Dwight Howard will return to Orlando next week for the first time since being named a member of the Los Angeles Lakers. In preparation for his return, Howard took some time to speak on his time in Florida. He recently made headlines during an interview when he said the Magic was filled with a bunch of players no one wanted. Now, he is going on the mend and clarifying that he meant no disrespect towards his old teammates.
Howard told KCAL in Los Angeles that his team in Orlando was filled with players that no one else wanted. He claimed to be the team's leader and was forced to keep a smile on his face. While that might not sound positive, Howard clarified by saying he meant the team was filled with underdogs.
"My statement was just to say that our team that I played with in Orlando, we were the underdogs. Nobody really talked about our team. It was underrated. Everybody overlooked us for the whole time I was there in Orlando and I hated that. We all hated that. We thrived off that. My comments were never to say anything disrespectful to those guys. Those were my teammates for years. They helped me become the player that I am today and we all got to the Finals because of that," Howard said.
The statements that Howard made about a team that went to the NBA Finals in 2009 did not sit well with the rest of the players. Jameer Nelson and Rashard Lewis were part of that team and named All-Stars during that run alongside Howard. J.J. Redick, another member of the Magic while Howard was there, was not thrilled that he was saying negative comments.
"I'm not surprised by it. I would be more surprised when Dwight starts taking responsibility. That would be the most negative thing I can say, but that's the truth," Redick said.
Both Nelson and Lewis have expressed their disappointment in Howard's comments. They both stated that the championship banners hanging in the arena do not say Dwight's name on it, they say the team's name on it.
