Winning with Rockets, Dwight finds his smile
This just in: Dwight Howard has discovered winning is important.
And in related news, Dwight determines that what goes up must come down, it ain’t over till it’s over and the knee bone’s connected to the thigh bone.
Can you believe that as his new team, the Houston Rockets, comes to Amway Center tonight for a game against the Magic, Dwight is just a few days removed from telling USA Today that winning games — not building your branding — is what matters most in sports?
“If you don’t win, you’re not going to get all the (off-court) stuff you want anyway,” Howard said when asked if Carmelo Anthony might leave the Big Apple as a free agent after this season. “I saw that last year (in Los Angeles). I was in the biggest market for the NBA, and we lost, so those (endorsements) aren’t going to be coming to you for losing.
“When I was in Orlando, a
small market, and we were winning, I was very popular with a lot of different deals on the table. So it’s more so about winning, and you’ve got to put yourself in a position to where you’re winning basketball games and you’re having fun doing it.”
OK, Magic fans, all together now …
Too bad Dwight didn’t realize this two years ago before he listened to his advisers and deconstructed the Magic in hopes of landing in a mega media market. If he had, his image as one of the most beloved players in the NBA would still be intact, the Magic would be still be viable and maybe Carmelo would be leaving the Knicks to come play with Dwight in Orlando.
Then again, if Glen “Big Baby” Davis had four wheels, he’d be a Hummer.
No sense dwelling on the Magic’s past Dwightmare any longer, is there?
Time to let sigh-gones be bygones, right?
Dwight has moved on and is trying to rebuild his image; the Magic have moved on and are trying to rebuild their franchise.
Besides, Dwight’s not nearly as unlikable or fun to boo now that he’s wearing a Rockets uniform instead of the purple and gold of the hated Lakers. In fact, count me as one who loves the fact that Dwight actually had guts to be the only superstar in history to say no to the Lakers. Every other big man from Wilt Chamberlain to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar to Shaq couldn’t wait to get to L.A.; Dwight couldn’t wait to get out. In fact, he left $30 million of the Lakers’ stinking money on the table to sign with the Rockets. Yay, Dwight!!! “I think Dwight is like all of us — he’s learned from his past experiences,” says Stan Van Gundy, Dwight’s former coach in Orlando. “You can want to get to certain places. You can want to live in L.A. or Miami or New York, but, as an athlete, it’s really not going to be good unless you’re winning. Dwight has probably learned that — or more likely had it confirmed — after what’s happened to him over the last couple of years.”
Ironically, Dwight left L.A. for Houston because he wanted to rediscover what he had in Orlando; all of the adulation he had before all of his yes-men and sycophants convinced him he needed to go to New York or L.A. to build his brand, enhance his reputation, get more positive media coverage and become a bigger star.