NBA
Los Angeles Lakers
In the euphoria of the moment, Los Angeles sports fans heralded the trade that brought Dwight Howard to the Lakers, without the team sacrificing Pau Gasol in the process.
The Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak introduced his new All-Star center at a media conference late Friday.
We re hopeful that 10 years from now we can add a jersey to that wall over there that says Dwight Howard ," Kupchak said, referring to Chamberlain and Abdul-Jabbar, with Shaq to follow.
To have Kupchak's hope become reality Dwight Howard would have to sign a contract with the Lakers that extends beyond next season.
Los Angeles is used to getting what it wants in that regard. Who wouldn't want to stay put with the weather, the beach, the Hollywood contingent at courtside and the tradition of winning championships?
That sums up almost all of the guessing game that began the moment the Howard-for-Bynum trade was announced. Even notorious Lakers-hater Bill Simmons thinks it is a matter of formality before he signs on the dotted line.
Caution is advised however, because we are dealing with a different sort of cat in the man who dunks with a Superman cape atop his shoulders.
Dwight Howard had to be courted and coaxed to come to Los Angeles after his first choice, Brooklyn couldn't make the deal right for the Orlando Magic.
Howard was said to prefer Dallas as his next choice. What has changed?
At his press conference introduction he joked about getting to know the locals as he took to walking around the streets of Beverly Hills, during his back surgery rehab.
He imitated a female Lakers fan who begged him daily to accept a trade.
As ESPN.com's noted about Howard's time at the microphone "..was plenty long, filled with a good amount of laughs and noticeably short on discussing the subject that matters most around these parts: championships."
Media has speculated for a while that Howard didn't want the pressure of being the final piece to the championship puzzle, following in the footsteps of those that G.M. Kupchak mentioned.
What about the much rumored telephone call between him and Kobe during which Dwight was turned off about being a third scoring option?
Talk about pressure.
Will winning one make it easy for him to stay? One would think so but this player has displayed the inability to be decisive to say the least, and seems to be unable to disappoint people.
By trying to be a people-pleaser he disappoints everyone by flip-flopping and being less than emphatic about his choices, motives and intentions.
Is that why, as Adande wondered, he concentrated on his own personal development and the next phase in his professional career as his vision for his L.A. future, rather than going for the rings?
Stay tuned.
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