Dwight, Really, the Rockets?

1. STAFF

   Paul Edmondsonposted 11 years ago

   I just can't see how you take less years and leave the premier franchise to go to the Rockets.  Come on Dwight!  I wonder if the Lakers will go get Bynum back.

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      Thief12posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      I really don't care about Dwight. He's shown how conceited he is, but I understand his reasoning. Regardless of how good Kobe is, the Lakers are an aging franchise and they've done little during the last years to change that. They have no rising talent to fall back, so when Nash and Kobe retire, it's gonna be a long rebuilding process. The Rockets have already started that, and they have a couple of good pieces already in Harden, Lin, and Parsons. I don't necessarily agree, or care, but I understand him.

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   2. 0

      Stevennix2001posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      No offense paul, but I think Stephen A. Smith said it best.  If he can look up at those historic banters of former lakers players, and still have to THINK about whether he wants to play for LA or not, then he was never meant to be a laker to begin with, as he lacks the mental toughness for it.
      
      Having said that, I do agree with one person here that said that you can understand where Dwight is coming from to an extent by not wanting to be with LA again.
      
      I mean let's be honest with ourselves.  The Lakers are a dying team, and the sooner they realize they need to rebuild, then the better off they'll be.  Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash were great during their primes, but both of them have been plaqued with injuries.  Even if both of them play most of next season, there's no guarantee they'll be even a shadow of their former selves. 
      
      Therefore if you're a laker fan, then you should be rooting for both or at least one of those guys to retire, so they'll have more cap space to rebuild.
      
      Plus, D'Antoni was never the right fit for that team.  One, he doesn't preach defense, and he never will.  Secondly, in order for his offense to work, you need a fast point guard, a bunch of three point shooters, and guys that like to do alley oop plays.  Sadly, the lakers don't have a lot of great 3 point shooters, and kobe can shoot 3s, but that's not what he's known for, or even likes to play.  he's never been a spot of shooter. 
      
      plus, pau gasol even says that he likes to post up more, which is something d'antoni doesn't like to draw up plays for.  not to mention the fact that nash isn't even that fast anymore to run the plays that d'antoni wants, so his offense doesn't work for the lakers. 
      
      plus, meta worldpeace is not even a shadow of his former self either, so don't even get me started on him.  if you ask me, i think la is better off without dwight.  it's obvious that he's too mentally soft to handle the pressure of the lakers' legacy and kobe's leadership tactics, so perhaps it's better that he's not going to be the face of that franchise post kobe.
      
      If i was laker fan, i think we should pray that kobe and nash just retire, and then la just trades Pau Gasol to get some younger players in there, along with possible draft picks.  don't get me wrong, i like pau, but he's their only good trade commodity left, so you might as well use him to start rebuilding because nobody is going to want meta's contract.
      
      Also, hope they fire D'Antoni, and bring in a real coach to help with the rebuilding process.

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2. STAFF

   Paul Edmondsonposted 11 years ago

   With what Dwight's done in the past, he will likely change his mind and end up a Warrior:)

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   johnr54posted 11 years ago

   I don't even want to go read the sports section of the newspaper this morning.  Dallas was banking on Howard.  Oh boy, back to the drawing board except I'm not sure there are options.  I never figured Howard would fit in to Dallas anyway so many it's a good thing.

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   Alphadogg16posted 11 years ago

   Dwight Howard is the Terrell Owens of the NBA, in my opinion hes grossly over rated. Offensively he's mediocre at best, all he can do is dunk. Shaq had more offensive skills. Im sure he wont get along with James Harden in Houston, throw a tantrum and want to be traded again.

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      Thief12posted 11 years agoin reply to this

      3 years ago, I would've disagreed about him being "overrated". But his slight decline during the last years, plus his attitude issues and immaturity lead me to sorta agree now. I do think he has potential, but he needs direction, someone to keep him in check and focused. Van Gundy managed to do that in Orlando, for most of the time Howard was there. I think Kobe did his best, but he was also focused on being Kobe, and with a buffoon like D'Antoni as coach, it ended up being a mess. I don't think McHale can be that guy either, so I really don't expect much of Dwight and the Rockets. A decent season, perhaps, but that's about it.

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         Stevennix2001posted 11 years agoin reply to this

         I think he'll do well with the Rockets, as you have to remember McHale was once a big man himself in the nba, so he can probably teach Dwight a lot of his old moves.  Plus, I remember reading somewhere that Hakeem Olajuwon was one Dwight's favorite players growing up, so if he plays in houston, then he can have a chance to try to follow his legacy there.  Plus, who's to say that McHale won't try to get Olajuwon to talk to Dwight on various occassions to act as sort of his mentor in some ways.
         
         I do agree with you that Dwight has a lot of growing up to do in terms of maturity.  However, we have to also remember that he was also plaqued by injuries last year, and not all of the problems with the lakers were his fault.  Sure, he had a part of it, and did deserve some of the blame.  However, most of it wasn't his fault, as i think we shouldn't be shy to point most of the blame towards d'antoni, and the buss family for botching up an opportunity to bring in phil jackson instead.
         
         seriously, if you have a chance to bring in a championship coach like him, then you do it.  no questions asked.  the fact that he wasn't chosen still baffles me.
         
         however, i think he'll do well with the rockets.  i think the only reasons he struggled last year is because for one) injuries, and secondly because he wasn't used to playing second fiddle to another superstar before.  In Orlando, he was the big name superstar there.  In LA, he had to bow to Kobe Bryant, who's not exactly known to be the nicest guy in the world to his teammates.  Add in the fact that he was forced to try to work with an aging team that struggled with injuries, and a coach that simply wasn't the right fit for that team, then you can see why he'd struggle with the lakers.
         
         in the end, i think he'll be better with houston.  as long as he's healthy, then i firmly expect him to comeback in a big way next season with them.  granted, your right that he has a lot of growing up to do, but that guy can play when he's healthy. nobody can deny that.

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