Well it appears as though the "Dwightmare" that's been going on the past two years is finally over, hopefully. Late Friday night Howard reportedly made his decision to join the Houston Rockets and backed this up by tweeting "I've decided to become a member of the Houston Rockets. I feel it is the best place for me and I am excited." After hours of rumors flying all over twitter and Lakers fans hating Dwight, love him again, and then hate him in the end, the world finally found out what Dwight's decision was.
Howard will be eligible to sign a 4 year, $88 million contract on July 10. Howard's only hesitation at the end was passing on a fifth year with $30 million guaranteed, which only the Lakers could have given him. But in the end Howard said that he made his decision based on winning and which teams met his needs the most.
Howard called Morey on the phone Friday night after informing Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak he wouldn't re-sign with the franchise. "I screamed," Morey told Yahoo! Sports. "I wasn't very presidential."
Howard joining the Rockets is a huge blow to Los Angeles, who now has a mediocre roster who's three best player are above the age of 33. With Bryant being down and guard Steve Nash not being the same player last season, the Lakers seem to be looking at a gloomy season.
On the other hand, the Rockets have suddenly catapulted themselves into an elite team and a possible title contender. Howard, a 7-time all-star and 3-time Defensive Player of the Year, will join another all-star in James Harden who averaged 26 points and 6 assists per game last season. But the Rockets haven't stopped there, as there have been multiple reports that the team is looking into acquiring another highly sought after free agent in Josh Smith.
Reports have indicated that there may be a possible sign-and-trade that could involve Jeremy Lin and Omer Asik going to the Hawks. Also, the Rockets are interested in trading for forward Ryan Anderson who played alongside Howard in Orlando and is able to spread the floor very well. But the Pelicans may not give up Anderson if the only player they receive in Asik.
Whether or not the Rockets make more moves, this is the biggest deal of the 2013 free agent class. Howard fits in with Kevin McHale's system and has an unselfish all-star to play with. This is clearly a win for the Rockets, most likely Howard, and a BIG win for fans of the NBA as well.
Howard has stirred up large amounts of drama and handled his free agency very poorly over the past two years. So badly, that some have said that these past two years have been worse than Lebron James infamous "Decision." So now that Howard is finally locked up to a multi-year deal we won't have to hear about who he wants to play for anymore. Oh, and we'll be able to enjoy some pretty entertaining basketball as well.
No comments:
Post a Comment