Dwight Howard = Cancer

Dwightmare II

Good, in depth article from Ken Berger here on the CBS website.  Pretty much touches on all the topics we have all been discussing (on both sides of the "will he stay or will he go" aisle).  An interesting read, if nothing else.

Just goes to show that, either Berger is stealing his material off of this board, or we are pretty well educated fans  ;-) 

 

I have seen Kobe Bryant smiling and talking with Phil Jackson after losing games as well, so some one needs to get real here and get a clue

I can tell you right now old school players didn't smile and laugh after losses. They weren't buddies with opposing players during the game.....Act like a champion. Take losses hard, and win and lose with class.

I can tell you right now old school players didn't smile and laugh after losses. They weren't buddies with opposing players during the game.....Act like a champion. Take losses hard, and win and lose with class.

And there you have it!  Yeah, I would like to see Dwight enjoy playing the game he loves, but he needs to take it seriously as well. Again, the two need not be mutually exclusive.  

Dwight is a joke. He needs to be traded ASAP. The future of the Lakers depends on it.

Edub, he is playing with a torn shoulder labrum and a bad back... What do you expect?  And the future of the Lakers looks bleak, and it's absolutely dead without Dwight

I guess for me it's about principal. I look at the history and just can't embrace having Dwight as our centerpiece. Let's face it, we arent winning anything this year. We still need a point guard and youth. Dwight is neither. Plus, he's a locker room cancer. No one from the Lakers has come forward to defend him. He is a great player, but a bigger cancer.

I understand Howard's been injured this season, but I don't think edubbie or anyone else has actually explained what makes him a "cancer" beyond something we already knew when he traded for him: that he's waiting until the summer to decide his future, as he should and as ever other professional athlete before him has, including Kobe.  

What makes him a cancer is that he obviously puts himself above his team, and he's not worth the cap space he'll demand.  He's a great defensive player, IF healthy, but he's a killer on offense.  Plus, we don't know if he'll ever be healthy.  Any deal, with any team, that Nets a good young "big' (Horford) and a good young anything (L.Williams) should be taken in a heartbeat. 

Even if 100% healthy, after the last 3 seasons of chaos, what "superstar" is going to want to play with Howard?  The "Howard is the Lakers Future" campaign was a mistake and needs to end ASAP. 

He puts himself above the team. He is a coach killer. A GM killer. I have never heard one teammate come out and support him. It's all about Dwight 24/7. Doesn't work hard in the offseason to improve his offensive game, free throws, etc. I would say he has actually regressed. I mimic everything Butch has said. The problem is we will get fifty cents on the dollar if we trade him. But, I say do it. Look how well we played when he was "injured" and Pau was inserted. The team actually played together and with purpose.

"What makes him a cancer is that he obviously puts himself above his team . . . "

He "obviously" puts himself above his team?  Please explain that a little better, Butch.  I saw a guy playing with a bad back and numbing legs all season when he didn't have to, so it takes a lot of brass IMO to suggest he's "above his team."  It's actually the complete opposite.  

"[H]e's not worth the cap space he'll demand.  He's a great defensive player, IF healthy, but he's a killer on offense.  Plus, we don't know if he'll ever be healthy.  Any deal, with any team, that Nets a good young "big' (Horford) and a good young anything (L.Williams) should be taken in a heartbeat." 

This is your personal opinion, and does nothing to explain why Howard is a "cancer."  Meanwhile every single team in the league would gladly line up to have Howard on their roster instead of Horford and Williams.  If you don't think the best center in a league deplete of centers is not worth a max deal, especially when he's proven that he can still put those numbers up despite the injuries he's had, then we're not going to get anywhere with this and we should just stop now.        

   "Even if 100% healthy, after the last 3 seasons of chaos, what "superstar" is going to want to play with Howard?  The "Howard is the Lakers Future" campaign was a mistake and needs to end ASAP." 

I sure hope you're not one of those Kobe fanboys I love so much.  Howard's not a ballhog, he's the best rebounder and defender in the game EVEN WHEN HE'S NOT HEALTHY so you're absolutely grasping at straws or delusional if you don't think another superstar wants to play with that type of guy.

At best, this whole argument comes down to Howard being a "cancer" because he's been injured (and playing through it for the great majority of it), won't commit to the Lakers publicly (when he's said "summer" all along) and now apparently because Howard's not worth the cap space (every team in the league disagrees).  I don't get it.  DeMarcus Cousins is a cancer to a team, Allen Iverson is a cancer to a team.  But Dwight Howard is simply a highly sought after FA with a lot of speculation constantly surrounding him, for all the right reasons, namely his talent.

Dwight won't be Dwight on this Laker team with this coach. The right coach was Phil to mentor a young player like Dwight and Dwight would have felt to be secure in the Laker organization. Instead we brought a coach that is clueless on how to use this talent and focuses on how to make a 39 yr old point guard effective rather than using our 2 7 footers. Dwight is not really part of the team but his demeanor is not right either. Kobe is on the other end of the spectrum. Kobe takes jabs at Dwight which also is not helping the case. There is no camaraderie and that's where Phil would be stepped in. Even Bernie had a better feel for the team than D Antoni. The only way that Dwight stays is if MDA is fired, probably in the summer and we have someone who can connect Kobe and Dwight. Dwight needs to grow up a bit in becoming more determined and not smiling after losses and Kobe needs to embrace him and not criticize him publicly. All these discussions should be in private and not thru the media. Being a Laker is different than any other franchise and there's pressure associated with that. The right coach would have straightened this out. Jim Buss has a lot of fault in this as well. This is not a Dwight thing. It's a franchise thing. Dr. Buss would not have made that mistake. Too bad.

this should make dpw happy - the Wolves waived former Running Rebel standout Lou Amundson today (to make room for former Lakers training camp attendee Mickael Gelabale)...maybe this is the season the Lakers finally give dpw's former #1 fantasy draft pick a shot on the roster!

Wow slugs, got much of a Howard crush?  You blast things I say as my opinion, and many may be, but you act as though everything you post is indisputable.

You know for a fact that Howard's back is "bad" and his legs numb, or you take his word for it?

You call every single NBA team and ask if they'd prefer Howard over Horford and Williams - even Orlando?


" . . . the best center in the league . . . " - where's the factual part of this?


Never been a big Kobe fan, and have openly criticized his shooting volume on this site.  Love his desire, effort and toughness though: all things Howard could apparently use a LOT more of.


Every team in the league disagrees? - again, you know this how?

Sure, Howard MIGHT return to being arguably the best Center in the League, and he MIGHT stay in LA, but that doesn't change my opinion that the Lakers, or any other team, would be better-off with the combination of players like Horford and Williams (for example), than with Howard.  Howard has never won anything, has played games with his teams (leaving management and fellow players hanging), and is obviously not a good fit for this team / coach (look at the results with just him vs. just Gasol).                 

We can debate forever who's the best center, but saying he's a "cancer" is just absurd. That's really my point. And yeah I'm partial to bigs, maybe overboard a bit even, but I'd hate to see Howard team up with Harden & Co. in our conference while we're left with pieces playing D'Antoni's small ball. That looks more like cancer IMO.

If I were Dwight I'd be eyeing Houston as well. They have talent AND youth. They are exciting on offense and Howard matched with Patterson and the other forward would be a nice frontcourt to go with Harden & Lin.

We can debate forever who's the best center, but saying he's a "cancer" is just absurd

That is funny because there is really no debate that Dwight is the best center.  

The debate is whether or not he is a cancer.  I believe he is.  I also think our Lakers will never win a Championship with Dwight in the middle.  This team has imploded since Dwight became a Laker.  There seems no unity, no sense of urgency, no one is having a good time, etc...  It's very clear there is an internal issue.

I happen to think that alot of the internal issues are with Dwight.  I guess time will tell.  

The internal issues are (1) D'Antoni's "system" not fitting an extraordinary roster, and (2) Kobe's volume shooting on said roster. Never heard anyone say, outside of this board, that any basketball team is better without Howard. All I've heard for reasons to trade him are because he might bolt. With fans calling him a cancer, I'd leave too, and prove them wrong elsewhere.

Blaming Dwight is comical.

The guy is not a cancer. Mike Dantoni is the cancer.

Never understood why the Lakers hired him in the first place.

Dwight would have been much better with a real coach such as Mike Brown.

If you don't want Dwight there's 29 other teams who would love to have him