Dwight Howard picks Rockets

Former ESPN reporter Ric Bucher did an in-depth story on the Buss family for Hollywood Reporter, looking at how things have changed with the Lakers after the passing of longtime owner Dr. Jerry Buss. The entire feature is interesting, but reading how the Buss family feels about Howard not that he’s in Houston is particularly compelling.

The feature also goes in-depth about how Jim and Jeanie Buss handle player personnel -- Jeanie “defers” to her brother, Jim says he considers it a democratic decision-making process -- and a multitude of other interesting things that go on behind the scenes of one of the NBA’s more famous franchises.

So, Dwight Howard is a member of the Houston Rockets!

The conclusion? Howard’s a brilliant post defender and scorer out of pick-and-roll plays due to his athleticism, with few big men capable of keeping up with him rolling to the basket and fewer capable of scoring over him. Asik’s quite a capable defender as well, but a healthy Howard probably trumps him and there isn’t really much of a competition offensively.

With pomp and circumstance, Howard’s first public appearance as a Rocket gave some indication of things to come. The organization went to great lengths making sure it reflected the importance of the moment, looking to tout his addition as the next chapter in a tradition of towering greatness.

If Howard showed anything over the past two years, he likes being appreciated and attention doesn’t merely stumble his way. He’s a great basketball player, but his interests range far beyond the court. That became clear as Howard discussed how thrilled he was to be playing in Houston.

Howard wanted to become the face of the franchise, and he was looking for assurances that “the torch would be passed from Bryant to him in short order” in L.A.:

Although Bryant’s contract was set to expire after the 2013-14 season and he will need to rehab from an Achilles tendon next season, the transfer of power was never going to be easy. That’s not how the Kobe System works, after all. There is no additional step after “Success at Success.”

“Ultimately, I think Dwight wasn’t comfortable here and didn’t want to be here, and I think if he didn’t want to be here, there’s no point for anyone in him being here,” Nash told ESPN 710 Los Angeles’ Mason & Ireland show on Tuesday. “So, we wish him the best and move on.”

As a member of the Lakers’ task force that went in to give one last-ditch effort to keep Howard in Southern California, Nash knew they were doomed from the start.

That means no public comments until players can officially sign on July 10. Both general manager Daryl Morey and coach Kevin McHale have been quoted in stories since the agreement with Howard was reached.

ESPN quoted McHale discussing his expectations of Howard playing for the Rockets. CSN Houston did an interview with Morey as July 10 approached.

It was reported Monday that Jackson had intended to take the job, though -- he was merely waiting on medical clearance to do so.

The information on Jackson’s thought process comes in a bombshell story by Ramona Shelburne that focuses heavily on the process and conversations that eventually led to Dwight Howard’s departure from Los Angeles. The report also included details on a confrontation between Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Dwight Howard.

As part of a lengthy feature on where the Lakers go in the post-Dwight era, Shelburne describes a bizarre scene in which Howard confronted Kobe and Nash about their silence:

Shelburne says that after Howard explained himself to Bryant and Nash, the two legends “digested what he had to say, and told him they understood him better now.”

Howard could use the early termination in 2016 to re-sign with the Rockets, when he would be eligible for a five-year maximum contract with Houston, but that assumes they would still want him then. Howard will be 30 in 2016 and, after already dealing with a major back injury, there are no assurances that he will be a dominant player in three years’ time.

Whether Howard is or isn’t completely healthy, he could also use the opt out to leave the Rockets in 2016. That means the NBA might be a mere three years away from another Dwightmare.

Tanking for a lottery pick? Kobe expects to be back early in the season, if not for the season opener. (I wouldn’t bet against the season opener.) Kobe Bryant is not going to be a part of any tanking/rebuilding exercise. Are the Lakers going to trade him to get younger and/or get immediately worse? That episode would make the Dwightmare look like a daydream.

Lakers fans are quick to remind us that very little salary is on the books for 2014-15, making the free agency period one year from now a time for potential rebirth. The Lakers have only $9 million in long-term salary (that’s Nash), meaning they’ll be able to sign or trade for about $50 million in players. But Kobe looms. He’s said he wants to keep playing. How 2013-14 goes could dictate whether he stays in 2014-15 and beyond. If so, how much of a salary hit will he take? He’s making $30 million next year, and his 2014-15 cap hold will be about $31.5 million. Will he go as low as $20 million per year? That would be a 30-percent pay decrease ... but it would leave L.A. with $30 million in space and at least 10 roster spots to fill.

But they made, like, 42 trillion Dwight Howard jerseys, and in his one year in Los Angeles, he got everybody really excited about the fact that he played for the Lakers, then got all those people pissed off. Now, those jerseys are worth 17 cents, tops.

As For The Win noted, there’s some serious burning going on:

The rebuilding effort really began in earnest after 2008-09, the Rockets’ most successful season. This was their roster and salary situation, via StoryTeller’s Contracts Page:

Ron Artest: $7.4 million, contract expires in 2009

Oh, the drama. There was a lot of it in Los Angeles and Houston as Friday night turned into Saturday morning, and there’s no better place to start than SB Nation’s blogs for each team, Silver Screen and Roll for Lakers fans, and The Dream Shake for Rockets fans.

The reaction from Patrick Harrel at The Dream Shake was pretty subdued, but the comments section was anything but:

The ongoing Dwight Howard saga often felt like a movie playing out. So, we decided to actually create trailers for “The Dwightmare” trilogy.

The story follows Dwight Howard as he attempts to escape the Orlando Magic for a far worse club -- the New Jersey Nets -- for no apparent reason. Howard, a fantastic basketball player, has taken the Magic to the Finals once already, but yearns to play with a legitimate star, like New Jersey’s Deron Williams. In addition to that, the Nets are preparing to move to Brooklyn for the start of the 2012-13 season and have a billionaire Russian owner. The drama is slow and repetitive throughout until a stunning twist at the end that sets up the next two story arcs. The rapper Future (braidless thanks to the magic of CGI) is solid in his feature film debut as Howard, but Tom Selleck knocks the character Stan Van Gundy (Howard’s coach) out of the park, and Hugo Weaving is as good as ever as Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov. Zach Braff, however, was not a great choice as Hedo Turkoglu. The Dwightmare is tough to sit through for two hours, but trust us that the final 30 minutes -- Skittles, jet planes, Judas turns and all -- is worth it.

July 12, 2007 - Dwight Howard signed his first contract extension with the Orlando Magic. It was a five-year deal worth the maximum $83,235,900 and one that Howard said would keep him in Orlando for the rest of his career.

Whoops.

Dwight Howard gave an interview to Alex Kennedy of Hoopsworld after making his decision to play for the Houston Rockets, and as one would expect, it’s an interesting insight into what went on in the mind of a man whose whims and caprices were the talk of the basketball world over the last week.

Howard discussed why he decided on Houston, but he made a lot of other intriguing comments as well. For starters, he said that when Mike Brown was fired, he made it clear to the Lakers that they should go with Phil Jackson, saying that he “asked to have him as my coach earlier in the year.” Of course, Los Angeles opted to go with Mike D’Antoni, whose guard-based system apparently peeved Howard and may have been a factor in his decision to leave the Lakers for the Rockets.

Howard tweeted:

“I’ve decided to become a member of the Houston Rockets. I feel its the best place for me and I am excited about joining the Rockets and I’m looking forward to a great season. I want to thank the fans in Los Angeles and wish them the best.”

It’s late on a Friday night and we’ve already had, now, multiple false starts on the Dwight Howard news. He’s going to Houston. Wait, he’s flying to L.A. Now maybe he’s staying with the Lakers. Nobody knows.

The easy route here is to laugh at Dwight, call him indecisive and immature, and keep doing what we’ve all (myself included) been very good at: Blaming Dwight. Except that’s too easy, and isn’t right. In this case -- and it may actually hold true for a lot of things relating to Dwight -- blaming the man himself isn’t the answer.

Update: Dwight Howard picked the Rockets.

The decision to leave $30 million on the table is weighing on Howard, according to reports. Howard has flown from Colorado to Los Angeles to meet with Lakers brass to discuss his decision, whatever it may be.

As always when it comes to Dwight Howard, stay tuned to SB Nation for a situation that will surely create a few more updates. You know, there is a reason some find Howard a tad unlikable.

• Howard picks Rockets | Floyd: Don’t blame Howard for circus

The Rockets would likely have to include more than Asik in order to convince the Pelicans to ship Anderson west, although it is unclear if the two sides are discussing any other players, draft picks or financial compensation.

• Howard picks Rockets | Floyd: Don’t blame Howard for circus

The 27-year-old Smith is considered among the best players to never be selected to the All-Star Game. Smith averaged 17.5 points and 8.4 rebounds per game last season and has spent his entire career up to this point as a member of the Hawks.

• Howard picks Rockets | Floyd: Don’t blame Howard for circus

But even in a down year, Howard still averaged 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game in 2012-13.

Expected to be fully recovered from the back surgery, Howard would make the Rockets an immediate playoff contender.

The Mavericks were the fourth team to make a presentation to Howard and reportedly spent three hours on Tuesday discussing their plans for the future.

Howard has apparently decided to pass on the opportunity to play alongside Nowitzki, who has stated he would be willing to take a “significant” pay cut in order to attract free agents to Dallas.