Dwight Howard: 5 Reasons Staying in Orlando Would Be a Big Mistake for Superman
Dwight Howard has made it clear that Orlando is where he wants to stay for the foreseeable future.
There has been plenty of speculation on the matter, with teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, the New York Knicks and the New Jersey Nets all being linked to the big man, who could help push a franchise over the top to a championship.
While he may want to stay in Orlando, it's a mistake, and inside we'll give you five reasons why he'd be wasting the prime of his career.
If you have any thoughts, make sure to leave them in the comments below.
Current Roster
1 of 5
When you look at Orlando's current roster, you wonder how this team won as many games as it did.
The Magic has players like Jason Richardson, Hedo Turkoglu, Gilbert Arenas and not much else. Dwight Howard is the end all, be all for Orlando, and it's a situation where the team is going to look at him to carry it to victory every single night.
That isn't a recipe for success.
Lack of Flexibility
2 of 5
When you look at the salaries on the books for the Orlando Magic, two big things jump out.
Gilbert Arenas and Hedo Turkoglu are stuck on this franchise for quite some time. Both players have monster contracts and have not lived up to them, making it hard to move them to a prospective trading partner.
If you cannot move those guys, then it is going to be very hard for you to make changes that can improve the team around Dwight Howard.
Eastern Conference Contenders
3 of 5
The Orlando Magic used to be contenders.
Now, in the Eastern Conference landscape, the Magic is nothing more than a welcome mat for a team with higher aspirations than the first round of the playoffs.
The Miami Heat has already arrived as a dominant force in the East. Throw in improving and successful teams like Chicago, New York and New Jersey, and you have a couple of pretty big roadblocks to the Finals.
Orlando has some major issues in terms of being a contender.
Uncertain Landscape
4 of 5
As we get ready for the NBA Finals, we might want to enjoy these few remaining basketball games while we can.
After this year, there is going to be an ugly labor dispute between the players and the owners as they try to come to an agreement on a new collective bargaining agreement. While the details are uncertain, one thing is clear: the NBA that comes out of this battle is going to be drastically different from the one we see today.
There is the possibility that teams could be able to get out of awful contracts, and while that might help the Orlando Magic, it also opens up other, more intriguing possibilities for Dwight Howard.
Wouldn't he want to play with Kobe Bryant in Los Angeles? What about playing somewhere with Chris Paul or Derrick Rose?
All of that is possible if that comes to pass during the labor negotiations. For Howard, it would be foolish to jump into a deal without knowing all of your options.
More Promising Destinations
5 of 5
Look, Orlando is a good basketball town, especially when compared to its Florida neighbor, but even with those passionate fans, there are a lot of intriguing options that are possible under the current NBA conditions.
Teams like New York and New Jersey are very much in play, and if I'm Dwight Howard, I'm very open to listening to what the Nets have to say. Mikhail Prokhorov is willing to take risks and do what it takes to win a championship, and with Deron Williams already in town, re-signing him and snagging Howard would make a great roster that could compete in the Eastern Conference.
There is a lot of star power on teams that will have money to spend, and the Magic doesn't have much room to make moves to compete with those rosters.
