mars rover Curiosity to make it happen.
In the meantime, Howard is a Laker, and how rich is that? He nuked his old franchise in Orlando, establishing himself as the best all-around franchise-destroying star in the NBA. He complained like Carmelo, got his coach fired like Jason Kidd, and ditched adoring fans like LeBron -- and, like all the all-time greats, he brought something new to the game: world-class waffling, which hurt Orlando even more.
Predictably, here is Howard's punishment: He goes to a better team (though not the one he wanted), in a bigger market, and he still gets to sign a full maximum-salary deal with the Lakers next summer.
I don't suppose this matters to anybody, but the owners of the Magic paid Dwight Howard more than $30 million for the past two seasons. How cruel of them. No wonder he was upset.
Say what you want about LeBron James, but he was the best player in the league for Cleveland and really tried to win a championship there with a lousy supporting cast. He left as a free agent, which was his right.
What Howard did was disgraceful -- complete insubordination, a whiny performance by a man who wanted to have his cake and poison his boss's cake, too. Maybe he received bad advice, and maybe he was just young and naïve and oblivious to how he was acting. But when Howard came into the league, everybody praised his character, and when it came time to act like a professional, he completely failed.
Now he gets rewarded. This is life in the NBA. To the spoiled go the victories.
Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2012/writers/michael_rosenberg/08/10/dwight-howard-lakers-trade/index.html#ixzz23AydLGLr