Dwight Howard Another Sign of Modern Era Prima Donnas
Call them babies, whiners or entitled. I call then NBA superstars, and they're only going to get worse.
It's a brand new day, when backroom deals between management and a player become fodder for the Twitter masses.
Dwight Howard would like it very much if the loud noises coming from the Orlando Magic bench were silenced. According to the man creating the incessant gruff barking, Howard has told management to fire him.
Yes, Stan Van Gundy is being forced out, and he isn't going without telling his side of the story.
ESPN's Ian O'Connor brings us up to speed on the soap opera going down in Orlando. In case you haven't heard, Dwight Howard allegedly asked for SVG to be fired, and Van Gundy let out this secret a little birdie told him.
Now, Howard is steamed, the Magic are in shambles and management is no doubt backstage looking for the eject button.
This isn't the first time that we have seen a superstar stake his claim to the team well past his boundaries. Magic Johnson, the bright smile that lights up the LA skyline, once requested that Paul Westhead be shown the door—or so the allegations go.
What's troubling to fans is the fact that entitlement is quickly becoming a rampant part of what superstars bring to the court.
What used to be jump shots and court vision now includes a sense of being owed something. Forget having to teach and draw up plays, the modern NBA coach now has to massage the superstar's ego, lest he get the axe.
It's more your fault than anyone. Yeah, I said it.
Really, fans. Would you be all that put out if Van Gundy was fired. I seriously doubt there would be pickets or any riots if the king of looking uncomfortable was fired amid all this mess.
We only care about the superstars, and they know that.
This is a player-driven league that's beginning to take a turn for the very worse.
LeBron James' "Decision" was hardly about the Heat, Cavaliers or NBA. It was about him. This Magic season has hardly been about Orlando and a grand postseason push. It's been about Dwight Howard.
Will he go? Will he stay? What did he say?
It's hard to fault players when they're given every last drop of say in how a franchise is run. Some called into question the Lakers not asking Kobe Bryant before they hired Mike Brown. Why?
The question is ridiculous when you think about it. Bryant is paid to go out, sink shots and win titles, hardly leaving time to accomplish the hiring and firing of a coaching staff.
Somewhere along the line, we just assumed these All-Stars had such leverage, and that's not lost on them.
This brings me down to the one aspect of this that I know wholeheartedly—Dwight Howard is in the wrong.
If you don't like how an organization is run or the direction it's headed, you leave. Howard gave up that right when he signed on for another year.
You don't start canning people on top of you.
The NBA used to be run with military efficiency. Orders came from the top down. Now, they just come from the most popular player on the team, and that's not how things should be done.
