Dwight Howard: Magic Star Getting What He Wants Is Bad for Future of NBA
Dwight Howard is about to get what he wants, and it's going to be very bad for the NBA.
What he wants, of course, is a trade from Orlando, where he's played his whole career, to Brooklyn, where he could create a formidable Big 3 with Deron Williams and Joe Johnson.
The trade is still in the proposed stage, but if Howard eventually gets his wish and is shipped out of town, what kind of message does it send to the rest of the NBA starters?
To answer that question, let's travel back in time a little bit.
The whole debacle started all the way back in December when Howard officially requested a trade from the Magic, stating he wanted to go the Nets. Throughout the next month, Howard revealed he would also like to go to the Mavericks, Clippers or Lakers, too.
And thus it begun.
As the next few months went on, plenty of rumors surfaced about where Howard might be headed, but nothing ever came to fruition.
The trade deadline finally rolled around, and Howard, still with Orlando, announced he would opt-in for the final year of his contract in 2012-13.
It didn't end there, however. In April, this happened:
Howard eventually got his wish and Stan Van Gundy was fired.
Now that we have entered the offseason, the Howard rumors have only heated up. He came full-circle by revealing once and for all that the only team he would re-sign with in the summer of 2013 would be the Brooklyn Nets.
And here we are, with the best center in the league about to be traded for garbage scraps simply because the Magic organization just can't take it anymore.
Howard demanded a trade seven months ago. He has whined, he has gotten the coach fired, he has given the city false hope by opting in and now he's going to get his way.
Back to the original question: What kind of message does that send?
Well, it sends the message that it's OK for NBA players, who are in a situation they don't like, to pout and moan until they get what they want.
To be honest, I'm not putting this all on Dwight's large shoulders. His situation is just going to stand out more because it has been dragged on for seven long months that have felt more like 70.
Nonetheless, when athletes do things like this, when they give up on the team that has been loyal to them, they are just opening up the floodgates for other athletes to do the same.
Kevin Love is now experiencing a lack of patience with the Minnesota Timberwolves. Is he going to be the next to think he can just establish himself as a burden only to, in the end, get traded to his preferred team, a la Dwight?
When it comes down to it, there's nothing we can really do about this situation as long as teams continue to comply with their unhappy superstars, and in reality, they will have to.
For the record, I don't mind when free agents join up to form a super team. They are "free;" they can do what they want. But to whine about your current situation, one in which you are contracted to, is a whole different, much worse story.
When superstars are being rewarded for having a negative influence on an organization, it just seems like a bad message is being sent.
