Dwight Howard is still a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. But not for much longer. At this point it’s anything but a secret that Howard plans on leaving Los Angeles for Texas, with a source stating the Houston Rockets are the likely landing spot for the indecisive center. There are fans in Los Angeles hoping for a different alternative, but at this point it’s all but inevitable. Even with expensive billboards plastered all around the city, Howard’s mind is reportedly already made. So while free agency hasn’t officially begun, it’s only a matter of time before he tucks his tail between his increasingly unsteady legs and heads southeast to the land of cattle ranches and lower expectations.
But we already knew all of that.
What we didn’t know was the reasoning behind Howard’s departure. The reasoning behind a cowardice of sorts. Reports from Chris Broussard say that Howard doesn’t like Mike D’Antoni’s system. That he doesn’t feel he’s being utilized correctly. After a season of witnessing Howard’s immaturity firsthand this wouldn’t be surprising, as he seems like the type of person that constantly seeks positive reinforcement. A petulant child stuck in mental adolescence. But there’s more to it.
According to a source close to Howard, D’Antoni and the Laker system isn’t his biggest concern. It’s the fans.
Yes, the fans.
The fans that have refused to blindly accept him as their own. The fans that are looking for more than just a goofy smile and a missed free throw before throwing their devotion in a player’s corner. The fans who, for better or worse, will remain loyal to their favorite basketball squad. But they do so at a cost.
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The expectations in Los Angeles are higher than any other market in the Association. There isn’t another city in the union, New York included, that expects more from their NBA team. And this carries with it a two-sided sword. Win in Los Angeles and you’re a legend. An undying fixture that will likely be immortalized in bronze outside of the country’s biggest entertainment venue. But fail to meet expectations, or in Dwight’s case, even get within shouting distance of them, and you’ll be cast out. A vial of leprosy viewed with disdain and disgust. And that’s the thought Dwight Howard can’t handle.
According to a source, it’s this intensity, this inane desire to be the best, that Howard can’t live up to.
In conversations with Howard, the big man reportedly called L.A. fans “the most unappreciative group of people ever,” going on to say that people in Los Angeles are “ungrateful.”
Ouch.
I guess nobody informed Dwight that if he desires unconditional love based on no merits other than having the ability to consume oxygen, he should buy a Golden Retriever. In this case, Dwight looks like nothing more than a man that couldn’t handle the pressure, so he’s leaving for a situation where there isn’t as much. But that’s not how he sees it. You see, in Dwight’s mind, this is his big move. This is where he gets the opportunity to shove it in the face of all the Laker fans that he believes didn’t accept him with enough vigor. And this is his finishing move, his final act in Hollywood. A large middle finger to Los Angeles as he gallivants his way to Houston. In the end, should we even be surprised? He didn’t want to be here in the first place. But then he masked this fear by stating he wanted to create his own legacy, not wanting to follow in the steps of Shaquille O’Neal.
I think it’s safe to say nobody in this town will ever accuse him of being Shaq.
So Dwight will leave, and Laker fans will feel scorned. But like any other determined group, they will endure. They will tune in each night, even if it means watching Robert Sacre man the middle at Staples Center. And they will rally around their distaste for Howard. He’ll be Los Angeles’ next Mickey Cohen, the latest public enemy. Because if there’s one thing we’ve learned, it’s that the only thing Laker fans will rally around stronger than winning, it’s to combat those they feel don’t respect what it means to be a Laker. And it’s evident, now more than ever before, that Dwight Howard doesn’t.
