On the eve of the NBA Draft, Dwight Howard was traded to the Brooklyn Nets for a sum that makes the washing machine that the Kentucky Colonels got for Monix in Semi-Pro look like a haul. Howard was actually swapped for two second-round picks, some cash, and Timofey Mozgov. Basically, he got swapped for a taller ladder and an assortment of potato chips.
The fall from grace for Howard has been swift and hard. The Nets will be his fourth team in four seasons. After he signed a three year, $70 million deal with the Atlanta Hawks in the 2016 offseason, he has been traded in back-to-back offseasons in trades that have all the makings of salary and locker-room dumps. The Hornets were even willing to take on an extra year of salary commitment this time by taking back Mozgov from the Nets.
Howard was nicknamed “Superman” and was one of the most well-liked players in the NBA, yet everyone is shrugging their shoulders wondering what happened to that Dwight Howard. He made eight All-Star teams, which is basically a popularity contest. He seemed destined to be the next superstar big man on and off the court following in the footsteps of Shaquille O’Neal right down to starting the journey in Orlando and heading off to sunny Los Angeles and the Hollywood Hills.
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Was it the awkward televised Stan Van Gundy interview?
Did Kobe Bryant kill his spirit while in Los Angeles?
Did the Rockets really try to sabotage him in Houston?
Has he finally succumbed to all of his back injuries?
Was he simply swallowed up by an NBA that left his style of play behind?
It’s hard to watch when Howard claims that he is not the problem in the locker room, yet this is his fourth different team in four years. The moment where exactly Howard’s career took a wrong turn is hard to pinpoint because of all the turmoil that has surrounded him everywhere he has gone.
It may simply be time to honor Howard’s latest trade to Brooklyn and the entirety of his career by opening up an overpriced IPA or some other fancy sounding beer and pouring that baby out.
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