That's all according to Chris Broussard, whom you all acknowledged was a joke. For all we know he has known for the last 48 hours that he wanted to stay in Orlando.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

How can he not know what he wants to do? This has been a story for years. If he wanted to be in Orlando he'd have a long term deal.

He just wants to make it seem like he wants to stay in Orlando but his plan is backfiring. People can see right through it. I don't think Dwight understands that the national backlash against Lebron was not because he left Cleveland but because he did it in the worst way possible. Carmelo and Deron Williams have done it right but making it clear that they are moving on.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I don't know who Mike and Mike are.

We'll know soon enough if he actually signs it or not. I am not going to give him credit for saying he would stay unless it's binding.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

You realize he's human, right? He's probably pretty attached to the Orlando community and fans. He probably recognizes that the team is mired with bad contracts and mediocre veterans and knows he has a better chance to win somewhere else. At the same time, he wants to be loyal to the city and fans. I don't think it'd be an easy decision for everyone.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

Good point.

But didn't Wojnerowski say the same?

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me too!! How could this be?

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Ба́бушка гада́ла, да на́двое сказа́ла—то ли до́ждик, то ли снег, то ли бу́дет, то ли нет.

I understand the decision is hard but do you honestly think he's going to wake up this morning and actually make the decision? What if he had been traded the 15 other times prior to this?

Howard has had a foot out the door for a long time. He's made the decision already that he wants to leave. At this point, it really seems to be between if he leaves today, at the end of the season, or possibly after next year.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

I don't disagree with any of that really. I'm pretty stunned that he might stay another year. It basically rules out the Nets, who we thought was his #1. It gives Orlando at least an off season to try to improve the team, although it's unlikely they will. I thought he would definitely be gone by the end of the year at the latest.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

but the better chance to win somewhere else argument fails when he restricts the teams he'd be willing to be traded to to 3....

Yeah im really not sure where his head is at. I think he just doesn't wanna be seen as the bad guy if he signs. I can't see the Magic getting significantly better in the next 1.5 seasons.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

And his favorite choice for a team is the New Jersey Nets.

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He wants to be THE MAN


Lakers- Takes the torch from Kobe

Nets- #1 guys

Dallas- Takes over for Dirk



The problem is: A team with Dwight Howard as their best player will never win a title.


So its either Being the MAN or a title. Cant have both.

Of course its not fair.

Why would you hold that against the NBA when stuff like that is done in every major sport?

It doesn't happen in other sports. I'm not talking about free agency. I'm talking about one player holding an entire franchise hostage and basically forcing them to either trade them or let them walk. The player has all the power in this. He can basically choose whatever team he wants even before his contract is up. Who is the Dwight Howard of the NFL? The closest is probably Favre, but that was as much because the Packers were moving on from him.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

He doesn't care about winning. He didn't want to come to Chicago because he would play Robin to Rose and he told Kobe during the all star break that he didn't want to come to LA for the same reason. Also by not opting out and staying with Orlando he's leaving $26M on the table. That's insane.

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In other sports owners do this. Especially the NFL. I don't have a problem with players using their leverage but what Dwight has done is crazy.

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The $26M is if he signs an extension. What if he goes to free agency next season and signs a new deal with the Magic then? Does he get the max deal still?

He will only be able to get a 4 year deal. By opting out he can get 5 years and another $26M.

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How much is his option year worth that he would be opting out of?

It most certainly does.

Are you kidding? YOUR GUY!!! Jay Cutler

See: John Elway, Eli Manning, Chris Johnson



Albert Pujols has the same power.

The NFL is set up a little differently, but Holdouts are the NFL's version

Cutler forced a trade.

Peyton Manning has teams cutting players that he might not want to play with while he hasnt even signed.

Somewhere around $15M to $18M.

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So he would be eating $8M to $11M.

Who did those players force trades to? I don't remember Cutler providing a list of teams he would accept trades to.

Carmelo Anthony literally said "trade me to the Knicks or else". Howard has listed 3 teams. I don't care that players want to leave but in the NBA the organization is basically powerless.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Cutler-Bears
Elway-Broncos
Eli Manning-Giants
Chris Johnson-Forced a new deal with several years left on contract




Cutler forced a trade.

Howard is not refusing to play for any team. He's saying there are only a couple I want to sign with long term.

The Magic let it go too far. It was clear at least 2 years ago that Howard was looking forward to FA and probably not signing with the Magic. Could have traded him then.

So Cutler was only willing to go to the Bears?

Once again, I'm not talking about simply wanting to be traded. I'm talking about basically forcing the organization to do whatever you want. That doesn't happen in the NFL. It certainly doesn't happen all the time like it does in the NBA. You do realize that one of the trades you are referencing was from the 80s?
Be realistic. He gave them a list of teams he would accept a trade to knowing that no one is giving up much to rent him. Play semantics if you want and pretend like the Charlotte Bobcats are a valid option but it's just not true.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

Yup. He would be signing an extension for 4 years and $83M instead of 5 years and $109M.

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Im sorry was 2010, 2004, and 2008 not recent enough?

They all forced the organization.



You be realistic.

Dwight Howard leaving via Free agency is not some huge surprise in 2012. The Magic had a long window where they could have gotten value for Howard. They chose to try and entice him to stay. They failed.

I wrote that in the last post, but you ignored it for some reason.

I disagree. Howard is one of the five best players in the league and the most physically dominant player in the league(more than LeBron). He's never played with an All Star and his team has been near the top of the standings regardless. If he ever got some real help they could easily contend with Miami and Chicago.

_________________
Fare you well, fare you well
I love you more than words can tell
Listen to the river sing sweet songs
To rock my soul

As long as you fail to recognize that my point all along has been that they not only forced a trade but also are able to hand pick the destination I'm done responding. The only thing close to this is in baseball, but those are negotiated contracts and the teams and players use this to bargain. It is impossible to avoid this type of stuff during contract negotiation in the NBA.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

It's official now. Papers have been signed.

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