It wasn't the actual act of joining the Miami Heat on the one hour ESPN special in the Summer of 2010 that was the infamous event. It was the show itself that was infamous. Despite generating millions of dollars for the Boys & Girls Club, 'The Decision' only made James look like a selfish and arrogant person. Its' effect of turning James from one of the most beloved to one of the most despised players in the NBA has been turned into a lesson on what not to do when it comes to maintaining player popularity.
That lesson apparently hasn't been learned by Dwight Howard of the Orlando Magic.
The journey that Howard, arguably the best center in the league, has had this season is similar to the one that Carmelo Anthony had last before he was traded from the Denver Nuggets to the New York Knicks.The main differences between the two is that Anthony didn't make his situation worse with every move he made before the trade. Howard on the other hand, by either purpose or accident, has done exactly that.
Since the beginning of the NBA season the main speculation among front offices, media, and fans has been whether the Magic would adhere to the trade request Howard gave them. As the drama has unfolded there have been small incidents along the way.
There was Howard's battle with the Orlando Sentinel over their coverage of him. There was the rumor that his Adidas contract was the reason he didn't include the Chicago Bulls on his list of trade destinations. There was the rumor around the March 15 trade deadline of a rift with Kobe Bryant that pushed the Los Angeles Lakers from his trade list. These incidents didn't affect Howard as much as it affected the Magic.
During this time the Magic were faced with the nightmare scenario of a 'Shaq incident', in which their franchise center leaves them in free agency, happening again unless they traded Howard. Up until near the trade deadline the spotlight, both good and bad, was squarely on the franchise.
Then Howard decided to change that.
Amid reports around the trade deadline that Magic ownership was willing to give Howard the power to decide the fate of general manager Otis Smith and head coach Stan Van Gundy, he told the media that the Magic should 'roll the dice' on the prospect of him resigning with the team long-term. No one actually bought that statement. Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports exposed Howard's real intentions of signing with the New Jersey Nets during the off season so they wouldn't have to give up assets in a trade with the Magic.
Once that cat was let out of the bag Howard scrambled to find a way to avoid the infamy of LeBron. Ultimately Howard decided right at the trade deadline to waive the opt-out clause in his contract which would've made him a free agent this summer. That followed a week of him waffling back and forth about the choice. It also had his agent refuse to sign the proper paperwork to make the decision official with the league, but it was approved anyway.
Then on Thursday came the reports that Howard has asked the Magic on several occasions to have Van Gundy fired. In the press briefing Van Gundy had during the Magic's shoot around before their game against the Knicks he confirmed those reports citing people in management that told him of Howard's requests. That produced what is arguably the most awkward moment of the season when Howard joined Van Gundy in the briefing:
This incident has shown how much of a circus the Magic and Howard had let this become.
Howard's known desire to be liked, be the main superstar on a team, and his dislike of confrontation may have exposed his real character for all to see.
The Magic ownership have let their desire to keep Howard and not see him walk away like Shaquille O'Neal did hinder their front office's efforts to get reasonable assets via trade. Even as reports are coming out that the Magic forced Howard into waiving his opt-out clause by threatening a trade to the Lakers, the team only did so knowing Howard doesn't want to be a Laker.
The drama that Howard and the Magic have created was even analyzed by the very man that left the team in shambles and got Van Gundy to step down as coach of the Miami Heat, Shaq himself:
Howard will have to live with the circus he has become the ringmaster of. While trying to avoid the backlash similar to what 'The Decision' earned LeBron, he may have warranted worse for himself. Sadly, Howard won't get as much backlash as LeBron has gotten and still gets.
Even though Howard probably deserves more.
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