It's been close to a month since Dwight Howard's departure for the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni still hasn't gotten over the initial shock as he is still puzzled by the center's decision.
"It's hard for me to sit here and criticize or even to understand why he left a place like L.A.," D'Antoni told "ESPN L.A. Now" hosts Mark Willard and Mychal Thompson on ESPN LA 710 radio Tuesday. "That's kind of mind-boggling a little bit, but that's in his DNA and what he wants to do."
Since Howard informed the Lakers that he would be taking Houston's four-year $88 million offer opposed to their five-year $118 million offer, D'Antoni has avoided the limelight but was asked briefly about it while at the Las Vegas Summer League games.
"Everybody has got to make that decision," D'Antoni said. "You can debate it all you want. Only Dwight knows. Obviously he didn't think he would be as happy here as he will be in Houston. That might be the case and he had to make that decision. There will be a lot of speculation, we tried it, it didn't work out and we go forward. So be it. You hate it. Dwight's one of the better centers in the league and it would have been a long-term thing, but I looked at it like, 'OK, you don't have Dwight but you got Pau [Gasol].' So, we'll see. In the short run, we'll see what happens. In the long run, obviously 10 years from now Dwight might still be playing and maybe Pau is retired, but everybody has got to do [what's best for them]."
However, for now Howard looks to keep last season in the past and looks forward to the future with the Rockets after giving his explanation for not returning to the Lakers.
"I just looked at both teams and I felt like Houston was going in one direction -- they got a lot of young players, they got a good coach in Kevin McHale and I just felt like having him as a coach, he could really help me in the post and help me develop like I want to," Howard said in an interview with ESPNLosAngeles.com. "That was mainly the big reason right there, and having the opportunity to grow with a team, a young team, like the Rockets. That's the reason why [I decided to leave]."
Howard added:
"It was tough," Howard said of leaving Los Angeles. "I enjoyed, for the most part, living here in L.A. I just really think the timing in L.A., it wasn't right for me. Maybe two years ago, or 2-3 years from now, it would have been the right time. But I just think right now the timing was off for me. That's not saying that L.A. is a bad place, but I just think it's all about timing and fit when you're talking about basketball. You can put anybody together on the court and expect them to win, but the pieces have to really fit in order for a team to be successful and it was very, very tough, man. It's probably one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make in my life."
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