Monday, October 17th, 2011 at 11:02 am  |  107 responses

Dwight Howard Admits He’s Thinking About Leaving Orlando


Esquire‘s Scott Raab sat down with Dwight Howard for a candid conversation in the magazine’s new issue, and during their talk the Magic big man inferred that he’s been thinking about leaving Orlando once his contract is up. Here’s a sample: “SR: Do you think that the drive to represent, on an iconic level, will be a factor in your free agency? Do you see yourself in a much larger market? DH: There’s more you can do in a bigger place. I’m stuck in a tough position because I feel like right now, where I’m at, I’ve done so much. And I just don’t know what else I can do. I can’t live for everybody else. I don’t know what decision I’m gonna make as of right now. It’s been crazy. Everybody wants me to come here, come play here, come to our team, do this. It’s a great feeling, though, to be wanted. SR: You’re gone. I can feel it. DH: The toughest part for me is the city — the people. They’ve got burgers named after me in Orlando, they’ve got a Web site saying, “Please stay.” I love the people in the city. I’ve literally sat on the bench with a towel on my head crying, because I feel the passion in the stands. I just think about what’s going to be best for what I want to accomplish in my life. And I don’t want that door to close on me, wherever that door is. I don’t want it to close. SR: Just don’t do it as an hour-long ESPN special. Please. DH: That’s not me.”

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  • Al

    …. I think I’m gonna be sick.

  • cramzy

    gone!!! he’s sooooo gone. He shouldn’t feel guilty about it tho. He has to do what’s best for him because these organizations look out for themselves as well. The same people that will dog him for leaving will dog him if he stays and doesn’t win a chip, then tell him he should leave when he’s too over the hill to do it alone.

  • Jeremy

    I guess he decided to stop planking and come up with this gem. Nice Dwight.

  • AD

    dnt be surprised if you see him n brooklyn………..

  • Gman

    if you look closely, Bosh cried.

  • http://www.optimabbc.be Max

    This is like music to my ears..

  • vtrobot

    If they have burgers named after you, you should def stay, dude.

  • http://shinefluid@aol.com yada

    damn its quite obvious he is GONE!! where to…well ofcourse a handful of places we can all njame off the top. Still, he’s gone like the wind. i understand to. DWIGHT IS A BEAST and carries his team and still doesnt get the recognition as other star players do

  • D12FSU

    I’m crying with a towel on my head from reading this

  • IAMORANGE4EVER

    Bet you the new CBA will have a franchise tag.

  • MLK4Life

    This isn’t news. At all. But Dwight will need a top tier PG or two guard because you can’t give him the ball in clutch moments or at the end of the game because he cannot make his foul shots. All you have to do to take him out of the game is foul him or make him go to the line.

  • BballLH13

    Built a brand new arena for you!?

  • marc

    Watch him not go because of the new CBA

  • NJ4Life

    Where Brooklyn At?

  • HAMMER

    “And I just don’t know what else I can do”. How bout winning a title, Dwight? Instead of being concerned with hamburgers.
    Personally, he seems content with what he’s done in Orlando. Resting on his laurels, maybe? I don’t know. This interview tho doesn’t solve anything. Its still up in the air as what he wants to do.

  • http://www.slamonline.com UNFROZEN CAVEMAN LAWYER

    HES GOING TO THE SPURS. I KNOW IT. HE WANTS RINGS AND AN ELITE COACH WHO CAN MAKE HIM EVEN BETTER. EVEN WITH OLD TIM AND MANU, ITS A GREAT TEAM. TONY IS STILL YOUNG ENOUGH. THIS HAS TO HAPPEN. ITS THE SMARTEST MOVE FOR DWIGHT.

  • http://dodgers.com Joey E.

    15 posts, a few Brooklyns, but no Lakers post year. hmmm. strange for SLAM lol

  • http://dodgers.com Joey E.

    *yet, not year

  • swizzy

    Remember how you feel when you want to leave your girlfriend but don’t know how and when you gonna do it?…right…here you are. Heartbreak Hotel is in Orlando right?

  • Rainman

    in this case u cant blame the guy, he’s really done as much as he can, but the team has been unwilling to make SMART deals, to get him the help he needs. He’s not gonna go and abandon a team that has shown the willingness and the ability to get him the help he needs, and do it in public on a one hour espn special. Im with Dwight on this, he goes? thats best for him, he stays? thats very respectable and Steve Nash-esque.

  • Rainman

    just dont go to the lakers , u WILL be hated lol. And of course, the comparisons to Shaq that u so want to get away from will intensify.

  • http://Slamonline.com Caboose

    Well, f*ck. Where are all my Magic fans at? D12FSU put it best.

  • truthteller

    Orlando have a knack for having great players and not knowing what to do with them! Shaq, Penny, Grant Hill, T-Mac, Vince Carter and now Dwight

  • http://Slamonline.com Caboose

    truthteller: True, but Vince was a rotting corpse when Orlando got him.

  • MLK4Life

    @truthteller
    Grant Hill caught the injury bug. Can’t blame Orlando for that.

  • http://shinefluid@aol.com yada

    when will u ppl LEARN! NO ONE HAS TO STAY WITH THE TEAM THAT DRAFTED THEM!!!!! geez

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    Hello Brooklyn or LA. I hope Bynum & Lopez both have a bag packed in-case they get whisked off to Orlando. Personally I’d like to see Dwight in Brooklyn w/ Dwill and Kris Kardashian

  • JWG

    “I’ve done so much. And I just don’t know what else I can do.”

    Well, you can actually diversify your post-game so that you’re harder to defend and won’t always have to rely on pure athleticism to get your points. You can work on blocking shots back to your own teammates rather than into the stands, so you gain possession and can initiate fast breaks. You can develop a mid-range jumper to help draw other centers away from the basket and open up more lanes for your teammates. Stuff like that.

  • AD

    idk if u uys know about this but dwill said he wasnted 2 play with dwill and anthony morrow… do ya still need a clue….

  • slamfan4life

    chicago chicago chicago

  • http://slamonline.com Spaceship Jay

    Probably Lakers.

  • Thor

    Co-sign JWG, You said it.

  • mgballer

    hes coming to BOSTON!!!. only rondo n pierce under contract in 2012!!!! Rondo throws it up to SUPERMAN for the SLAM!!! GIVE HIM A TOMMY POINT!!!

  • AD

    *dhoward wants to play with dwill and anthony morrow lol

  • paul

    When he talks about going to a big place, well, that sounds like LA.

    But Boston has got to be pretty attractive… tremendous history, not far from New York, and Rajon Rondo…

  • JD

    Miami – wouldn’t that be funny ;D

  • O

    I’d love for him to come to the Knicks, but that ain’t going to happen. I always figured he’d end up with the Lakers, but Boston IS looking pretty attractive as is Brooklyn. They’d have D-Will, Dwight, a Kardashian and money left over to complete a team around them. A Brooklyn team with them looks championship worthy within the next 5 years.

  • http://redoftoothandclaw.ca/ niQ

    If anything, I want to see Dwight play with Kevin Durant!

  • jayygee

    warriors warriors warriors

  • http://stapledesign.com Spaceship Jay

    Co-sign AD; the idea of going to the Nets sounds… well… stupid. He’d leave a bad non-defensive/heart situation for a worse non-defensive/heart situation.

  • http://Slamonline.com nbk

    Dwight and Deron Williams + the cast of Power Rangers makes a better team then what he has in Orlando.

  • http://nba.com GP23

    Definately going to the Lakers…

  • T-Money

    this should worry magic fans the most: “Stan’s a great guy away from basketball. He’s passionate. He loves the game. I have no problem with him off the court. The only thing I had a real problem with was the way he coached.” / i don’t think dwight is going to l.a. because jim buss is in love with drew bynum. he’s just not getting rid of drew. i think it’s a done deal for dwight in brookly with deron.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    Well obviously, I’d love to see him in Chicago, especially if it came with the added bonus of getting rid of Boozer as well.
    But I think he’s likely LA or Brooklyn bound.
    Although, I think I’d rather see him as a Clipper than a Laker.
    Can you imagine Dwight Howard and Blake Griffin on the same squad?
    Opposing front lines would cower in their Nikes nightly.

  • NJ4Life

    Dwight to Brooklyn instantly makes Nets-Knicks one of the best current rivalries, and Xmas game worthy.

  • http://cnbc.com JTaylor21

    Co-sign Engimatic on the Clipps being a good destination. They would have to give up probably half of their team for DHow (EG/DJordan/CKaman/Aminu) but it would be a good trade. The clips could dominate the west for the next decade with a DHow/BGriff frontline but it will never happen with Donald Sterling running things.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    And it squashes any chance the Knicks have at being the best team in their own state. Cuz Dwight w/ any shooter in the world is better then Melo & Stat. Dwight w/ Deron Williams, that’s trouble, even for Chicago & Miami….eventually

  • jdote

    I wish he would go to the Clippers! He can’t want to be in Shaq’s shadow that much to go to LA, and I think it’s stupid to keep building super teams out west, and not realize the east is there for the taking since Kobe is getting older. Shout out to Enigmatic for the Clipper idea.

  • http://www.bulls.com Enigmatic

    JTaylor – Dwight could just ride out the next year of his contract, decline his player option, become an unrestricted free agent and just sign with the Clips as a FA.
    They’ll shed Chris Kaman’s $12 million contract after this year, so if they could just either trade Mo Williams for another expiring contract or convince him to decline his player option and take less money (ha ha yeah right…but then again he might be down to do it to emulate his crush LeBron) then they could just sign Dwight outright and only lose Kaman and potentially Williams.

  • http://slamonline.com nbk

    If you think Orlando is going to let what happened to Cleveland & Toronto happen to them then you are crazy. Especially with the new CBA and the fact that you won’t be getting anywhere near real value to dwight in return, might as well atleast get your money back. They have to trade him. Brooklyn, LA, and Houston are the only teams I see as even possibilities for Dwight.

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