Monday, March 12, 2012

Dwight Howard Chronicles: Why Staying Home is the Right Move

        I've tried to come up with a logical reason as to why Dwight Howard is so pressed to leave Orlando, and so far I haven't been able to do so.  I understand that he believes a trade will give him a better opportunity to win a championship, however,  I doubt that even a move to LA would make that happen. That certainly wouldn't happen in New Jersey, nor Golden State, and what Chicago really needs isn't a center. Quite frankly, Dwight choosing to stay in Orlando would the best decision for him to make for many reasons.
        Money is most likely not a factor in Dwight's desire to be traded because if it was, he would be losing a lot of money by going elsewhere.  Staying in Orlando, where income taxes do not painfully deduct revenue from your hard-earned money, along with a contract extension with the Magic is bound to make Dwight thirty million dollars richer than any other team/city would.  If that isn't a big enough incentive, then I don't know what is.  Also, the city of Orlando, its fans, the management, etc. have remained loyal to Dwight throughout this whole process.  Dwight is fortunate to not be greeted with boos at each Magic home game due to his publicly expressed desire to part ways.  I believe that whenever an organization shows loyalty, the best way for an individual to show appreciation is to be loyal in return.  Dwight owes it to the city to remain a Magic.
      Another big reason why Dwight should stay put in Orlando is that the team is perfectly structured to fit his style of play.  As we all know, any post player's dream is to play on a team full of prolific three point shooters who space out the floor and allow the inside force to operate.  The Magic have arguably the best three point shooting roster in the NBA, where almost everyone, excluding Dwight himself, Daniel Orton, and "Big Baby" Davis, are known to be capable three point shooters.  The starting power forward for goodness' sake leads the NBA in 3 pointers made, how rare is that? Moving to any other team would eliminate the kind of spacing that Dwight enjoys in Orlando.  He may take it for granted now, but if he was on a roster where outside threats were unavailable and defenses could really key in on him, his limited offensive skills would be exposed, which brings up my next point.
      If Dwight believes that his team isn't good enough to win a championship, he should take that upon himself to elevate his game to another level and propel his team to championship caliber status.   We are all aware of the fact that Dwight, despite his occasional flashes of brilliance, isn't all that skilled offensively as a big man.  In this generation where the league lacks prolific low post scorers, one could make the case that Dwight isn't even the most prolific of them all.  With that being said, he needs to focus on getting better and becoming dominant like the Shaqs and Olajuwons and Ewings of their days.  Seeking a trade will not make up for what he's lacking, therefore his focus should really be on getting better.
      After Shaq challenged Dwight on TNT to average 28 points per game in order to be considered great, Howard has responded, averaging 28.5 points per game so far in the month of March.  If Dwight is able to maintain this kind of performance consistently, the Magic, in my opinion, will automatically become a contender, eliminating any need for a trade.  To sum it up, Dwight should stay in Orlando because it's perfect for him, financially and tactically.  The answer to his championship quest lies within his performance and improvement.  If he's able to elevate his game to a level where teams can no longer handle him one-on-one, the various shooters in Orlando will certainly be given a chance to earn their paycheck, and perhaps spark a playoff run like the shooters of the Maverick's did last year.

Photo Credit:
nba.com

2 comments:

  1. I Like Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic; The Problem he will have going forward (if he stays in Orlando) is that the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls are in his conference (and the Atlanta Hawks are in his division).

    Miami has LBJ, D-Wade, and Bosh; Chicago has D-Rose, Boozer, and Deng; Atlanta has JJ, Josh Smith, and Al. Orlando has Dwight, Turkoglu and Anderson? - It does not compute.

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    1. I agree with your statement, however I believe that Orlando gives him the best chance to be competitive, considering his other suitors were inferior teams. I do believe that they could add a few pieces in free agency that can perhaps put them on same level as perhaps the Hawks or even the Bulls.

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