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Dwight Howard emphatically refuted a report he is unhappy with the Houston Rockets.

“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.”

Howard has a player option for next season worth $23.2 million, but a person with knowledge of the Rockets situation said they are expecting him to opt out and become a free agent.

Via Sam Amick/USA Today

“why would I just say, 'I'm not happy' and leave,”

Because didn't you essentially "choose" to be a Laker too? And we all remember how that turned out.

Just shut up and play.

He keeps mentioning figuring out things as a man.
Im pretty sure bruce Jenner used those same words right before he tells the world hea actually a tranny

Be free dwight shout it from the rooftops

Chi Dynasty12 wrote:

“why would I just say, 'I'm not happy' and leave,”

Because didn't you essentially "choose" to be a Laker too? And we all remember how that turned out.

He also chose to resign in Orlando, which led to almost instantaneous regret.

kmpoaquests wrote:He keeps mentioning figuring out things as a man.
Im pretty sure bruce Jenner used those same words right before he tells the world hea actually a tranny

Be free dwight shout it from the rooftops

lol!

Chi Dynasty12 wrote:

“why would I just say, 'I'm not happy' and leave,”

Because didn't you essentially "choose" to be a Laker too? And we all remember how that turned out.

"Essentially"??? Care to explain?
Or is that just a clever way of saying "Not really but let's just say it anyway"?

I've been going back and forth with a friend whose a Spurs fan. He doesn't like dwight for any team. I honestly don't have an opinion. I would love to see Dwight excel in Houston. One thing about James I've noticed since he came to the H is he has totally embraced the way Houstonians act, for good or bad. Dwight does too but not to the same extent IMO, he isn't always chunking up the H or the horns, sayin the words "H-town", I honestly don't know if he even listens to the music.

Now the rockets have been crap. As I keep tellin my friend though, IDRGAF what happens with Dwight, I do with James though. He's too good on offense and too young to let go of him, and the rockets aquired his bird rights from OKC via the trade. I feel that if Dwight gets traded, and James and the Rockets continue to struggle, James Harden should miss the playoffs, it would do a lot of good for his mind... hopefully.

Dwight is not the player we thought he was. If he isn't been spoon fed the ball every possession and doesn't have an offense solely reliant on him, he can't put up the same numbers. He shouldn't be playing as bad as he has. He is no longer a feared defensive threat, and he has cutback significantly on offense. He's even missed a few embarrassing dunks (one of which was wide open). He's been checked out for a while mentally due to the injuries. And now that he is healthy he has been ineffective and he believes the problem is the team. Some of it is the team's fault but he has a significant part in the team's woes. He can't even be seriously considered a franchise player anymore, and he only has himself to blame for that.

Indirectly he did. He had a chance to be traded at the 11-12 deadline and chose to opt in. He could have been dealt to the Nets at that time. New management came around in the offseason and they got the best deal they could and it happened to involve LA. Had he not opted in under Otis smith he wouldve been a Net.

BallerTalk wrote:

Chi Dynasty12 wrote:

“why would I just say, 'I'm not happy' and leave,”

Because didn't you essentially "choose" to be a Laker too? And we all remember how that turned out.

"Essentially"??? Care to explain?
Or is that just a clever way of saying "Not really but let's just say it anyway"?

he should stay there for good. no more DWIGHTMARE!

Chi Dynasty12 wrote:Because didn't you essentially "choose" to be a Laker too? And we all remember how that turned out.

Jody Smokz wrote:Indirectly he did.

"Indirectly" and "Essentially" still just sound like not-so-clever ways of misrepresenting a situation.
People often use vague terms like that when the facts don't fit their narrative. Apparently that's the case here.

"(...) is trying to grow as a man"

Said a man with 30 years old.

Im not misrepresenting anything. He used his leverage to get to LA. He had the option to not opt in and get traded to BKN the season before. He also had the choice to commit to Orlando before they traded him.

BallerTalk wrote:

Chi Dynasty12 wrote:Because didn't you essentially "choose" to be a Laker too? And we all remember how that turned out.

Jody Smokz wrote:Indirectly he did.

"Indirectly" and "Essentially" still just sound like not-so-clever ways of misrepresenting a situation.
People often use vague terms like that when the facts don't fit their narrative. Apparently that's the case here.

theclizzle wrote:I've been going back and forth with a friend whose a Spurs fan. He doesn't like dwight for any team. I honestly don't have an opinion. I would love to see Dwight excel in Houston. One thing about James I've noticed since he came to the H is he has totally embraced the way Houstonians act, for good or bad. Dwight does too but not to the same extent IMO, he isn't always chunking up the H or the horns, sayin the words "H-town", I honestly don't know if he even listens to the music.

Now the rockets have been crap. As I keep tellin my friend though, IDRGAF what happens with Dwight, I do with James though. He's too good on offense and too young to let go of him, and the rockets aquired his bird rights from OKC via the trade. I feel that if Dwight gets traded, and James and the Rockets continue to struggle, James Harden should miss the playoffs, it would do a lot of good for his mind... hopefully.

Why does this matter at all?

Jazzing wrote:"(...) is trying to grow as a man"

Said a man with 30 years old.

Is 30 the point where we stop growing?

Jody Smokz wrote:Im not misrepresenting anything. He used his leverage to get to LA. He had the option to not opt in and get traded to BKN the season before. He also had the choice to commit to Orlando before they traded him.

It is without question a misrepresentation of the facts to say he chose to go to LA.

1) First and foremost he was traded there. That was a choice by the Orlando Magic, not Dwight Howard.
2) Second, to your point about leverage, any leverage Howard may have had previously was severely mitigated by the fact that there were no less than 3 teams (including the Rockets) with standing offers to trade for Howard without an opt-in or promise to resign. The Magic simply chose the option they thought was best for them.
3) Throughout the entire "Dwightmare" saga in Orlando it was reported that Brooklyn was Howard's preferred destination, to team up with Deron Williams. However, the Nets were never able to put together a package appealing enough to the Magic since Orlando was not interested in taking on the hefty contract of injury prone center Brook Lopez.
4) It was also reported that Howard had long since soured on the idea of going to LA after a conversation with Kobe. That report seems even more believable in hindsight.

So to say that Howard "chose" to go to LA is wholly false no matter what angle you try to spin.
Like I said, there's a reason you guys chose to use words like "essentially" and "indirectly".

BallerTalk wrote:

Jazzing wrote:"(...) is trying to grow as a man"

Said a man with 30 years old.

Is 30 the point where we stop growing?

Nope. But if you need to say this after 20, you're very immature.

Jazzing wrote:

BallerTalk wrote:

Jazzing wrote:"(...) is trying to grow as a man"

Said a man with 30 years old.

Is 30 the point where we stop growing?

Nope. But if you need to say this after 20, you're very immature.

So now you're saying we reach maturity at 20?
That's as crazy as your first comment.

It was a stock answer to a to a tired question.
You're trying too hard to spin it as a negative for Dwight and only making yourself look uninformed in the process.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a player saying he is trying to grow as a man, a teammate, and a leader.