Los Angeles Lakers: Dwight Howard needs to avoid distractions to find success

Dwight Howard flip flops about staying in Orlando and co-stars in the most awkward NBA coach interview of all time. 

For the record, Dwight Howard has won numerous NBA Community Assist Awards throughout his career. He won the award in Orlando too. It might have been helpful if he had put more assistance in helping out his beleaguered coaches. Stan Van Gundy fits the bill.

A realistic definition of being a better leader and teammate is doing everything you can to get better. Now it’s no secret that Stan Van Gundy is never happy and is tough on his big men (Shaq didn’t like him either!).

He did figure out that the best way to enhance Howard’s talents by surrounding him with shooters, spacing the floor, put out multiple units that were nightmare five-man covers and help leverage your prodigious talents into between 52 and 59 wins. The brand of basketball the Los Angeles Lakers will most likely be doing this year. Seems good right?

Well, some moments in NBA history sometimes turn out to be classics the other way around.

Here are seven reasons why Dwight, at the time, should have just practiced “Shut up and Dribble”.

1. The beat writers caught wind that Stan Van Gundy’s job was in jeopardy. Who would have thought Van Gundy was fed up and actually confirm the rumors?
2. Dwight Howard interrupts the small press conference.
3. Dwight Howard shows up after the rumors were confirmed by his coach and call them “BS”. (Psst, don’t tell Howard Van Gundy already confirmed them).
4. Stan Van Gundy gains a small measure of revenge, leaving Howard to answer questions about the rumors.
5. The beat writers allow Howard to sink in quicksand denying rumors just confirmed by Van Gundy.
6. The beat writers throw him an anchor telling him Stan Van Gundy confirmed the rumors.
7. Howard looks like a liar to everyone when the reporters and writers repeated the 6th reason over and over.

Enjoy the train wreck.

What NBA fans don’t know is that Dwight Howard was close to not being traded to the Lakers. It was supposed to be Brooklyn.

J.J. Redick talks about Howard on the flight before the infamous ambush according to TheBrooklynGame.

"We’re second day, third day, whatever it was, and him saying ‘I love you guys, I’m headed to Brooklyn, trade’s going down later tonight.’ And so I’m like on Twitter, on HoopsHype, you know, for 24 hours, like ‘when is this going down?’ And then it didn’t go down. So we play the game, we get on the bus, and we get on the plane, and then I was kind of in the back of the players section, listening to music and then all of a sudden I notice that guys are kind of goofing around, and they start taking pictures, and it’s like, this is our last time together. We’re gonna take pictures. So they start taking photos of each other, I think somebody had posted a photo on Twitter. And then like after five minutes, Dwight’s just like, ‘you know what, I love you guys. I’m coming back.’"

The Orlando Magic episode of why Dwight Howard should just “Shut up and Dribble”.

Why bring up the Los Angeles Lakers? Fans should not be subjected to all of that drama again (or yet according to some fans!), let’s go to Houston.