Alright first off I know "another Dwight thread" or "Couldn't of been said in the epic 300+ page thread haha", but in all seriousness I wanted to contribute something my own to all of this, and maybe the Rockets organisation or one of these insiders on clutchfans gets it and passes it on to them and than on to Dwight haha. Dear Dwight, I understand that this must be one of the biggest decisions of your life and I don't envy you at all being in this position. You have the chance to not only choose one of five of these organisations, but also choose a platform to build your image further and more important your legacy. One of these organisations will also benefit from having you on their team, not only now but in the future as well. So Dwight I am not telling you this as a Rockets fan, and not only as a fan of yours, but as someone who truly has looked at this from all angles and taken everything into account. You need to choose the Houston Rockets. I know shocking a Houston fan telling you this, but let me tell you why. First off Dwight, lets look at all the teams that are after you. Can you see which team has real potential to become a champion with you on it? The Rockets is that team. Houston is the youngest and most skilled out of these teams (not taking anything away some of those good to great players on the Lakers, Golden State, Atlanta and Dallas), you have James Harden who as great of a scorer as he is, is an even better facilitator. Just like another player in the league with James in his name. Chandler Parsons a player that Kobe Bryant even said he was impressed with a lot, and many other players cringe at having him on them playing defense, and not to mention that he is also all hustle. Lets look down the depth chart and look at the potential at all those young guys who are showing that they can hold their own in the league. Add a vet or two for some depth, and your good friend Josh Smith or even another piece like Paul Millsap and Dwight.... this Rockets team is a top 2 team in the league with Miami, given that everyone works well together. Which brings me to the next point which is the chemistry would be amazing. You look at this past season and you would see how well this team worked together and how much they all enjoyed each other. You don't need an inside source for that cause you could see it on the sidelines and on the court. Unfortunately that couldn't of been said for the Lakers. We could all see it Dwight how you were the scape goat even though you were coming off back surgery. In Houston the blame falls on the whole unit and not just the one player, and you can see all the players in Houston understand that and embrace it. In the end this is a "team" game and the unit as a whole should take responsibility, even the guy sitting at the end of the bench. So why go to just a team, when you can come to a place where its more of a family than a team. In the media Dwight, we all keep hearing about the Lakers and the history of big men they have had and how the organization is golden. However Dwight is that really true any more? Ever since the great Dr. Jerry Buss passed away, the team has not really been the same. I know Mitch is a great GM and he is there but even now it doesn't look like he is the main man anymore. It looks more like Jim Buss is trying to run this team his way and I think he needs to learn to defer that to someone who knows more about it than him. So why go back there, or to Dallas which has a owner who needs to learn that his players are the stars that people pay to see and not him. Come to the family that gets things done. The Rockets have also some legendary big men that the league has known, such as Mutumbo, Yao, Ralph Sampson, Moses Malone, oh and yes one other guy know as the greatest defensive big in the history of the league Hakeem Olajuwon. The organisation is run even better than the Lakers or the Mavericks. Les knows his role as an owner is to find the best guys to build this team and just stay in the background and than of course you have a man that many GM admire in Daryl Morey. Then there is Coach McHale who is one of the greatest ever offensive bigs to ever play the game too, who will teach you so much so you can add to your arsenal. He will adjust the offense to not only suit you but the whole team, remember this team was one of the best offensive teams in the league, why?, cause they played as a team and not as individuals even though James Harden was the number one option. How about fan base and market Dwight? Yes lets look at LA. People are correct in calling it a big market but its only cause of Hollywood. Dallas well..... Mark Cuban i guess is a bit of a media mogul but not really much more (Oh he did have a cameo on Entourage). Now lets look at Houston. Houston might not have Hollywood, but they have THE WHOLE OF CHINA, The biggest market in the world with over 1 billion people, not to mention their influence on the world stage keeps growing. Dwight go ask Tracy McGrady how he is looked at in China, the man is a legend down there. The Houston Rockets is the marquee name in Basketball and professional sports when it comes to the Asian market. Dwight if you are wanting that worldwide fame Houston is the place to go. Yes LA has all the Hollywood studios and the bigs in the music industry, but come on lets be honest you will get that no matter what because you are a superstar (Christ even Roy Hibbert has gotten roles in some tv shows and he plays in NASCAR country Indiana). Than there are the fans, and I don't know about you Dwight but Laker fans can be extremely harsh and unfair, like i said earlier it seemed like you were a target for the Lakers bad performance even though you went through back surgery the past year. In Houston not only do you get the Houston fans who once again blame the team and put the onus on the team, but you will get a fan base which is more positive than negative and know how to be not good fans but great fans. Also imagine the fans worldwide, like i mention before with China and also in Europe and Australia and Africa. Dwight you will be come a star on the same level with Lebron James. In the end Dwight like I said the decision is your and only yours, but there it is in plain black and white being as straight as possible. Houston is the place to go and I believe its the place that will give you a little less pressure, but still produce the same legendary name that you will build for yourself. So the balls in your court now Dwight Howard, good luck and I hope to see you lifting that Larry O'Brian trophy in Red and Yellow. Yours Sincerely Sid
TLDR What you sound like btw: "I know there are already enough Dwight threads where this could go, but this is my opinion and it is important to me so I'm going to start an unnecessary thread anyway. Plus, even though the very idea makes no sense, could a "Rocket insider" pass this on to Dwight even though he's currently a Free Agent and nobody from the Rockets will have contact with him unless he decides to sign here making this letter even more pointless."
I really like your metaphor about the ball being in his court because he's a basketball player. Beautiful.
You are saying Lakers fans are harsh and unfair but Rockets fans can easily be as bad. Look at the treatment Lin gets here, as if he's a team cancer. Far worse than anything from the Lakers fans.
For 15 replies in this thread it seems I am the only one who actually bothered to read what the OP said. But don't mind me, keep on making your contribution felt through the "it's happening" and other gifs.
