Dwight Howard is likely going to opt out of his current contract and leave the Houston Rockets this summer, and it sounds like that is for the best.
In a wide-ranging interview with ESPN’s Jackie MacMullan, Howard spoke about some of the issues he had in Houston this season. He said his role was diminished to the point where he became “disinterested.”
“There were times I was disinterested because of situations that happened behind the scenes that really hurt me,” Howard said. “It left me thinking, ‘This is not what I signed up for.'”
More specifically, Howard said he wanted to be more involved on offense and general manager Daryl Morey told him outright that that wasn’t going to happen.
“I felt like my role was being reduced,” Howard added. “I went to Daryl and said, ‘I want to be more involved.’ Daryl said, ‘No, we don’t want you to be.’ My response was, ‘Why not? Why am I here?’ It was shocking to me that it came from him instead of our coach. So I said to him, ‘No disrespect to what you do, but you’ve never played the game. I’ve been in this game a long time. I know what it takes to be effective.'”
Does that sound like a man who is planning to either opt in or opt out and re-sign with his current team? Hardly.
Howard didn’t deny that his lack of interest caused a rift with his teammates. He said he worked with former NBA big man Clifford Ray, who encouraged him to get in better shape and try to dominate the offensive glass if the team wasn’t going to give him touches.
“He was a positive light for me — a great inspiration,” Howard said. “Clifford got me on the phone with [former Celtics center] Robert Parish. Robert told me, ‘Don’t allow what other people do affect your performance. You have to be stronger mentally to overcome those situations.’ Those two guys made me realize I need to get locked in with the mental part of the game.'”
Howard averaged just 13.7 points per game this season — his lowest production since his rookie year — despite playing over 32 minutes a game. He wants to sign one last max contract, but it’s going to be tough to get $30 million a year at his age (30) coming off that season.
Beyond the X’s and O’s and Howard seemingly no longer being a fit in Houston, there have also been reports that his relationship with James Harden is not good. Howard didn’t deny that, either. We’d be very surprised if he was in a Rockets uniform next season.
