The Future Ain't What It Used To Be: How Dwight Howard Just Ruined The Lakers
The biggest stage show of the NBA offseason concluded as many predicted this weekend when the league’s premier big man Dwight Howard eventually announced his intentions to sign with the Houston Rockets. In the space of two years, and thanks to two huge deals (the first being the trade with OKC for James Harden in 2012), those Houston Rockets have gone from a nothing team of nobodies to a contending team of stars. But just as quickly as the Rockets climbed the ladder of expectations, the Los Angeles Lakers came tumbling back down it.
A recurring theme in the NBA at this time seems to be the transition from one era to the next, as a generation of aging stars look for one last shot at glory. The Dallas Mavericks have seen an almost complete player turnover since their championship in a failed attempt to draw in an elite talent for Dirk Nowitski to pass the torch to. The Boston Celtics simply dumped a bunch of franchise legends as they look to make the transition into the future. The Lakers thought they’d found their next superstar in a team with a history of legendary players in Dwight Howard, who was to become the face of the franchise after Kobe Bryant retires in a few years. They even brought in Steve Nash, one of the most selfless players of all time, to help facilitate the two egos. It didn’t work. After just one injury-ravaged, underachieving season, the man known as DH12 has hit the road.
This is a devastating blow to a gloried team. Obviously they can’t sign every superstar on the market, no matter how great their legacy. To let one go, though? Unheard of. Shaquille O’Neill maybe, but when he left LA he was into his 30s and only had two or three more seasons of elite productivity. Plus he’d already won 3 titles and an MVP with LA. Dwight Howard is 27 and at the top of his game (presuming he’s fully fit, which he hasn’t been for a while). The 2012/13 season was a disaster for the Lakers, undeniably. Bryant, Nash and Howard barely played together at once, all suffering various injuries. They barely even had the opportunity to gel together, but the few chances that they had, they never looked compatible. Rumours were floating all season long that Howard and Bryant didn’t get along. Basically, Howard just wanted to get the hell out of LA as quickly as he could. And so he did.
Winning a championship is the pinnacle of success in sports. Winning one is a lifetime achievement. Being able to win multiple championships, and compete for a generation, that is the makings of immortality. The LA Lakers have done just that, and more than once. Yet Dwight Howard, whose primary decision factor was his own quest for a title (it definitely wasn’t money, since the Lakers could offer a lot more of that), chose to leave LA’s 16 NBA championships for Houston’s two. LA still has some great players left, but Kobe is 35, Nash is 39 and Pau Gasol is 33. Chris Kaman is the best centre on this roster (supposing Pau stays at PF). With the rising talents of Oklahoma City and Houston, plus the established dominance of Miami, the championship window for Kobe Bryant, the best player of his generation, has now closed shut. The same can be said for Steve Nash, who has never won one, and moved to the Lakers with that exact purpose. Both were relying on Howard to take over and provide them with that last chance for glory. The mystique, that untouchable aura that has surrounded the Los Angeles Lakers for as long as I can remember has faded away. The same has happened in Boston, but at least they were the architects of their own roster shake up. They took initiative to avoid the very situation that LA is stuck in now: An aging roster that cannot compete at the level that they are demanded to. Boston can rebuild now, but LA are in limbo.
Kobe Bryant, it must be said, was a major reason that Dwight chose to leave. Their possible personal feuds aside, Kobe’s pitch to DH12 was stomach churning in its arrogance. Bryant told Howard that he would teach him to win and to be a winner. This from a guy relying on Howard to win him a championship. Bryant needed Shaq in the early days to win. The 2009 & 2010 titles he needed nobody. But this is an aging Kobe, with a number of injury worries. He needed Howard more than Howard needed him. He then went on a twitter tirade, saying (sic):
Maybe Kobe just couldn’t handle the transition. He wouldn’t the first person reluctant to give up their power. Case and point: every single civil war/dictatorship/coup in the history of civilization.
It is a staple of the human condition to want to leave an everlasting impression on the world. To construct a name, a brand, a legacy. Tellingly, Dwight Howard has come to the conclusion that that is best sought away from the Los Angeles Lakers, much to the derision of Magic Johnson, Ice Cube, and Kobe Bryant himself. One can only shudder at the thoughts that Jack Nicholson must be expressing in confidence. The Lakers have never had a problem in the past with maintaining a winning legacy. But now they’re looking at a future of mediocrity, with no signs of hope on the horizon. At least not until Kobe retires.
- Wildcard