The "Dwightmare" that was the Dwight Howard trade saga held the basketball world ransom last year after asking to be traded from the Orlando Magic. Things got complicated after Howard proceeded to opt-in to another season midway through the 2011-12 season despite being so adamant about leaving town.
As we know with the past off season, Howard ultimately was granted his initial request to be traded from the Magic and was sent to the Los Angeles Lakers early this month.
Recently in the latest installment of ESPN's Sunday Conversation, Howard sat with NBA analyst Ric Bucher to talk about his feelings surrounding his trade demand from Orlando and the ultimate move that brought him to L.A., but also explained some reasoning behind his decision.
In the interview Howard stated multiple times that he doesn't regret how he handled things, but that he's eager to move forward. When asked about his decision to exercise his opt-in clause for another season with Orlando, Howard states that he simply wanted the fans to like him:
"I never wanted anybody to hate me, you know. I wanted everybody to love me, you know, like me, for sticking around and doing what they wanted me to do. And making everybody else happy. And that was a valuable lesson for me, you know."
Howard also brought up Miami Heat forward LeBron James, and mentioned the process in which James left his former team and the backlash he faced following The Decision:
"It was a tug of war between my feelings and the fans and everybody else and their feelings and what happened to LeBron. And I saw him - everybody hated him for leaving Cleveland and what he did."
Howard expressed to Bucher that he didn't want to face the same scrutiny James did, but ironically may have inadvertently done the same damage to himself with the way he allowed everything to play out.
Howard will more than likely be booed in arenas next season, and will feel the same LeBron-like hate in the first time he returns to Orlando.
All-in-all Howard may have finally learned the lesson James did following his first season in Miami, as he noted this self-realization:
"I can't make everybody happy."
