Dwight Howard throwing up Houston "H" during All Star introduction

Again, that whole team is a train wreck. Howard is the only starter on that entire team anywhere near his prime and he's injured. Also, he's not the first big man on the Lakers to get angry about being ignored....

 

Dwight could have a legitimate shot at number 4 among all-time great Rocket centers. Sampson was flat out better than Dwight, but would lose out on longevity.

Hakeem
Moses
Yao
Stick / Howard


All this commotion for number 4?

 

http://www.ocregister.com/sports/howard-495416-nash-lakers.html

Nash drove and was trapped on the baseline by two Miami defenders, Udonis Haslem about to force Nash out of bounds and Mario Chalmers also there between Nash and Howard, who stood deep in the paint. The other three Lakers had the floor spaced the way Mike D'Antoni wants, all behind the 3-point arc, so no other Heat player could get to Howard.
Howard had time to stand there, stare at Nash and the two Heat players, hold his arms up and wave them.
So Howard's eyes and arms were working. Tragically, his legs and feet were not.
Are we going to chalk this up to after effects from his April back surgery, too?
Howard just stood there instead of trying to help Nash create a passing lane – and get himself an easy dunk, as Nash gestured afterward would've happened if Howard just did something besides stand there.

again, just listen to Nash.

"I don't know. It's been difficult really to get him into that game – running into pick and rolls, diving hard, looking for the ball. We really haven't found that rhythm from him yet."

 

He may not compare to the all time greats, but he's the best in the league now.....So yeah.

 

He's not happy to be there, there is no chemistry with that team, which is exactly why it doesn't work. Of course, that doesn't mean that every team he goes to will be as ill conceived as the Lakers are.

 

That is the part that is often overlooked. If Dwight is healthy enough to get another max contract in 3 years then the money difference would be significantly less than 30 million, when you include the money he would make in the first year of his next max contract. It is also lessened by no state income tax and lower cost of living here compared to LA. Of course health isn't guaranteed and Dwight has had his health issues this year.

If the Lakers miss the playoffs Dwight will likely shoulder most of the blame, and it's reasonable to think he won't want to stick around for another year or more of that.

 

Off topic, but I loved it when Howard hit a 3 and the announcers said it would be nice if he could hit a free throw instead.

 

I hope it mean somthing lol

 

Could you please let me know where he was ever happy before?
Especially, considering he is look for a long term contract,
we should think twice before requiring him or just waste
another 5 years for nothing

 

Obviously they should "think twice" before doing so, but picking him up in FA is a no-brainer.

 

I think it is a legitimate sign of interest when you consider everything else he's been saying.

The majority of the discussion has revolved around money and winning and rightfully so. I think talking about Dwight's potential happiness or fun might seem silly or unimportant, but it's definitely not unimportant to him. When it comes to "having fun on the court" is there really another team out there that can compete with our teams culture and brand of basketball right now? (Obviously the Heat and the Clippers, but there not in the running for Dwight)

 

Dwight Howard follows me on Twitter. He responded to my DM's once before.

Help me think of something to say so we can convince him on Houston!

 

Yes,
We all see how lucky Lakers got him this season.
And our fans would like to be 5 years as lucky as lakers

 

Again....the Rockets roster is NOTHING like the Lakers roster so you can't compare them. The Lakers are 4 AARP members and Howard, the Rockets have the youngest team in the NBA....see the difference?

 

I've watched that play repeatedly and I think it is tough to argue with Nash's position. On the one hand, there were brief moments where Nash could have hit him, but at the end of the day, it does appear like Howard isn't maximizing the opportunities - he did enough to in a way pretend like he was making the full effort, but he knew he wasn't.

My assumption is the problem has been from day 1 he's been told where to go, how to minimize his game for his role, etc., etc. that by the time this play in particular happened Dwight's position of I did what y'all wanted - made myself a big target down in the paint for putbacks or pick and roll dunks - is partially true.

In other words, they haven't let him just play. Add Kobe's domineering personality and Dwight's complete opposite personality AND current contract situation and it's not a good combo.

Again, Kobe rubs EVERYONE the wrong way, and pretty much in all cases when it became time for a key player to reach a critical point in that relationship, instead of getting past it, the key player had to leave. Dwight showed up at his critical point, because of his impending free agency. He doesn't need to adjust his game so much because he doesn't have to stay with the Lakers if he doesn't want.. only he knows.

Also, keep in mind that when Kobe is highly involved, but focuses a little less on scoring and a little more on facilitating, the Lakers do seem to be a better team. Kobe has seen his shot attempts and FT attempts dip a bit this year, btu not much. Dwight's shot attempts have gone down from 13.4 a game to 10.2 a game.. 76% of teh prior year. Kobe's at 89%, Pau's at 81% and Nash at 97%. Part of it is because he is such a bad ft shooter so is intentionally fouled often, but his ft attempts are down a fair amount as well. One could argue this is what should happen with these 4 great players, with the viewpoint that Dwight is the least capable as a get your own shot offensive player, but I can certainly understand Dwight not thinking that as much.

Also keep in mind that last year Bynum took over 13 shots a game with the Lakers and 6 free throws (another 3 shots more or less), so 16 shots on a "combined" basis. Dwight takes the 10 shots and the 9 free throws (another 4.5 shots) so 14.5 shots on a "combined" basis. Bynum was more integrated into the offense than Dwight has been.

And all of that ignores the train wreck that has been their coaching situation. On what planet did Mike D'Antoni seem like a great fit for this squad?

None of this is to allow Dwight to escape Blame. It's clearly gotten to the point where he hasn't been strong enough or effective enough mentally. But the point is, don't put it all on him.

I'd trade for him in a heartbeat. The question is will he just sign here outright in the summer anyway, and if so is there any way you can trade for him without giving up any of Lin, Harden, Parsons or Asik... for all of the drama that he was previously, I'd LOVE for him to continue that drama and tell the Lakers front office "trade me to the Rockets for scraps now or I'll just sign there in the offseason."

 

"he still wants to go to brooklyn" - stephen a. smith

 

LOL, just like Lebron James.

 

Of course he does. He has always, and will always want to go to Brooklyn, but the second Thursday passes, and he's not traded there, that possibility goes away. If Friday comes, and Howard is still a Laker, then that means he'll have to choose between the Lakers, Rockets, Mavs, and Hawks.

 

Lakers are a team full of superstars (minus world peace). The only superstars on our team would be howard and harden (i wouldnt consider smith/millsaps superstars). Two different teams.

 

Well we are only allowed to have one 5 year contract (not sure if it's allowed if its through sign and trade but that'd be complicated), so it's not like we have to think about that. Howard is still one of the best Cs, if you have a chance to get him you do it.