Howard opted in with Orlando to avoid trade to the Lakers

According to league sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Orlando brass got fed up with Howard’s yes-no-maybe posturing and threatened to trade him to the Lakers, not his desired location, if he did not sign an agreement to waive the opt-out clause for the final season of his contract. Howard eventually signed the papers, but only after he was told “he would be a Laker by the end of the day,” according to one source.

This is actually pretty awesome. Guys are always forcing their way to the Lakers and here we have the opposite. I guess we can thank Shaquille O'Neal for the fact that Howard isn't a Laker right now. He's been doggin' Howard for years that he's a wannabe Shaq and just trying to mimic his every move. Howard grew up idolizing Shaq and the jabs have hurt him. the last thing he wants to do now is bolt Orlando for L.A. and been seen as copying Shaq even more.

Of course the Lakers would be a MUCH better team with Dwight Howard than they are with that knucklehead Andrew Bynum, so I'm glad this trade didn't go down.


In other Howard news it came out today that Howard has already had one Magic coach fired. But news flash here, NBA stars have been having coaches fired for decades. Magic Johnson is credited with having Paul Westhead fired in the early 80's. Stars don't even have to ask them to be fired. Simply not having their coach's back speaks volumes. The Cavs fired Mike Brown, because they thought that would help them keep LeBron James for example.  The majority of NBA superstars egos are out of control. Huge prima donnas.

We're lucky in Boston we haven't had to deal with this. Pierce never wanted a coach fired. Rondo didn't say, "I'm only signing an extension if Doc goes." The sad reality is it's much easier to replace a coach then it is to find another superstar. The only way to curb this nonsense is if the stars police themselves and stop acting like entitled jerks. We need more Kevin Durant's and Derrick Rose's in this league. Howard's behavior is par for the NBA superstar course. Don't be shocked.

Related: Magic Kingdom is burning