Dwight Howard: ‘Stop Reading the Rumors’

Howard is sick and tired of the rampant speculation about his future, and asked his fans via Twitter to stop reading too much into the rumors. From the Orlando Sentinel: “Not eligible to become a free agent until the summer of 2012, Dwight Howard is fed up with the speculation that he’s already got one foot out the door of Amway Center and the Orlando Magic organization. Late Monday afternoon, a fan named Mike Philpot sent Howard the following message via Twitter: ‘D12 … be different. Stay in Orlando. You can own this city. See Jordan and Tim Duncan for examples.’ Howard issued the following response: ‘I never said I wanted to leave stop reading the rumors. It’s really stupid. And annoying to be honest. They tryna make something outta nothing I have another yr under my contract before I can sign.’ Howard’s contract runs through the 2012-13 season, but he can invoke an early termination option and become a free agent after the 2011-12 season. Over the last couple of months, several media outlets, citing unnamed sources, have reported that Howard would be interested in going to a big market if things don’t work out in Orlando.”