Dwight Howard's Baggage Would Be Constant Distraction for LA Lakers

As talented as he may be, Dwight Howard has accumulated too much baggage at this stage of the never-ending drama he's the central part of.

With all of that baggage, there's no chance he's much more than a distraction for the Los Angeles Lakers. 

The story might be different if center was a weak position for the Lakers, but Andrew Bynum is the second-best player at his position in the NBA and is steadily closing the gap between himself and Howard. 

Howard is flip-flopping more than politicians—if you subscribe to all the anonymously sourced rumors—and surrounding himself with a noxious cloud of negativity, annoyances and growing dislike from the fans who once supported him and loved that childish grin that used to stay on his face at all times. 

After the story broke that Howard would indeed sign an extension if he was traded to the Lakers, his agent just had to go out and deny that in a quote transcribed by ESPN's Ric Bucher: 

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"Dwight's position has remained unchanged since the end of this past season," said Dan Fegan of LaGardere Unlimited. "He fully intends to explore free agency at the end of next season, regardless of what team trades for him, including Brooklyn."

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That sound you hear is a collective groan, followed by the clicking of keys as a handful of people rush to the comment section to talk about how much they dislike Howard and how they'll never read another article about him. 

Negativity reigns supreme right now concerning Superman. 

Amazingly enough, the opposite is true in L.A. After getting swept out of the playoffs by the Oklahoma City Thunder, pessimism is supposed to be the prevailing -ism of choice. 

The addition of Steve Nash changed all that.

Not only is there a positive vibe because the team added one of the best point guards in the league, but there's also one because everyone loves Nash. 

Nash is a down-to-earth guy who people feel like they can relate to. He's always a hard-worker and plays with his heart on his sleeve.

He says and does the right things off the court. 

Essentially, he's the opposite of Dwight right now. Do you think Howard would ever be handed a beer on the highway while filming the process?

Absolutely not. If he was, he would use his massive shoulders to crush the beer can into a ball, throw it out through the window and litter. Then, he'd decide he wanted it back and ask his limo driver to stop the car and turn around on the highway, blocking dozens of people from getting to work.

When he got to the can, he'd realize that it was already too late.  

Right now, Nash is acting like a perfect sunny day in L.A., and Lakers fans are currently basking in his rays.

They don't need Dwight's cloud of negativity and indecisiveness to come get in the way right now.