By QUETT WALKER
The on-going saga of
where the best centre in the NBA will end up has come to an end. The Houston
Rockets have landed the biggest free agent in the NBA this offseason, Dwight Howard,
signing him to a 4 year, $88 million deal. Houston has taken a huge step towards
turning itself into a contender in the Western conference after they just
barely made the playoffs last year for first time in 3 years.
Pundits around the
league aren’t surprised with Howard’s decision to play in Houston given the
rocky relationship with the Los Angeles Lakers front office and their coach
Mike D’Antoni. It has been widely speculated that not only was Dwight Howard
disappointed with the fact that the Lakers didn’t hire Phil Jackson as their
head coach, but he also had a turbulent relationship with current head coach
Mike D’Antoni. Howard felt that D’Antoni’s system didn’t correctly utilise his
skillset. Furthermore, when the Lakers met with Howard with the intention of persuading
him to re-sign with them, Mike D’Antoni didn’t interact much with Howard. This
might have been the icing on the cake and a mistake which may have allowed
Houston to look like more of a favourable destination for Howard.
Houston Rockets General
Manager Daryl Morey has definitely earned his paycheck since this is the second
year in a row that Houston has made a big splash in the offseason. Last year,
the Rockets were able to secure swingman James Harden away from Oklahoma City
Thunder and sign Jeremy Lin in an attempt to boost their back court and add
Omer Asik to play the centre position. Based on the performance of the Rockets
last season, its obvious that these signings have paid off greatly, but the
addition of Dwight Howard is certainly bound to improve upon last year’s
success.
The addition of Howard
gives Houston a legitimate threat in the front court since the days of Yao
Ming. Many are even comparing the Howard and Harden combo to the duo of Tracy
McGrady and Yao Ming that was present in Houston from 2004 – 2008. Harden is
not nearly as dominant as Tracy McGrady was, but let’s not forget that he is
only 23 years old and still has a lot of time to further develop his game,thus
he could potentially become a superstar in the league.
Can Morey be given all
of the credit for luring Howard to Houston? I’m sure that the Youtube video
involving a compilation of childfans coaxing Howard to go to Houston had some
influence. In addition, the persistent efforts of Houston rapper Slim Thug who
sent a few messages to Howard on Twitter encouraginghim to come to Houston
didn’t hurt either. The biggest encouragement was probably the fact that Jim
Parsons, who plays the character Sheldon Cooper on the hit television series The
Big Bang Theory and who is also a Houston native, posted a video requesting
that Howard come play for the Rockets. Lastly the presence of Hakeem Olajuwon,
who won 2 NBA championships in Houston and is one of the best low post players
in NBA history, was a huge factor in Howard’s decision. Olajuwon’s offer to
work with Howard on improving his game if he came to play for the Rockets was
one of the biggest reasons why Dwight decided to go to Houston.
Although this signing
will definitely make them more competitive, there are a few concerns that many
Rocket fans will have. Dwight Howard had back surgery last year and although he
led the league in rebounds with approximately 12 a game, there were
clearlymoments where his athletic ability has declined due to the fact that he
still rehabilitating from the surgery. Furthermore, James Harden is accustomedto
being the first option on offense and has never played with a dominant big man.
Will he be able to adjust his game to cater to sharing the ball with Dwight
Howard?
The biggest concern of
all is the fact that Omer Asik has actually expressed his disapproval with the
Howard signing, and he has put in a request to be traded from Houston. Asik was
the starting centre for Houston last year and it seems as if he feels
underappreciated with the Rockets’ decision to add Howard to the roster, as it
is most likely that Asik will be replaced by Howard in the starting line-up. Although
the Houston Rockets have declined his trade request, it is very worrying that
the Rockets are planning to commence this season having a disgruntled big man.
One thing I am sure of
though is that it’s safe to say that Kobe Bryant ‘unfollowing’ Dwight from
Twitter because of his decision to leave the Lakers should not be of grave
concern for Houston fans.
Overall, the addition
of Dwight Howard to play with Jeremy Lin and James Harden is a huge boost to the franchise. The Rockets still have a few more pieces to obtain
if they want to be able to compete for a championship, so more trades and the addition
of a few players should be expected.
Can the Rockets return
to being the best team in the Western Conference like they once were in the mid
90’s?
Watch this space.
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