Nobody likes a naysayer. Until, of course, it becomes apparent that yes was the wrong answer.
Dwight Howard should have never strong-armed his way to Los Angeles. And not to mince words, the Lakers were not wrong to have pursued Howard. But they should now strongly pursue other options.
Howard had made it perfectly clear that he did not have a yearning desire to play with the Los Angeles Lakers and the merciless pressure that comes with. Through all his immature ploys and indecisiveness in Orlando, it was clear that his motive was to be playing in Brooklyn at the start of the 2012-13 season.
Desperation and unhappiness make one more willing to change, though, and when it became obvious that starting the season with the Nets would not be possible, Howard half-heartedly circled back to his only ticket out of town: the Lakers.
If it wasn’t obvious immediately, it is now, IMHO. Howard’s heart is not in LA. When Dwight is unhappy, we know it. When Dwight is unhappy he consistently delivers the dysfunctional and self-destructive bents that continue to fuel the sports storylines. Storylines that have buried the Lakers in what bossman Chris Sheridan believes is the greatest peril they’ve faced since trading Shaq.
In sports and in life, the senses deceive from time to time, and it is prudent never to trust wholly those who have deceived us even once. There is a precedent for Howard’s recent behavior. When he’s unhappy he becomes isolated and passive-aggressive. He rambles around the locker room after losing 9-of-11, flaunting stat sheets. He says what we want to hear, but more often than not in an arrogant manner. And there is only one thing people in sports dislike more than arrogance.
Unearned arrogance. 
As Howard continues to conduct himself with a disconcerting attitude on the court and in a distasteful manner in the locker room, the Lakers plan keeps spiraling deeper and deeper into the abyss. That sixth championship Kobe Bryant has been forever chasing has never been so far away. Two years removed from back-to-back titles, the Lakers have become the laughingstock of the league.
For the Lakers to say yes and continue to roll the dice with Dwight Howard as the future of its franchise would be the wrong answer. It’s no longer about his injured back, it’s about his non-existent backbone. He just doesn’t want it.
Great article! I would agree with most of it, but I do not feel that he is as unhappy here as one would think. Actually…I do not even know if Dwight knows if he is happy or not. He is definitely frustrated with Mike D’Antoni and his system, but from what I hear, enjoys living in LA. The real question is…do you keep Dwight or D’Antoni? I am pretty sure we will know that answer by the February 21st trade deadline. If Dwight is still on the team past that date, I bet the house that MDA is gone after the season.
Thanks Lex, it is going to be interesting to see how this plays out for the Lakers. They do not have a lot of options, but it seems that something’s gotta give soon.
Once Lakers fall to 10 games under 500, they will be contacting Minny (again) and the Nets and hope for the 3 way trade that was speculated by Jarrod Rudolph. My belief is that Lakers were in discussion with Minny to trade Gasol for Love. When that fell through they discussed the perfect trade of Love to Lakers, Lopez to Minny and Howard to Nets.
What was stopping the Lakers from getting doing that trade was Love’s injury. However so it will be apparent that THIS season is over for the Lakers and the Lakers might as well cleanse their locker room of Dwight Howard. Love is guaranteed to be 100%. However, the sticking point is likely to be that Howard’s Health is a concern (shoulder/back) and Nets are hoping to go at least 2 rounds in the playoffs. Nets would be taking a risk to trade Lopez for Howard (via Minny). They will not be willing to give up more than a straight trade. It will take until the trade deadline before Howard can prove his health and Lakers will agree to a straight deal.
Tonight Brook Lopez will officially be named as an All Star. Lakers may regret not getting Lopez directly, but by sticking with D’Antoni, Kevin Love fits better into his system, and would allow Lakers to keep Gasol.
As a Knicks fan, I’m dying for the Nyets to ship Lopez and Humphries out of town to land this uncommitted doofus and sad excuse for a professional.
Howard has had enough time in the league to prove that he’s a cancer no matter where he goes. I’d love for him to spread it throughout the bones of the Nyets.
Nets are not going to offer anything more more Howard, than Brook Lopez, via Kevin Love and Minny. They could potentially send Hump back to Minny, but Nets would get back more in return.
Excellent article. I have no clue why anyone thought Howard/Kobe/Nash could develop chemistry when history clearly shows 2 of the 3 above with narcissistic qualities that you call = “unearned arrogance.” Awesome and that should be copyrighted. LOL.