Dwight Howard Felt ‘Undervalued’ by Lakers

Contract with the Houston Rockets aside, there are few teams in the NBA that wouldn’t welcome the arrival of Superman’s services. And the Los Angeles Lakers are one of them. Forget that they need rebounding and defense, they already know what it’s like to house Howard and they’ll want no part of it.

Not to say it was always like that. Once upon a time, but a few months ago, the Lakers would have done anything to keep Howard. Billboards, phone calls, lobster dinners, validated parking spot, two extra scoops of ice cream at dessert, the rights to Kim Kardashian’s first born—you name it, the Lakers were prepared to do it for Dwight.

Entering July, that was apparent to everyone. And I mean everyone. Not a soul on this Earth could have been convinced the Lakers didn’t want to re-sign Howard, Kobe Bryant included. His presence wasn’t just a necessity, it was what the team wanted more than anything else, after world peace—not to be confused with Metta World Peace—and extra butter on general manager’s Mitch Kupchak’s popcorn, that is.

Their need, their want for Howard was common knowledge…to everyone except the big man himself. According to Yahoo! Sports’ Marc J. Spears, the Lakers’ summer pursuit of Howard was “doomed” from the start because he consistently felt under appreciated during his time in Los Angeles:

The Lakers’ hopes of re-signing Howard were doomed. Sources said that the Lakers’ brass told its employees entering last season to make Howard feel special and important. He was offered marketing opportunities, special game access for friends and given his own private jet for February’s All-Star Game in Houston, sources said. The Lakers even went against their grain by putting up billboards that said, “Stay,” in Los Angeles when free agency began.

“Even with everything they did, Dwight still felt undervalued by the Lakers, fans and the city of Los Angeles,” a source said.

Bryant, D’Antoni and guard Steve Nash were among the representatives in the meeting with Howard trying to convince him to stay. The Rockets, however, got the first meeting. The week Howard was to make a decision, one of his representatives had already begun shopping for housing in Houston, a source said. On July 5, Howard chose less money but self-proclaimed happiness with the Rockets.

Those gosh darn Lakers, with their stupid marketing opportunities, big-city resources and oversized poster boards begging Howard to stay. Some nerve they had, not groveling at Howard’s feet.

From the outside looking in, Howard’s sense of devaluation seems like a crock of brownish-green colored diarrhea. His decision to sign with the Rockets couldn’t have been an appreciation thing. When he was with the Lakers, fans were, for the most part, loyal to him. No, his departure was a Kobe thing. A Rockets thing. A Dwight Howard thing.

Save for amnestying Kobe and firing Mike D’Antoni, there was nothing the Lakers could have done to retain Howard. Nothing. And he wonders why the fanbase resents him for not only leaving, but for demanding the world on a silver platter this summer. Once it became clear the Lakers were prepared to give it to him, he went rogue, requesting things that no one in their right mind would expect the Lakers to comply with.

Undervalued? Under appreciated? Please. What else is it the Lakers could have done? Renounced their loyalty to Kobe? Ripped the mustache off Magic Mike’s face? Appoint Howard acting president of basketball operations and resident egoist?

Superman didn’t want to be a member of the Lakers—that’s why he left. Doesn’t matter why anymore either, so long as we know it wasn’t a belittled psyche thing. It couldn’t be. Not even Howard is that full of himself.

Then again, maybe he is. Maybe the Lakers failed the city they represent by not fanning Howard with comically sized leaves all season. By not creating a potion that turned his pregame dumps into gold. By not insisting that Kobe feed Howard grapes off the vine while he lay on his throne.

Yeah, that must be it. Couldn’t be the fact that Howard either expected too much or was too delusional. Had to be the Lakers’ fault.

“I made my decision,” Howard said, via Spears. “I’m happy where I’m at. Everybody should move forward. This is my life. If you don’t like it, so what.”

So what, indeed.