Report: Dwight Howard Stayed With Orlando To Avoid Trade To The Lakers

I’m not sure I’ve ever heard this one before: a superstar DID NOT want to go to L.A. Yes, there were reports Dwight Howard never really wanted to go to the Lakers because he didn’t want to play second fiddle to Kobe, and didn’t want to follow in Shaq‘s footsteps. But now there is a report from The New York Post saying Howard specifically agreed to stay and play out at least this season with the Magic because the team threatened to pull the trigger on a deal with the Lakers.

The New York Post writes:

According to league sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity, Orlando brass got fed up with Howard’s yes-no-maybe posturing and threatened to trade him to the Lakers, not his desired location (the Nets), if he did not sign an agreement to waive the opt-out clause for the final season of his contract. Howard eventually signed the papers, but only after he was told “he would be a Laker by the end of the day,” according to one source.

So Howard was thisclose to being a Laker. His desired destination all along was New Jersey with the soon-to-be Brooklyn Nets. But their trade package couldn’t beat the Lakers’ reported offer of Andrew Bynum, Devin Ebanks and Steve Blake. That deal was on the table and only needed someone to pull the trigger. Orlando’s front office, miffed, confused and frustrated with Howard’s back-and-forth, told him they’d do it if he didn’t agree to waive his contract opt-out and stay for at least the remainder of this season. He was walking the tightrope, like a high school senior dragging out a decision on college, and Orlando decided to push him off.

But with the circus starting up again in Disney World, don’t expect this to be the last of Dwight-to-L.A. rumors.

H/T ProBasketballTalk

Should Dwight have agreed to go to the Lakers?

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