Monday, December 12th, 2011 at 9:00 am  |  25 responses

Dwight Howard Blames Magic Front Office for Wanting Out


by Marcel Mutoni / @marcel_mutoni

Dwight Howard continues to maintain that he’d love to play in Orlando going forward. The problem, according to the big fella, is the working relationship between himself and the front office.

Howard has never shied away from telling the Magic what (and who) he wants for the team to get better, he just thinks they don’t take his personnel suggestions seriously enough.

And that’s part of what’s led to him formally asking to be traded.

From the Orlando Sentinel:

The All-NBA center said that he would not be asking the team to trade him if Magic management, including General Manager Otis Smith, had done more to obtain the players Howard had asked them to acquire. “I’ve talked to a lot of guys and they’ve expressed a lot of interest and would come here,” Howard said. “And I’ve expressed that to the correct people, and none of it’s happened … The stuff that I’ve asked for, the stuff that I’ve felt our team needed to get better, none of it has happened,” Howard said. Was that because of a lack of effort? Or was it because the team didn’t have the trade assets — perhaps because of other moves Smith has made? “None of it has happened,” Howard only said.

Howard made his first trade request to [GM Otis Smith] last Monday. Howard also had, according to Smith, a two-hour conversation with Smith on Tuesday. But Howard said they haven’t spoken in recent days. “I’m pretty sure if you go down the line of teams, every GM has a pretty good relationship with not just the best player but all the players,” Howard said. “If you don’t have a good relationship with the people you work with, how are you guys going to get better? If there was a good relationship then I wouldn’t tell you guys [in the press] that we haven’t talked. We should still talk, regardless, no matter what goes on. I’ve been here for seven years. And no matter what happens, we still should be able to talk.”

Otis Smith acknowledges that Dwight Howard has wanted to get involved in the Magic’s personnel decisions, and claims that the team has accomodated him whenever possible (see: Glen “Big Baby” Davis).

At the moment, there’s very little contact between Orlando and its superstar center, as they explore possible trade opportunities. The relationship between Dwight Howard and Otis Smith — and thus, the entire organization — appears to be irreparably broken.

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  • D12FSU Posted: Dec.12 at 9:15 am
    just trade him and get it over with.

  • Max Posted: Dec.12 at 9:15 am
    Otis is a fool.

  • AD Posted: Dec.12 at 9:23 am
    if this is ture than you can’t be mad at dwight AT ALL!!!! Otis seems like the do it my way type person too

  • t-shawn Posted: Dec.12 at 9:23 am
    im big fan of howard.ok,it would be a hard for me to see dwight howard go to another team.well…if he really wants to play for another team…im ok with it…

  • GP23 Posted: Dec.12 at 10:10 am
    If he leaves, Orlando are toast. You just can’t replace the best Center in the league.

  • Waggle Posted: Dec.12 at 10:29 am
    It’s all those late night drunk dials.

  • T-Ray Posted: Dec.12 at 10:29 am
    Otis looking photo shoot fresh!

  • Fat Lever Posted: Dec.12 at 10:41 am
    I didn’t realize that in Dwight’s contract with Orlando there were provisions that allowed him to tell management who he deemed suitable to play with and that management had to adhere to those “suggestions”. He should focus on his game and if he feels as though Otis hasn’t done enough, then LEAVE(when he’s able to). These dudes are so spoiled, just ball out and know your role.

  • Aizen Posted: Dec.12 at 11:03 am
    What’s so spoiled about Dwight giving management some ideas on who he thinks could help the team grow and win more? This is the same reason why Lebron left, and why CP’s wishing to leave NOLA. The players feel like the owners/managers completely ignore them and haven’t made serious attempts to further improve their respective teams. I’d find it shocking for every team NOT to consult the star players, since they (the players) know as much as anyone who and what could improve their team! Dwight’s been with Orlando for seven years, and their best year was losing 4-1 to the Lakers in the Finals. The Magic have become a joke under Otis as being a team with pure long-range shooters, and Dwight hanging around on the side. It’s pathetic how the Magic haven’t done a lot over the last few years to give Dwight more support, case in point shrinking the size of the team with every freakin’ new trade. I don’t blame Dwight one bit, and I don’t blame Lebron or CP3 for leaving their teams, either. The managers are a bunch of bullies with authority complexes, and if they can’t make a team title-worthy in 7-8 years, the players aren’t gonna sit around and wait any more.

  • Ballislove Posted: Dec.12 at 11:04 am
    Last week i was in my other other benz

  • T-Ray Posted: Dec.12 at 11:11 am
    N*ggaz talkin real reckless, stuntmen

  • Andrew Posted: Dec.12 at 11:37 am
    Otis is just reaping the rewards of his gas panic last year when he traded away 1/3 of his team that made it to the Eastern conference finals the year prior. Granted Boston played better and seemed to want it more but that team had chemistry and coulda made it all the way. Should have gambled with that lineup instead of rolling the dice on Arenas and Turk… Anybody with a brain knew blowing up your team was ginna have consequences. It’s just coming around!

  • PapaDuck Posted: Dec.12 at 11:48 am
    i dont think anyone ever accused howard of not caring. All good things come to an end, time to move on

  • ttc Posted: Dec.12 at 12:05 pm
    not to be honest, I dont think trade requests from players should be made public..i don’t get it..they should keep those kind of things behind closed doors..Howard looked really uncomfortable answering questions from the press the other day, and I can understand him..

  • ttc Posted: Dec.12 at 12:05 pm
    i meant “to be honest”..that was f*cked up!

  • manu Posted: Dec.12 at 12:28 pm
    They say I’m crazy, I’m about to go dumb again

  • bike Posted: Dec.12 at 12:51 pm
    This kind of crap should never be made public. It simply reinforces ther perception that these guys are perpetual malcontents that blame everthing on the front office.
    Dwight we get it. You are not happy in Orlando. Please leave as soon as possible and spare the good fans of that city of additional agony.

  • james Posted: Dec.12 at 2:35 pm
    Dwight is right. Why have a whole staff full of people to scout players, run numbers, balance sheets and make trades, when Dwight can finish planking, XBOX360 and tell you who to sign and trade for. Dwight needs to go. pain in the ass.

  • PapaDuck Posted: Dec.12 at 3:20 pm
    yea he said he wanted to keep it on the low. but then they blamed him and his agent for tampering and the team had to go publicly and say that they gave him permission

  • eZ Posted: Dec.12 at 3:59 pm
    Trade dwight for chris paul…just to f*k around with the nba for a year

  • ClydeSays Posted: Dec.12 at 4:11 pm
    Going to the Press with Trade Demands just weakens your teams ability to make a deal. If I know your team HAS to trade you, I’m going try to give you as little as possible. As for Otis, I’m still astounded by the Rashard Lewis contract & Gil trade. I’m sure D12 is too.

  • charles Posted: Dec.12 at 11:49 pm
    I believe that Management should be “OPEN” to suggestions and inputs from their personnel, regardless if is the towel boy or their superstar, a good manager (in every company) LISTENS TO EVERYBODY, then ANALYZES, and then finally he takes a decision based on facts, statistics, etc etc.
    In the case of Orlando, how in the earth could you justify the presence of Vince Carter, Reggie Evans, Gilbert Arenas, Hedo Turkoglu, etc etc in such a short spam of time? that’s just wasted money and resources..now they are locked out..no money, no assets, no really good players to compliment Howard.
    Orlando needs a shooter, a mobile point guard with a pass first mentality, a lockout defender and a strong wing! where they are going to get those players?
    Otis Smith should resign…for less than that companies fire CEO’s Managers, etc!

  • DukeFromDeep Posted: Dec.13 at 2:07 am
    Go to the Clips D!!!
    You and Blake would be awesome!

  • Double J Posted: Dec.13 at 2:43 am
    has anyone noticed how the 2 teams that were in the finals are getting better, but all of the other contenders have gotten wayyyyyy worse? this is outrageous…

  • #6marjons Posted: Dec.13 at 7:38 am
    Otis Smith has worked extremely hard to get the right pieces around Dwight. he has made blockbuster trades every year both before and after his trip to the finals.

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