The Dwightmare is finally over. Dwight Howard is a Houston Rocket.
He has agreed to sign a 4-year-deal worth $88 million. He has a rising young superstar in his prime, James Harden, as his sidekick. He has a new coach in Kevin McHale, one of the best big men to ever play the game, and Hakeem Olajuwon will continue to be his mentor, as he has done for the past three seasons. This is the reality of the situation.
For the first time in the past two years, Howard can focus on just playing basketball again. The league has seen him grow from an 18-year-old rookie to one of the most likable players around with a million-dollar smile portraying his own version of Superman, to now being labeled one of the most hated players. The last time we saw this type of venom and disgust towards a player was in 2010 when LeBron James left the Cleveland Cavaliers for the Miami Heat to play with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh.
Never mind the fact that Howard got his coach Stan Van Gundy fired in Orlando and that he has since been labeled a coach-killer. Never mind the fact that he opted back in to the last season of his contract with Orlando at the last minute before the 2012 trading deadline, after waffling back and forth through various sources that he wanted out. Too many off-the-court issues had distracted Howard from playing his best basketball. The media grew tired of his Magic act and Howard realized that. He knew he needed a change of scenery to start fresh and repair his image, to reshape his legacy.
Ultimately, he ended up getting traded to the Los Angeles Lakers last August, a move that seemed inevitable, as it was only fitting that Howard would eventually take his place amongst the franchise’s legendary big men. Howard was next in line, following in the footsteps of Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Wilt Chamberlain and George Mikan. The comparison to O’Neal is too obvious. Shaq played four years with the Magic then signed with the Lakers, where Howard played eight seasons in Orlando and then was traded to Los Angeles. Both were considered to be among the best centers in the game at the time and Howard nicknamed himself Superman, which Shaq first did years ago. Howard put the copycat label on himself by doing this.
The 2012-13 season was full of Lakers headlines, all for the wrong reasons–from the firing of coach Mike Brown after a 1-4 start, to the benching of Pau Gasol, Howard’s shoulder problems, Kobe Bryant’s Achilles injury and getting swept in the first round of the playoffs by the San Antonio Spurs. Amid all of that, Howard realized that Hollywood was not for him. He wanted to write his own script instead of doing what others thought he should do. At this stage in his career, his own happiness and chance to win a championship trumped everything else, even money. Yes, the $30 million Howard left on the table from declining to re-sign with the Lakers can be made up with a new contract after three years with an opt-out clause, but nothing is guaranteed in this world. One season after coming off of back surgery, it would have behooved him to ensure himself that guaranteed money, because you never know what can happen in this league.
Lakers owner Jim Buss and general manager Mitch Kupchak promised Howard the franchise would be his soon enough since Bryant would be retiring in the next few years, but they did everything but assure him of that. As soon as Mike Brown was fired, Howard told the Lakers he wanted Phil Jackson as his coach, but they went and hired Mike D’Antoni instead, completely ignoring his request. This was not the first time Buss has done something like that, as Bryant wanted Brian Shaw to replace Jackson as coach two years ago. Then just days before meeting with Howard on Tuesday, Bryant makes a statement that he will play for at least another three seasons, which was unappealing to Howard and considered a turn-off. Why would Howard commit to a franchise that goes against their word?
When LeBron James left Cleveland, with the hysteria and the controversy that ensued following his “Decision,” you would have thought he committed a crime. The fallout of Howard’s decision to sign with the Rockets is similar on some levels, but James is already one of the greatest players to ever play the game. Howard is not even on Shaq’s level, let alone James’, but it is a similar situation where James left Cleveland because it was the best decision for him to compete for multiple championships. Howard signed with the Rockets because he believes it gives him the best opportunity to win championships as well. It is not about what everyone else thinks. For this reason alone, it is too early to tell if signing with the Rockets was the best decision for Howard.
A common theme that we have come to see throughout NBA history is that all great players need to play with other great players to win championships. Not one other player has ever won by himself. Michael Jordan never had to leave Chicago because he had Scottie Pippen. Magic Johnson got drafted by the Lakers with Abdul-Jabbar already on his team. Shaq won with Kobe, Larry Bird had Robert Parish and Kevin McHale and LeBron did it with Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. Howard thinks the best opportunity for him to win titles going forward is by teaming up with Harden and that is something we cannot criticize him for.
The question is can Howard and Harden come together to become the next Shaq and Kobe. From what we have seen so far from their prospective careers, each at their best is not as good as the two future Hall of Famers. Howard and Harden though will have a strong supporting cast with the likes of Chandler Parsons and, if they stay on the roster, Jeremy Lin and Omir Asik. McHale will develop an offense built around spacing the floor for Howard to dominate the paint and kick to open shooters and Harden will also run an unstoppable pick-and-roll. But make no mistake about it, Howard has no more excuses to hide behind. He has the teammates, coach and franchise he wanted and it was his decision alone, his happiness at stake.
LeBron James validated his decision to sign with Miami by going to the NBA Finals three straight years, winning back-to-back championships. Dwight Howard has to win championships in order to reshape his legacy and validate his decision as well.
Superman signed with the Rockets focusing solely on his future, placing the past as a distant memory. As long as he is happy with his decision, that’s all that matters and he realizes that now.