I Wouldn’t Want Dwight Howard On My Team

Before any of you comment on this article and call me clinically insane, let me preface everything by saying that I have no dog in this fight - I don't have any particular rooting interests for a certain NBA team, and even if I did, it wouldn't be any of the potential suitors for Dwight Howard (Hawks, Warriors, Mavericks, Rockets and Lakers). I have openly admitted several times on-air that I was a bigger College Basketball fan than I was an NBA fan growing up, and that holds true to this day, but I have opened myself to watching more regular season games.

There's no doubting the accolades that Dwight Howard has accumulated in the first 9 seasons of his NBA career: 7 consecutive All-Star Game appearances, a 3-time Defensive Player of the Year, a 5-time 1st Team All-NBA player and 4 consecutive Top 5 finishes in NBA MVP voting from 2007-08 through 2010-11. However, I believe there is a fair amount of evidence that was piled up since the summer of 2011 to prove why I wouldn't want Dwight Howard on my team.

I want to begin with the physical side of Dwight Howard, which for the purpose of this article I would like to call "Amar'e Stoudemire Syndrome." As a member of the Phoenix Suns from 2002-03 to 2009-10, Stoudemire was an absolute monster in the Western Conference, eating up men in the paint like they were chew toys and putting up monster numbers. But at the same time, he was hampered by a few key injury issues during his time in Phoenix - weak knees and eye surgery. Stoudemire got his big free agent contract with the New York Knicks, but continues to suffer from chronic knee problems and will probably never truly live up to the massive contract he signed back in the summer of 2010.

This "syndrome" has now fallen onto Dwight Howard a bit - dominating the Eastern Conference for the first 7 years, but has struggled with back and elbow injuries over the last two seasons. So now here's Howard - turning 28 in December - looking for his big contract as the superstar of the 2013 NBA Free Agent class. All of the teams I mentioned before as potential suitors for Howard's services should be very cautious about how aggressive their approach, because it just may come back to bite them in the ass like Amar'e Stoudemire has for the New York Knicks.

Now, it's time to address the "pink elephant" in the room that should be painfully obvious to every single owner of the 30 NBA teams - the #Dwightmare that is Dwight Howard's lack of maturity. Despite being a 27-year-old "man," his actions show that his mental and emotional states are more that of a 9-year-old the majority of the time. Whether it's complaining about the contract he's offered, the team / head coach he's playing for, the amount of playing time he's getting or the number of touches he's getting on a game-to-game basis, the man-child known as Dwight David Howard is a menace who needs to be put in his place. I don't know if he was bullied as a kid for being freakishly tall or if he has low self-esteem issues, maybe even mommy or daddy issues, I really don't know - but what I do know is that Dwight Howard is a mental and emotional mess who can't seem to make his own decisions like any grown man should be able to.

In the end, I was sick of Dwight Howard's whining and complaining and ultimatums a few years ago, so it should come as little shock to people that I wouldn't touch him with a 10-foot pole if I was an NBA executive. Sure, the man is a beast in the paint with Shaquille O'Neal free-throw shooting abilities, but he is also a headcase who seems to need guidance on what color boxers to wear everyday. I am sick of the #Dwightmare and you should also be sick of it - shut up and go away, Dwight Howard!