Dwight Howard recently said, "I never wanted anyone to hate me." This comment comes off as naive when he flip-flopped for the last two years and basically held a franchise hostage. When you get a coach and GM fired, and still aren't happy, haters will come.
It's all good for Howard now. Living in sunny L.A. playing for a top-three team in the NBA. That's why it is easy for him to say things like this. When you get what you want, life is just fine.
Rewind to last year. Howard is unhappy and wants out of Orlando after picking up an option to stay an extra year. Howard never got traded, as deals from Brooklyn, Houston and L.A. weren't good enough for GM Otis Smith and the Magic. Howard asks for Stan Van Gundy's firing. This happens. Howard then has season-ending back surgery and Magic lose in first round of playoffs.
Summer arrives. Orlando smartly fires Smith, then not so smartly fires Van Gundy. Then Orlando declines Brooklyn's trade offer only to accept a worse off from the Lakers. Hey wait, I thought Smith was fired already. And now we have our 'hero' Dwight Howard acting all innocent, while preparing to dominate this season with the help of guys named Kobe, Nash and Gasol.
Howard has crippled the Magic for the next few years. They will be a lottery team this season and can hopefully find a new face to replace "Superman". The worst thing Howard did was get Van Gundy, a top ten NBA coach fired. While not the most likable coach in the league, Van Gundy is a proven winner and great at the 'X's and O's' of basketball. When your'e a superstar, there's no good way to leave your old team. But there are many better ways than the way Howard did it.
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