Dwight Howard's NBA Trade List Just as Obnoxious as 'The Decision'

Two years ago when LeBron James made “The Decision,” basketball fans everywhere threw up. Since then, James has been labeled as a traitor who couldn’t win on his own and needed Dwyane Wade to rescue him. But why don’t other players who are just as guilty get the same treatment?

One of those players is the Orlando Magic’s franchise center Dwight Howard. Howard, who has made it pretty clear he wants out of small-market Orlando, has a list of potential trading partners for the Magic based on whom he would be willing to sign an extension with.

Is that any better than The Decision? At least James waited until the end of the season and then made what he thought was the best decision for himself. He even gave his own team the same opportunity as everyone else.

Howard is holding a team hostage and basically ruining its 2011-12 season.  James didn’t do that.

Carmelo Anthony is another guy that comes to mind. Much like Howard is now, Anthony wanted out of a small market to play in New York, the biggest market of all. Anthony forced a trade in the middle of the season and distracted his team for nearly an entire season. That team’s season wasn’t ruined, but it did end with a first-round playoff exit.

Howard has an extremely specific list of teams that he’ll sign with long term. The Los Angeles Lakers, New Jersey Nets and Dallas Mavericks are the three big contenders who have been on the list from the beginning.

It’s no coincidence that all of those teams are big markets that already have at least one superstar.

Unlike Howard, James allowed just about anyone who was willing and able to sign him present their case to him during the offseason. Most were big markets, but that was because they were the ones who could afford him.

Howard is following the example of Anthony, who held a team hostage until he got his way. It’s a similar approach that of a toddler who screams until his mother gives him what he wants in a candy store, and Howard should be cautious about following that route. Anthony got what he wanted and was traded to New York. However, the Knicks were forced to give up nearly all of their decent role players, bleeding the team dry.

Today, the New York Knicks have a 6-10 record and would be on the outside looking in if the playoffs started today. The Denver Nuggets are 12-5 so far this season and would be the No. 2 seed in the West.

Anthony is living proof that many times players don’t know what makes a winning team. Does Howard?

Sure, he could go to LA or New Jersey, but if his arrival forces his new team to gut itself, what’s the point?

James made a good decision, as his team has been on top of the league ever since. He was obnoxious, but at least he waited until the season was over to focus on his next destination.

Howard is choosing to hurt the team that drafted him by focusing on it now.

Another thing James did was use “The Decision” to raise money for charity. The Boys and Girls Club got millions of dollars from the telecast. Granted, James could have just written them a check. But still, he did help out someone other than himself.

Is Howard doing that? I don’t see it. He’s telling the team that took a chance on him and has paid him millions upon millions of dollars that he doesn’t want it anymore. Then he’s also telling the team it can’t trade him wherever it wants.

He’s got this team by the throat and won’t let go until he gets his way.

James didn’t do that.

No matter what, Howard is going to play somewhere else in the very near future. Whether it is before this year’s trading deadline or at the start of next season, it is going to happen.

But isn’t it worse than what James did? At least James put his team first until the offseason, then made his decision. He was not obnoxious enough to consider himself above the game and ruin his team’s season to get what he wants. Howard is.