Dwight Howard's Comments Expose Why He Can't Be Trusted to Lead a Champion

Dwight Howard will never never lead  an NBA team to a championship and his recent comments demonstrate why. Sure, he might be on a team that wins it all. He might even be the best player on a team that wins it all, but he will never lead a championship team. 

In the weeks leading up to this comedy that has been the trade deadline, there have been enough things to make you wonder how much Howard can be trusted. Last night's comments, however, were the icing on the cake, a whole new cake, and the icing on that one as well. 

"I told them that I want to finish this season out and give our team and our fans some hope for the future," he said. "I feel they have to roll their dice." 

Roll their dice? Give fans "hope for the future?" How precisely does not giving them any commitment give them hope for the future?

"

I've been telling them for the past two or three weeks now that I want to stay and finish the season. I told them I feel we have a great opportunity to win and I told them that I want to be here and I want to bring a championship here. I told them they've got to give me that chance.

"

We often use the metaphor of a romantic relationship to describe the relationship between a payer and his team and fans. 

If that's the case, the equivalent of Howard's comments are the cliched "I'll still respect you in the morning." 

In other words, give me what I want and I'll tell you what you want to hear without actually committing to you. 

Howard's comments are utterly selfish. "I want to stay." "I want to bring a championship here." "I told them they've got to give me that chance." 

Howard wants Orlando to take all the risk in order to give him the chance to reap all the reward. Who gets the credit if Howard wins a championship? Dwight Howard does. Who gets all the blame if he doesn't? Otis Smith. 

Furthermore, beyond this year what does Orlando have to gain from this? A future void of Howard or any replacement? And what does Howard gain? He gets to go wherever he wants to go. 

I have no problem with him exercising his rights as a free agent. But this self-serving comment is pathetic. He exposes himself as a player who is both completely selfish and non-committal. You can't win a championship around those traits. 

If Howard really wanted to lead, he would, at a minimum, exercise his option. He should either let the team trade him or commit but this trying to have it both ways only exposes he's not worth the chatter around him, no matter how good a player he is. He'll never be a leader of a team that wins it all.