After 20 months of twists and turns in the Dwight Howard saga, he made a decision on where he will play next season, the Houston Rockets.
“I’ve decided to become a member of the Houston Rockets,” Howard tweeted. “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.”
Howard’s deal with Houston is worth $88 million over four years. If he had stayed with the Lakers he could’ve made another $30 million and one more season.
Late Friday evening, Howard had changed his twitter avatar to him wearing a Rockets uniform.
Howard informed all the teams in the running of his decision one at a time, with the Lakers coming later in the day.
“We have been informed of Dwight’s decision to not return to the Lakers. Naturally we’re disappointed,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said in a statement. “However, we will now move forward in a different direction with the future of the franchise and, as always, will do our best to build the best team possible, one our great lakers fans will be proud to support. To Dwight, we thank him for his time and consideration, and for his efforts with us last season. We wish him the best of luck on the remainder of his NBA career.”
For all the allure of the Lakers that he was so excited about after the trade that brought him to Los Angeles in the summer of 2012, Howard ultimately went with the team that gave him the best chance to win a championship now rather than later.
The Rockets had gone to great lengths to clear the way for his arrival, remaking their roster and offering a chance to partner with James Harden on the team that went 45-37 last season and pushed his former Oklahoma City Thunder team to six games in a first-round playoff loss.
After being traded from the Orlando Magic to the Los Angeles Lakers in a four-team deal a year ago, Howard entered the summer unsure of what he might do because of the awful Lakers season that had unfolded.
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