Dwight Howard and the NBA: Where Selfishness Is Rewarded

A while back, I wrote an article criticizing Dwight Howard for the way he was handling his situation with the Orlando Magic, and to be perfectly honest, I really did not think things could get much worse.

Well, they have.

It has recently been reported that Howard has essentially been given all of the power in Orlando, and when I say all of the power, I mean the authority to fire head coach Stan Van Gundy and even general manager Otis Smith.

Then, it came out that Howard is looking at two potential destinations when he comes up for free agency this summer: the Los Angeles Clippers and the Miami Heat.

Excuse me while I vomit, because this is disgusting. Actually, it's worse than disgusting. It is absolutely, positively revolting.

No player in sports should have that kind of dominion on a franchise, and yet, Howard has it. I ripped LeBron James up and down for the way he went about his infamous "Decision" two summers ago when he bolted Cleveland for Miami, but what Dwight is going to do may very well be even worse.

Howard is the most physically imposing man in the NBA. He is basically a double-double guarantee every game, and I'm not talking double-doubles where a player puts up 10 points and 10 rebounds. I'm talking about 25 and 15, 30 and 20 statlines.

You would think someone who records those kinds of numbers would be able to be the focal point of a team and not have to go somewhere where you have multiple other superstars in tow, but in Dwight's case, you would be thinking wrong.

Obviously, much like James did in the summer of 2010, Howard wants to take the easy way out. He wants to go to either the Clippers or the Heat so he has players like Blake Griffin, Chris Paul (who was guilty of the same thing LeBron and Dwight did/have been doing, although to a slightly lesser extent), James and Dwyane Wade to make his job a simple one.

Such is life in the NBA nowadays, where prima donnas rule the league.

Sorry, but Howard is a complete phony. That goody-goody, smile-all-the-time act he puts on in front of the cameras is not fooling me, and I am pretty sure that at this point, it is no longer fooling anybody.

The worst part about all of this is that Dwight is going to get what he wants. He is going to be able to dictate where he wants to go, and if the Magic cannot find a deal that suits him before the trade deadline, tough luck; Howard will reject it in the best interest of himself (and only himself) and merely leave Orlando hanging when he leaves for what he thinks are greener pastures over the summer.

This is the National Basketball Association in 2012, folks. This is how it works. A player gets drafted, turns into a perennial All-Star and then when the chips are down and things start to get tough after seven years (as was the case with James and now Howard, as even though Dwight is now in his eighth season, the trade chatter started after the 2010-11 campaign concluded), they look for the escape hatch.

Gone are the days when players like Kevin Garnett would remain loyal to his franchise for 12 years, even though the front office did next to nothing in providing him with some help. Gone are the days when players like Patrick Ewing would see themselves get absolutely torched by the fans on a daily basis and still refuse to call it quits.

Now, we have players like James, Carmelo Anthony, Paul and now Howard who whine and moan like children when things don't go their way and then either demand trades or leave in the offseason to avoid a challenge.

Think about it. That is about to be four superstars who cried their way to different teams. Just repugnant.

Back to the point of the story, though, because this is mainly about Howard and the Magic.

I would like to point out that I not only think Dwight is handling this poorly, but that the Orlando front office is, too.

How can the Magic possibly give Howard the keys to the car and give him the ability to fire coaches and general managers? It boggles my mind. Kobe Bryant was not even consulted when the Lakers hired Mike Brown as coach. Not even Michael Jordan had that kind of power in Chicago.

If I am Orlando owner Richard DeVos, I am looking for the best possible trade (which, unfortunately, must meet Howard's desires as well) because Howard does not even deserve to be a part of that franchise any longer. Never would I give him as much say in organizational matters as myself, the owner.

I thought what LeBron did nearly two years ago now was abhorrent. What Dwight is doing now? It might be even worse.

So the next time Howard videotapes himself doing impressions or playing practical jokes or the next next time he mocks Shaquille O'Neal in an interview, don't fall for it, because the guy is one gigantic fraud.