Can he be forced to do the sign and trade to the Warriors or is it up to him? EDIT: Nvm, megastahr answered it.
Has anyone EVER been portrayed in a flattering light on a reality show? Why would you want that if you've already got $50 million? Why? "You know what'd be great? If there were a bunch of cameras following me around putting my baby momma drama out into the media and producers asking me to contrive storylines!"
Plus Howard gets his 115 or so million contract. This may be a game changer if LAL decides to give up on Howard and make the most out of his departure.
Thats the truth if its been spoken before or not. Has alot to do with the microwave generation we're in now. I also think you can't underestimate the value in being in a good working environment. Nobody wants to work where their head is always clouded and people blame you for everything when things aren't well.
There's no indication of that at all now. Just like Boston, the rafters in the ceiling mean nothing. New owner(s). Aging team. Uncertain future. Second-best team in the city. The landscape in Lakerland is a big "?". The past means nothing, especially with new ownership. Dwight wanted to go to the Clippers, and Blake Griffin did not want to go to the Lakers (for Dwight). That should give you an idea of how things are shifting in the league and in LA.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/60679/will-taxes-factor-into-dwights-decision Finally somebody providing all the numbers and guess what: even money wise, the Rockets are the right move.
Apparently the Rockets gave Dwight an Ipad too. "There were books and an Ipad with much of the information presented to be left with Howard and his representatives, along with video testimonials from, among others, Yao Ming and Dikembe Mutombo." http://blog.chron.com/ultimaterockets/2013/06/rockets-hit-howard-with-best-sales-pitch/
Marc Spears: What is Howard's thinking? What will his decision come down to? I really think...maybe I'm dumb but I'm not counting the Lakers out. I know Mitch got a quick handshake with him and they'll have the last word. They'll have some surprises. Who knows if Phil, Magic, or Kareem comes in. Their meeting will be the most interesting. In the end, the Lakers have never lost one major free agent. Name one. That's a lot of money to walk away from. I don't know that any situation offered can be better. You know free agents will come to LA. I'm not giving up on the Lakers bringing him back. Maybe I'm a fool but I'm not. ... Winning above all. He doesn't have a championship. He saw LeBron go to Miami (and win two championships). He knows this is decision is a long term thing. A career altering decision. I think he's doing his due diligence. It's gotta be stressful. I was talking to someone close to him recently and they were saying if the Lakers had a good season, this wouldn't be a topic of discussion. The key for the Lakers is to say "Hey, don't count that (season). We were injury plagued, no training camp, new coaches, you were just coming back, you gotta give us a chance." I wonder, this is total speculation, I wonder if the Lakers might be willing to give him an out after 3 years if he doesn't like what's going on. That might be something that could be attractive just in case things don't go as planned. What if they do something similar with Mike D'Antoni? I don't know what to believe. I hear people close to him say he doesn't like to his system and Mike's people say we don't know what you're talking about. The only people that know will be in that meeting. At the end of the season, Mike was conforming. They looked good until Kobe got hurt. They gotta lean on "Look what we did at the end until Kobe got hurt." They looked great and capable of challenging anyone. I covered a lot of Lakers games last year. They were completely beat up. That is something they will push to him, "You don't want to leave here with no regrets." Dallas, Houston, Golden State, Atlanta are all interesting places but I really feel like LA will convince him they're the best place. What about the other destinations besides Houston or LA? GS would have to be a sign and trade. I can't tell you the last time the Lakers and Warriors did a trade and can't see the Lakers wanting to help him/them but the Warriors have great assets to offer. Anyone but Steph is probably on the table for them. I can't see that trade going down though. It is interesting that they did get a meeting. I'm sure it will be impressive. The Warriors, quietly, have a real good team for the future. One through five, I don't know if there is a better starting five out there. Some say Brooklyn. That'd be an interesting meeting. Atlanta, I never heard anything from him that suggested he wanted to go home. Ferry would have to sell him on his vision. Keep in mind that there has been talk about Josh coming back. Josh and Dwight are good friends. Both are from Atlanta. You could probably sell Dwight on playing with Josh. There are interesting point guards out there to add with them. I think they have the longest shot. Cuban, you know he'll give a fantastic sales pitch. Dirk is on the way out. Who is he going to play with? Collison thing surprised me. There are some other point guards they could sign. It would be his franchise. With Atlanta and Dallas, too much unknown on what they could be. Too much to put everything together. If I was a betting man, it's between Houston and the Lakers.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>If I had to bet, I would bet Dwight Howard winds up back with the Lakers and they fire D'Antoni.</p>— Spike Eskin (@SpikeEskin) <a href="https://twitter.com/SpikeEskin/statuses/351761081749864448">July 1, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
WRONG THe ONLY team that can give Howard the 5 yr 118M is the Lakers....they can NOT sign him to the supermax(5 yr) contract and then trade him.
He cannot get his "115" or so contract if he goes anywhere. He must stay with the Lakers for that to happen. If he went to the Warriors in a sign and trade he would still only get the 4 years 88 or so million. I believe it's been said a few times.
How many times are you guys going to have to be told that the Lakers aren't open to a S&T? They are in luxury tax hell. Yes, the tax really matters, even to glamour franchises. That's why Lin is here. If Dwight re-signs, the plan is for Gasol to be amnestied (or traded into cap space). That's how bad it is. Yes, Pau Gasol -- one of the team's brightest stars from the past decade and a guy that still has several years left. Dwight Howard is a transcendent guy. He's worth that hit. Klay Thompson or Harrison Barnes are not, and there's also the issue of sending him to an in-state, division rival. Unless LA can re-sign Dwight, their next-best move is to let him walk. (And ignore the arrogant Laker fans that are clamoring for such a trade... they're equivalent to the Knick fans last summer that thought it was a slam dunk for them to match on Lin. It's easy to say those things when it isn't your money.)
Technically, they are. People assume the fifth year won't matter because most guys opt out for another max deal, but if something happens to DH injury-wise, that 5th year of guaranteed money may be important.
What these young bloods (and you apparently) have to understand, that this game has always been...and will always be...about buckets
Not good enough to contend. Even then. Why do I say this? Because the Lakers were around 0-11 on the road last year against the top 5 teams in the West. Including during their "looked good" stretch. One of those losses was a blowout against the Clippers, I believe. If you can't win on the road and you're a 6-8 seed, you're not a real contender. I'm sure Dwight and his team know this. When the Lakers beat the Spurs without Kobe, I heard Lakers fans saying "San Antonio wants to duck us!" They bought the hype. We all know the rest. The Big 4 was a colossal failure. The Big 4 or Big 5 was something like 0-10 when they all started. They were better when some of the group didn't play. Part of that is likely chemistry issues. The Lakers aren't contenders next year, with or without Howard. Which means the Big 4 Era is already over. Unless you think Nash will be ready to roll at 41 years old in the 2015 playoffs, along with 36 year old Kobe and the rest of the crew.
