http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6609008 Dwight Howard is not planning on following Shaquille O'Neal's lead and bolting the Orlando Magic via fee agency. Or so Howard is saying a year before the he hits the open market following next season. The center is is under contract with the Magic through the 2012-13 season, but can terminate the deal a year early. O'Neal, looking to take his talents to Hollywood, left the Magic for the Los Angeles Lakers after the 1995-96 season. "I'm not trying to run behind nobody like Shaq or be behind somebody else," Howard told the Orlando Sentinel Monday. "I want to start my own path and I want people to follow my path and not just follow somebody else's path. I want to have my own path, and I want to start that here in Orlando. But I can't do it alone. Not only do I need the right teammates, but I need the city behind me. That's the only way it's going to get done. We can change this small city that we have -- this small market that we have -- and we can make it a big market." In order to make that leap it appears the Magic would have to re-tool its roster to appease Howard. Following its first-round playoff ouster by the Atlanta Hawks, the Magic brass would have to give the All-NBA center a stronger supposting cast to make the club a bigger threat to win a championship. A deeper run in the playoffs would perhaps give Howard even more reason to stay put in Orlando. "As of right now, I'm a part of the Orlando Magic and I plan to be here," Howard told the newspaper. "And I want the Magic to do whatever they can to make sure that we can get our city behind us. That's the only thing that I want to happen: just to have the city behind me and the support of our fans. I never said I was leaving. I never, ever thought about leaving. That's basically where my head is right now. I never said anything to them (the Magic) about what my plans were because that's not what I'm focused on right now."
Good luck with the supporting cast part. Gilbert Arenas' bad contract alone kills their chances at finding help, not to mention Turkoglu's.
He shouldn't waste his prime on a team like that, unless they can bring in another superstar. I'm sure he will be gone, if they don't improve there list.
He should come to Houston. All the Rockets are missing are a Center and a superstar...check and check....
Dwights the Center, who is the other superstar on the rockets? Superstars want to go to teams with at least 1 superstar already there, not on teams rebuilding.
Under current CBA rules, the Rockets could potentially be able to squeeze the following starting lineup under the cap next offseason. This assumes trading away Scola/Lowry for expiring and perhaps a pick or two. Or in S&Ts. Dwight Howard(Max or near Max) Patrick Patterson Chase Budinger Kevin Martin Deron Williams/CP3(Max or near Max) This basically renounces everybody else except for some draft picks this and next year, which can fill the bench. If Patterson develops, I think we can sell this lineup as a counter to Miami or LA. Martin with Dwight Howard would be absolutely amazing. And we can acquire depth too, assuming they buy into the idea that the Rockets scouting/development staff is as good as Morey worshippers believe.
It will probably be easier to convince another star player to come to Florida than to go to Cleveland. The Magic just need to put a protective barrier around Howard's mom to make sure he doesn't change his mind.
Dwight Howard understands true greatness. Winning one ring in Orlando will solidify him as the greatest player of this generation... Go for it Dwight!
We'll have to see where CP3 ends up, those two could be a terrific duo. Anyways, I don't see him signing a new contract if Orlando doesn't get rid of salary killers like Arenas and Hedo. Orlando really effed themselves this season.
Not a bad team, but you really need D in the starting lineup. Chase for a good Def player would make a huge diff..
If Howard came to H town, I feel KMart would have a chance to become that second superstar. He was brought in to be a second option behind Yao, and if we somehow wound up w/ Howard, it's almost like he's getting a second chance for the first time.
Maybe the Lakers were #1 on Howard's list and recent events and statements have closed that door. Suddenly it's easy for him to say he wants to stay in Orlando.
I knew he didnt wanna be associated with Shaq in any way....Cant a man just get drafted by Orlando, labeled Superman, and go to Hollywood to catch the premiere of Hangover II, and not be used in the same context as Shaq??...These sports insiders are worse than wrecker drivers!!!....Freakin Vultures !!!
Hope Orlando has a plan, or he could end up being another KG, and wasting his prime in bad team, but he will be 26 when his ext is up, so he still will be young.
Don't worry, luckily most non-egomaniacs aren't worried about their "legacy" and their ring count when they are 25 years old.
I'll just read that as an obligatory statement following all the speculations. Even if he wanted to leave, I don't think he would make the same spectacle as the Miami superfriends, the Melodrama, and CP3 "uncertainty" although, it sounds a lot like the latter. He's already given himself an out by specifying conditions to his stay that are most probably going to go unmet and I'm pretty sure he, at the very least, suspects that. It's also telling that he felt the need to mention market size. Only way they get to keep him is if they gut the team and add CP3 or DWill and with Agent Zero's contract...good luck with that. My interpretation based on what he said: I want a big market with another star player, be appreciated more and I'm giving Orlando till my contract deadline to make it happen. If I leave, it's all on the organization.