The Orlando Magic are desperately trying to keep Dwight Howard who is expected to opt out of his contract and become a free agent after the season. Dwight already gave the team a list of organizations to whom he’d like to be traded, but they seem committed to keeping him. They’re talking about adding players and doing anything to convince him to sign a contact extension with the team. They are so desperate to please him, they reportedly are giving him the opportunity to determine head coach Stan Van Gundy and GM Otis Smith’s fates after the season.
Sound familiar?
Of course it does. The Cavaliers offered similar power to LeBron James before he left them for the Heat. Orlando denies the charges, saying the owners will decide the employment status of the GM and head coach. Their denial is not surprising; they can’t let the public or current employees know Dwight Howard controls them. Regardless, this is a bad precedent.
Though Dwight Howard is a superstar and more valuable to the organization than either the coach or GM, he also needs to be put in check sometimes. He needs to be told if he’s making mistakes and called out when his behavior is hurting the team. Giving him the ability to decide the future of the coaches and GM gives him more power and probably would make him feel like he doesn’t need to listen to anyone. Shoot, if I were told I were that valuable, I probably would get a huge head, too.
