Dwight Howard Saga

[Walter White]

See I told you. Just postponing it another year.

 

[Powerslave]

Dwight now

Dwight in 2013

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

Wow... didn't see that coming at all.. Good for him! Glad to see someone finally gets it. It's not about super-teams, it's about the fans that love the game. I lived in Orlando, and I gotta say, their fans suck; but, it's still good to see a superstar stick around in a mid-sized market.

Before I go soft and give Dwight credit for doing the right thing and staying with his team, he needs to sign an extension. Not a one year rental contract because he's afraid of being jettisoned to a team that guts their roster for him, a real, multi-year extension.

If he doesn't sign an extension, and I'm Orlando, I trade him before he steps on the court for me next season.

 

[Spencer Hawes]

Howard proves Stephen A. Smith was wrong and he's ripping Howard to shreds. He also used the word (and I'm not sure if it exist) "eloqueting" rofl. What a poon.

 

[Triumph36]

Before I go soft and give Dwight credit for doing the right thing and staying with his team, he needs to sign an extension. Not a one year rental contract because he's afraid of being jettisoned to a team that guts their roster for him, a real, multi-year extension.

If he doesn't sign an extension, and I'm Orlando, I trade him before he steps on the court for me next season.

lol

 

[jlegg21]

Yes, let's all give Howard props for "gracing" the Magic with his God-like presence for another year. What a mensch.

Cmon now...

 

[blommen]

Howard proves Stephen A. Smith was wrong and he's ripping Howard to shreds. He also used the word (and I'm not sure if it exist) "eloqueting" rofl. What a poon.

What's he saying?

 

[InBoobieWeTrust]

lol

To (somewhat)quote Jon..

lollolololroflcopter lmaozzzzz!!! LOL! LOL! LOL!

God forbid a superstar stay where he is for a franchise that will do anything for him and fans that have cheered for and supported him since he was a rookie, to try to be the man to carry their city to a title on his back, on his terms . Is this really what the NBA is? Spend 8 years with a franchise and leave unless it's a big market or there are two other superstars already there with you? Shit is soft. I hope Dwight mans up and signs the extension.

 

[Triple-S]

look.

Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami, are not pro-sports towns.

to hear him talk about his "Commitment" to this city, made me really laugh. No one cares down there. No one.

Do you think anyone in that market will give a shit if he leaves? "huh? oh, right...well..uhh..that eliminates one out of over a hundred entertainment options I could spend my entertainment dollar on. It's not like I can make a day trip to the beach or go to say..fucking disney world, or any attractions like that".

You hear that Dwight? You take backseat to a fucking amusement park. You take backseat to old people playing softball at "The Villages", you take backseat to NASCAR, you take backseat to SEC Sports, you fucking take backseat to the space program. No one would even notice if that team folded shop and took their talents to Kansas City. No One.

Hell, the only pro teams in the state of florida I've ever seen get support are teams based in Tampa.

It's a waste of time having superstars in those sort of towns. You may as well keep teams like Boston, Dallas, Houston, Cleveland, New York, Indianapolis, Detroit, Minnesota good, and keep teams like Orlando around just for a mere means of exhibition, so that transplants can go watch their teams play.

 

[Rich]

lol

This guy here...this is not my kind of guy

[video=youtube;Rgt8oxdxFA8]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rgt8oxdxFA8[/video]

 

[ButterMPancakes]

look.

Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami, are not pro-sports towns.

to hear him talk about his "Commitment" to this city, made me really laugh. No one cares down there. No one.

Do you think anyone in that market will give a shit if he leaves? "huh? oh, right...well..uhh..that eliminates one out of over a hundred entertainment options I could spend my entertainment dollar on. It's not like I can make a day trip to the beach or go to say..fucking disney world, or any attractions like that".

You hear that Dwight? You take backseat to a fucking amusement park. You take backseat to old people playing softball at "The Villages", you take backseat to NASCAR, you take backseat to SEC Sports, you fucking take backseat to the space program. No one would even notice if that team folded shop and took their talents to Kansas City. No One.

Hell, the only pro teams in the state of florida I've ever seen get support are teams based in Tampa.

It's a waste of time having superstars in those sort of towns. You may as well keep teams like Boston, Dallas, Houston, Cleveland, New York, Indianapolis, Detroit, Minnesota good, and keep teams like Orlando around just for a mere means of exhibition, so that transplants can go watch their teams play.

nah, that's a load of garbage

 

[B3team]

nah, that's a load of garbage

No, it's true. At least here in south Florida it's true. I moved down here to West Palm 7 years ago, and I can say with 100% confidence there is no fan support for the teams. Also, the fans are dumb. Cleveland fans understand cap space, trade implications, expiring contracts, etc... Miami fans know stuff such as: your supposed to get the basketball in the hoop, dunks are awesome, dos minutos.
True story, before Lebron in Miami, I would walk into PLAYOFF games for 20 dollars/ticket. I did that multiple times. The arena smells bad too.

 

[southernflyer]

look.

Orlando, Jacksonville, Miami, are not pro-sports towns.

Do you think anyone in that market will give a shit if he leaves? Hell, the only pro teams in the state of florida I've ever seen get support are teams based in Tampa.

I think the model for any city in Florida other than Miami is to have one sports team. Orlando does support the Magic pretty well, and people actually do care about the team. At work even non-sports women talk about the Magic.

Here is what I see is the best options for Florida sports teams: move the Panthers and either the Rays or Bucs, I would choose the Bucs first if the Rays could get a stadium built in Tampa or somewhere near the Hard Rock casino area.

I think the Lightning, Magic and Jags get enough support, either from homegrown locals or transplants watching their favorite teams.

The Rays get the short end from a few things; 1) people who just want to watch a couple games can watch Spring Training in the spring or cheap Florida State League games all summer 2) location in St. Pete adds a half hour for most metro Tampa people to get there going through downtown rush hour from any direction and lessons the possibility of Orlando residents/tourists going over 3) With the Yankees having their spring training IN Tampa since the Rays were founded drags down opportunities to get fan support for the Rays 4) MLB's blackout policy goes so far over the state that potential fans in Central Florida up to the panhandle can't watch most games unless it is on Sun Sports and their cable operator has it, where they can watch just about any Braves game they want.

The Bucs were blacked out 5 out of 7 times (one home game in London) last year, including their home opener! That followed 2010 when ALL home games were blacked out, even after being 8-5 and in the playoff race! I can't see the Bucs being in Tampa much longer with the support issues and Glazer financial troubles.

Dwight just needs to man up and say "I'm in" or 'I'm out". It is like dating someone for a while and it isn't great or horrible, saying that you love the person but putting out feelers with possible girls "just in case". His bullshit last minute response screwed the Magic out of knowing for weeks (even if privately) and having a better opportunity to trade for options to possibly help Dwight. The local paper is giving him a black ink BJ today like he is some hero for not opting out for one more year. They just haven't realized that maybe Dwight thought that the Nets were screwed this year after the pic/Wallace deal and not knowing if Deron will be back, the Knicks being in slary cap hell until 2015 and seeing the Lakers struggle in the future with Kobe getting older and no younger support. I'm not saying he would come to Cleveland in 2013, but if we got a couple of mid-late lottery picks in this year's draft pan out we could look good for 2013 FA with around 30-35 million in cap space used other than filler bench with Kyrie, TT as 6th man and 2 2012 draftees.

 

[mAo_mAo]

http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nba-b...on_types=news.reads&fb_source=other_multiline

A gem from a Heatle

On Thursday morning, Dwight Howard waived his right to opt out of his contract with the Orlando Magic this summer, ensuring that he will stick around for one more season, at which point we can relive this whole delirious mess all over again. As noted by our Kelly Dwyer in the story linked above, it was a loyal move only insofar as he didn't leave at his first opportunity. The really loyal decision would have been to opt out only to sign a max-level contract with Orlando immediately. In the grand scheme of things, a year's commitment isn't so impressive.
Howard might still stick around long-term, but the extent of his loyalty is as yet undecided. Miami Heat star Dwyane Wade, Howard's in-state rival and Olympic teammate, has questioned how much we should praise DH right now. <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Loyalty hahahahaha</p>&mdash; Dwyane Wade (@DwyaneWade) <a href="https://twitter.com/DwyaneWade/status/180375782592491521" data-datetime="2012-03-15T19:31:52+00:00">March 15, 2012</a></blockquote>
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While Wade's tweet was not posted in response to anyone specifically, it's been suggested that he was reacting to a comment from New Orleans Hornets point guard Jarrett Jack. Check out that tweet after the jump:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>S/O to @<a href="https://twitter.com/dwighthoward">dwighthoward</a> for being loyal and not following this whack trend in the league of dudes trying to team up.<a href="https://twitter.com/search/%2523standonyourown2">#standonyourown2</a></p>&mdash; Jarrett Jack (@Jarrettjack03) <a href="https://twitter.com/Jarrettjack03/status/180343786730291202" data-datetime="2012-03-15T17:24:44+00:00">March 15, 2012</a></blockquote>
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If you're inclined to dislike Wade and his Heat teammates, then it's easy to read Jack's statement as a sad commentary on the state of loyalty in today's NBA: If coming back for one year stands out, then we're clearly dealing with a bunch of mercenaries out to find their best options. However, it's unfair to read this era's stars as especially disloyal. The players we most associate with loyalty — Bill Russell, Jerry West, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, et al. — stuck with their teams either because the rules prohibited them from leaving or because those teams gave them the best chances of winning. Players today are motivated by the same factors; the difference is that they now have the ability to engineer trades and free-agent team-ups more easily.
Wade made his point in a flippant and mean-spirited way, but the idea behind it makes sense. Superstars are motivated by many different goals and emotions, and the concept of loyalty can mean little when teams trade and release long-time friends and teammates for little more than cap space. Turning the Howard saga into a question of loyalty casts a complicated situation as a morality tale. A player's professional future is about much more than how close he feels to the franchise that drafted him.

 

[MoneyMP3]

I hate Wade.