Dwight Howard officially announced on Friday what was reported by the media hours earlier: he is signing a free agent deal with the Houston Rockets.
There were some reports early Friday that Howard would make the announcement over Twitter. News of his decision leaked to the media, taking away some of the social media spotlight from the center. But Howard still updated his Twitter profile to reflect his new team; he changed his Twitter avatar to a Photoshopped picture of him in a Rockets uniform, and he changed his Twitter location to Houston. He also released this statement:
“I’ve decided to become a member of the Houston Rockets. I feel its the best place for me and I am excited about joining the Rockets and I’m looking forward to a great season. I want to thank the fans in Los Angeles and wish them the best.”
One interesting note about his decision is that the photo he used for his new avatar is one that was grabbed from a Photoshopped picture created by Ryan Hurst Designs earlier in the week:
#TheDecision 7/5/13 pic.twitter.com/ekVV3g90BS
— Ryan Hurst (@RHurstDesigns) July 4, 2013
Guess Dwight’s team liked that photo, because they used it without even consulting Hurst first.
Howard has waffled on his decisions in the past two years, but he really did not drag things out this time. He met with five teams between Monday and Tuesday, took a few days to think about matters, and personally informed teams on Friday that he would not be choosing them. By Friday night, he made his announcement official on Twitter.
The only issue that caused a headache this time around was when ESPN reported on Friday that Howard was “50-50” on his decision to join Houston. You can blame that headache on the media more than Howard. Now what’s next is finding out who else the Rockets add to the team. Josh Smith and Ryan Anderson have been mentioned as possibilities.
