Even though Dwight Howard should be a distant memory for the Los Angeles Lakers, after he spurned L.A. and its extra $30 million for the opportunity to play with James Harden in Houston, the purple and gold just can't seem to let go.
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Lakers owner Jim Buss questioned whether Howard was ever committed to being part of L.A.'s rich history when he said "He was never really a Laker. He was just passing through."
That didn't seem to be the thought process when the organization unveiled billboards outside the Staples Center begging him to stay. Jim's sister Jeanie Buss recently spoke to the media on the Howard debacle too, claiming that if her father Jerry had still been around Dwight would have been compelled to stay.
"It's disappointing that Dwight isn't here," she says. "I feel like we failed him."
One of the major reasons for Dwight's departure is believed to be a frosty relationship with head coach Mike D'Antoni, hired early into last season after Mike Brown was canned following an 0-4 start. D'Antoni's offense is run-and-gun, featuring lots of pick-and-rolls and 3-point launching.
Howard has the gifts to be a premier pick-and-roll center, but demanded more post touches, essentially campaigning for D'Antoni to alter his philosophy. A mixture happened that stifled all development, and ruined the season for Howard's fellow big man Pau Gasol, who was pushed to the perimeter, and eventually to the bench for a while.
Fans had clamored for Phil Jackson to be hired instead, but Jim Buss decided on D'Antoni; the manner in which he arrived at that decision was perceived to be evidence of a rift between he and Jackson.
Jim Buss denied those assertions. "I have zero problem with Phil, and Phil has zero problem with me. Mitch [Kupchak] and I interviewed Phil together and then reported back to my dad at the hospital for hours upon hours. He gave the final hammer; we just enforced it."
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