As our man Chris Shellcroft already told you, the Dwight Howard-Andrew Bynum trade talks resumed between the L.A. Lakers and the Orlando Magic as a result of Dwight Howard being a total douchebag and wanting out of Orlando after opting-in for the 2012-13 season, which came after trade requests, which came after denials and intention to opt-in, and now you’re confused.
But don’t be, Laker fans. Because now, Dwight Howard has confirmed to Yahoo! Sports’ Adrian Wojnarowski that he won’t re-sign with the Lakers if the Magic trade him to L.A. for Andrew Bynum. From Woj:
"As the Los Angeles Lakers, Houston Rockets and other teams prepare possible trade offers for him, Howard told Yahoo! by phone that, “There’s only one team on my list and if I don’t get traded there, I’ll play the season out and explore my free agency after that.”Howard wouldn’t specify the team, but multiple league sources believe that it is the Brooklyn Nets."
This pretty much confirms what we all knew: Dwight Howard won’t stay in Los Angeles to play his career out in the purple and gold and win championships. He’d rather go to a crappy organization known primarily for losing in the NBA Finals a pair of times (and once to the L.A. Lakers).
Regardless, it’s fair to say that Andrew Bynum isn’t that much better in the “not douchebag” category, but the difference is that Bynum wants to be a Laker — or so we assume — and Dwight Howard does not.
It’s also fair to note that Andrew Bynum is in a contract year himself, but the odds of re-signing Bynum — which will wind up being a max contract, with the Portland Trailblazers setting the market price for solid starting big men — is a lot greater, giving us a major piece to build around moving forward.
We have our gripes with Bynum, but in one less year in the NBA, ‘Drew has wanted nothing to do with the Lakers many times less than Dwight Howard has. Sure, Howard’s been a perennial All-Star and Bynum barely made his first appearance as a starter in 2012, but it isn’t as if Bynum has been a legitimate and consistent second option as much as Howard has been a legit and consistent first option in Orlando.
But now that Howard has, once again, turned a blind eye to the Lakers’ organization? Despite the fact that we may have issues in terms of being a premier destination? This is still pretty treacherous and douche-y of Howard, even if his big mouth saves us from giving up Andrew Bynum and other assets.
I’m sure I speak for 99 percent of Lakers fans when I say this: F*ck you, Dwight Howard.