Driven to Distraction
The Los Angeles Lakers alievated a big headache today when they traded away the uber-talented but uber-head case known as Andrew Bynum. And they replaced him with..... the uber-talented but uber-head case known as Dwight Howard. Out of the frying pan and into the fire.
Make no mistake about it - Howard is a much better player than Bynum at both ends of the floor. But the problem - and the headache - comes from his contact situation. He only has one year left on his current deal, and reportedly will not re-sign a new deal with the Lakers before testing free agency next summer. So what does that all mean? A full season of "will he stay or will he go" drama surrounding Dwight in La La Land. It isn't so much the risk that Dwight will terminate his stay in L.A. after only one year - after all, he can make much more money re-signing with the Lakers than bolting to another team. The risk here is that the distraction and drama surrounding Dwight's pending free agency will derail the Lakers legitimate run at the NBA title. And make no mistake about it - the question of Dwight's future with the team will come up every single day until a new deal is signed.
But, then again, this is the franchise that has dealt with drama surrounding Kobe Bryant, Shaquille O'Neal, Metta World Peace and the like in the past, so a little Dwight drama will be no big deal, right? Keep your fingers crossed, Lakers fans.
Of course Howard will resign, no doubt. LA is where that little baby always wanted to go.
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@CollegeWolf C'mon now CW, if Howard only had the benefits of the college experience, he would act more like Rasheed Wallace and Ron Artest nee Metta World Peace.
Bynum only has one year left on his contract as well. I would be really surprised if Howard doesn't re-sign with the Lakers, wouldn't you?
@Perry Missner Crap - forgot about Bynum's contract - thanks for ruining my story with facts, Perry!
But I still think Howard's pending free agency poses more of a distraction than Bynum's would have. And I'd expect Howard to re-sign with them, also, but you never know for sure with that guy. He doesn't even know for sure himself. He's a wishy-washy flip-flopper.
@Best Handle Oh, there's no doubt about that. Dwight doesn't have a clue what he wants. I think he just figures since he's a "superstar" he needs to demand something, anything.
Tiresome indeed, it got old a looooong time ago. I also believe Dwight doesn't know what he wants, but I think he'll re-sign..
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@CollegeWolf @Jeff Fox While I agree that Howard's contract might be a distraction, it won't be if they win. All in all, I don't care how the media portrays Howard. He didn't like his situation in Orlando, so he wanted out. We coddle our superstars when they win, then hate on them when they fall short. Tiresome.
