According to Dwight Howard, Dwight Howard isn’t looking to move on from the Houston Rockets.
You read that right.
Rumors have started to surface that he isn’t entirely happy playing second fiddle to James Harden. This scuttlebutt sounds all too familiar to the hearsay emanating out of Staples Center back in 2012-13, when Howard was a member of the Los Angeles Lakers and apparently less than thrilled ceding touches and status to Kobe Bryant.
Which is to say his purported unhappiness was believable, especially because the Rockets aren’t winning in excess like they were last year.
Howard, however, has assumed a firm stance on the matter—a posture of the “It’s bullcrap” persuasion.
Here’s what he had to say, per USA Today‘s Sam Amick:
“I chose to go to Houston (via free agency in the summer of 2013), so why would I just say, ‘I’m not happy’ and leave,” Howard, who is widely expected to become a free agent again this summer, told USA TODAY Sports. “I chose this place, you know what I’m saying? And I want to make this thing work here. Obviously we haven’t been playing great basketball, and personally for myself my numbers don’t seem like I’ve been playing great, but the only thing on my mind is trying to grow as a man and grow as a teammate and a leader. All the BS that’s around, sometimes it is frustrating to hear it, because I know who I am as a man and I know what I’m trying to do for this city.”
The 30-year-old center brings up some valid points. It’s equally important to remember that these rumors are part and parcel of losing. If all’s well, talk of Howard’s displeasure doesn’t exist. After all, this is the same guy who didn’t want to overly disrupt Harden’s flow last season upon returning from injury.
And besides, Howard can become a free agent after this season. Unless he’s wholly concerned about his next team owning his Bird rights, he’ll have the power to leave free and clear in July, sans all the negative publicity that comes with demanding a midseason trade or expressing doubt in your team’s best player.
