Dwight Howard Will Eventually Earn as Much Hatred as LeBron James

Judas. Brutus. LeBron. Dwight.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you a look into the future at the Mount Rushmore of traitors. Please, don’t be fooled by Dwight Howard’s innocent smile—the game he’s playing with the Orlando Magic puts him in the same class of snakes as LeBron James and his disloyal band of brothers.

Howard Beck of the New York Times reported that the Stan Van Gundy-Dwight Howard beef is far more than a rumor. He tweeted:

"

Stan Van Gundy just acknowledged that Dwight Howard has asked that he be fired.

— Howard Beck (@HowardBeckNYT) April 5, 2012"

It just got real. 

Or did it?  Beck then tweeted:

"

Absolutely surreal: Dwight comes out and denies reports that he wants SVG fired, though SVG himself just said it on record moments earlier

— Howard Beck (@HowardBeckNYT) April 5, 2012"

You've got to love stories that don’t match up.

Such news should come as no surprise, though—at least not compared to when Howard exercised his player option for the 2012-2013 campaign. That being said, D12 embracing his inner Brett Favre didn’t increase the likelihood that he'll ever scream the words, “I’m staying in Disney World.” If Van Gundy’s claims are true and the Magic do follow through by granting Howard’s wish, their submission won’t help either.

All Dwight’s indecision and backstabbing is doing is prolonging the circus that is the Superman sweepstakes. 

He should’ve demanded a trade before this season started. Despite Dwight’s efforts to dodge the path that LeBron paved for soon-to-be superstar free agents, the delay will only make Howard more hated at the end of the day. Like LeBron, Howard fed and continues to feed the media what they want—the possibility of a departure—while he’s under contract.

Elite competitors embrace the moment. 

Clark Kent, on the other hand, is taking his superhero nickname too far and looking into the future. By doing so, he’s involuntarily sending the message to his teammates that he isn’t 100 percent sold on their ability to aid him in his title quest.

Entering battle without an unwavering confidence in the soldiers to your right and left is suicide.

Howard is sticking around with the Magic for at least one more run at a ring, but Orlando will never win a title.

Lack of talent isn’t the biggest reason why. 

Not Jameer Nelson, not Hedo Turkoglu, but Howard himself is who is holding the squad back. Dwight’s one-man media catastrophe implanted a virus within the Magic locker room, dismantling any shot that they held at being legitimate championship contenders.

Howard will without a doubt hit the road and the Magic can’t possibly do anything to stop him. Why? Simply put, D12 is the problem prohibiting the problem from being solved (I guess it’s really not that simple).

Orlando can’t win.

By allowing Howard to poison the locker room, they’re crippling their squad. Howard will only stay if the Magic are successful. However, it’s impossible to triumph under the given circumstances.

LeBron promised Cleveland a ring. Howard never made such an oath to Orlando, but he’s stirring up more drama than James ever did pre-Decision during his time with the Cavaliers. If you thought Dwight stirred up a lifetime of drama in the past half-dozen months, brace yourself for more.

You can’t bash LeBron and abstain from dissing Dwight. If they aren’t already on the same level, they will be by the summer of 2013.

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer.

Follow @TheRealDDaniels