2012 NBA Trade Deadline: Dwight Howard Is Now Indebted to Teammates, Fans

Although the latest developments in the Dwight Howard trade saga have brought incredible attention to the a superstar's (frankly impressive) indecision, the moment-to-moment swings only give us greater cause to inspect the entire situation from a bird's-eye view.

Somewhere, buried beneath a mountain of fleeting reports, trade machine concoctions and anonymous sources, is a case study in league dynamics.

LeBron James' infamous summer television spectacular was a miscalculation born out of arrogance, but Howard's mishandling of his self-perpetuated availability came in an entirely different context. Perhaps Howard was no less arrogant to navigate the aftermath of his own trade demand so haphazardly, but his situation is entirely different if only because of his active, in-season courting.

Howard gave lists of teams he'd prefer to the Magic, even as his teammates were expected to keep feeding him with entry passes and rotating to cover the weak side. He—or those around him, hidden by the veil of a media report—continually hinted at what may be next.

His uncharacteristic lack of on-court effort was startling, though hardly persistent; even Howard's occasional plodding hasn't stood in the way of a monster season. That said, it creates a stark contrast to the Howard that has so thoroughly dominated as not only one of the league's finest but also one of its most relentless. Howard's effort could never be questioned prior to this season, as his timely and emphatic defensive rotations were used as a blanket to cover a number of Orlando's yearly, team-wide weaknesses. He worked hard until he didn't, and it would be silly to ignore how that occurrence coincided with his desire to depart for greener pastures.

To put it another way: Howard isn't the sole reason for Orlando's fall from the league's top 10 defenses (and corresponding step down from the NBA's elite), but he's hardly innocent. Howard has been very, very good, and yet even as he has put up career marks in per-game and per-possession rebounding, he hasn't been himself.

Exceptional though his performance has been at times, Howard has failed to live up to his own remarkable standard.

All of which begs the question: In instances such as these, when a player of any caliber requests or demands a trade, what is honestly expected of them? Howard has seemingly tested the limits of his social contract as a professional basketball player, even if he's been perfectly in line with his literal deal. Howard has shown up, he's smiled for the cameras and has put up some truly impressive numbers. Yet he's also flaked on his defensive effort, lied to those same cameras and actively pined to put up those impressive numbers elsewhere.

Some of that is palatable and some of it not, but I think it's natural to demand at least some modicum of professionalism from Howard, as well as some respite from the circus. Howard can't take all the blame for the fact that his demands generate questions and intrigue, but he stoked the news cycle and made a mockery of his team far beyond what a trade demand may imply. That doesn't give us cause to judge him from some lofty, moralistic tower, but situations such as these are nonetheless fitting times to re-examine the debts that a ball player owes his team and vice versa.

We know the strict, literal demands of NBA players—Howard must report to practice, he must take part in required NBA Cares activities, etc. But to what extent has Howard zigged where he should have zagged, and which zags do we—as a collection of sports fans, media members and conscientious observers—really care about enough to demand of him and of all players?