Since Dwight Howard left the Los Angeles Lakers high and dry, leaving $30 million on the table the L.A. circus in his rearview mirror, Mike D'Antoni has been considered the main culprit for Howard's departure.
Questions about whether his offense suited Howard have dogged him, as have reports that Dwight was unhappy with how little D'Antoni sought the All-Star center's leadership. Howard allegedly complained in an exit meeting with general manager Mitch Kupchak following the Lakers' first round sweep against the Spurs about the coach, saying he only turned to Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash to lead.
D'Antoni has gone on the offensive, laughing at Howard's unhappiness with his role, then running to Houston which runs an equally fast-paced system centered around James Harden and Chandler Parsons jacking up 3-pointers.
"The thing that cracks me up is Houston, they do the exact same thing," D'Antoni said. "And so (Howard) is gonna go to Houston? OK, so did they talk about change there? Don't tell me that it's that different."
Now, D'Antoni has explained why he didn't feature Howard in the post more, or run the entire offense through the big man.
"The only thing that cracks me up is (the question) 'Why didn't you go through him more?' " D'Antoni said. "Well, he was hurt. Why would we go through him if he's hurt? You have to (factor) that in. Why would we do that with Kobe [Bryant] and [Steve] Nash and (Pau) Gasol on the floor? That doesn't make a lot of sense."
While Houston has been running a high-octane, 3-pointer heavy attack, they don't have established stars the caliber of Bryant, Nash and Gasol. With Kevin McHale coaching the team, it is more likely the Rockets will change their system to feature their new center, as opposed to L.A. where Kobe was the lead dog.
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