The Decision 2013: Where Will Dwight Howard End Up?(Officially a Rocket!!!)

Latest Timeline of Events for Dwight Howard:

Howard will continue his tour and is expected to make his decision on July 10.

Dwight Howard is now "50-50" on his decision to leave the Lakers, according to ESPN's Chris Broussard.
Wow. Just when you thought he was done with his antics, this happens. The Rockets and Mavericks have already been under the impression that Dwight was going to Houston and now it appears those moves may be under false pretenses. Hopefully, he decides soon.

Report: Dwight Howard will sign with Rockets
Sources tell USA Today that Dwight Howard has decided to sign with the Rockets.
Per both NBA.com and Yahoo Sports, Howard is in the process of finalizing the details of his contract. He should make an official, public announcement by Friday night or Saturday morning. So after a full week of intense speculation, Howard spurns the Warriors and Lakers in favor of the Rockets. He joins superstar shooting guard James Harden in a high-octane system that ranked second in the NBA in scoring (106.0 ppg) last season. It's an ideal scheme for fantasy production. Lost in all the drama is the fact that Howard remains the game's most dominant center. He's a three-time Defensive Player of the Year with career averages of 18.3 points, 12.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocks. We'd expect the Rockets' roster to change dramatically now that they've landed Dwight -- they have already been linked to free agent PF Josh Smith.
Source: Sam Amick on Twitter Jul 5 - 5:58 PM

quote:

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Dwight Howard has made his decision and will "possibly" announce it on Twitter this weekend.
Well, that's one way to pick up more followers of @DwightHoward. It's not a surprise that Dwight will drag this out and hopefully he counts Friday as part of his weekend. The Warriors are picking up some serious momentum in getting Dwight, so the longer the delay, the greater the likelihood of Golden State acquires him. The word on the street is the Warriors are relentlessly trying to get Andris Biedrins and Richard Jefferson off their books, but they'd obviously be willing to dump Andrew Bogut if it meant Dwight was coming to town.

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Jul 1 - 7:20 PM The Hawks' meeting with Dwight Howard on Monday "went well," according to ESPN.com
The Hawks aren't going to say the meeting was a disaster, so there really isn't much weight to this report. Dwight might not want to return home and the Hawks are considered a dark horse in the Dwight Sweepstakes. If you've been under a rock, he's expected to make his decision on July 10.

Jul 1 - 3:56 PM The Warriors, eager to acquire Dwight Howard via sign-and-trade, are reportedly willing to offer the Lakers a package of Andrew Bogut with either Klay Thompson or Harrison Barnes.
Golden State would prefer to ship out Bogut and the expiring deals of Richard Jefferson or Andris Biedrins, but this sounds like a completely one-sided discussion and L.A. has shown no inclination toward a sign-and-trade. With teams like the Rockets and Mavericks in hot pursuit of D-12, we're not giving this too much thought.

Jul 1 - 8:14 AM Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak met with Dwight Howard briefly after free agency started at 9:01 p.m. PDT, according to Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times.
The meeting was believed to be a quick "hello and good luck." Howard was given a big presentation by the Rockets Sunday night in Los Angeles and the details of his chat with Kupchak are not yet known. The Lakers have made it clear they want Howard and are expected to be Howard last formal meeting on Tuesday. The Rockets may be the favorite in the Dwight sweepstakes, but don't count the Lakers out.

Jul 1 - 7:32 AM The Rockets' dinner presentation for Dwight Howard at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles centered on championship history and an infrastructure designed to give Howard a chance at multiple titles, Yahoo! Sports reports.
Yao Ming talked to Howard via Skype and joins the likes of owner Les Alexander, general manager Daryl Morey, coach Kevin McHale, Chandler Parsons, Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler in their over-the-top pitch. "Hakeem didn't say much, but what did he say was very impactful," sources told Adrian Wojnarowski. Houston is believed to be the front runner and Wojnarowski says they did nothing to hurt their chances. Howard will continue his tour and is expected to make his decision on July 10.

Jun 30 - 4:13 PM Kobe Bryant plans to be part of the presentation on Tuesday to convince Dwight Howard to re-sign with the Lakers.
This is an expected move by the Lakers and Bryant. He's been interviewed by the team about Dwight coming back and Bryant has been giving some pro-Dwight answers. The Lakers have reportedly fallen behind the Rockets, but with Dwight's indecisiveness, it's still anyone's guess who will gain his services.

Jun 29 - 7:49 PM Updating a previous report, the Warriors will meet with Dwight Howard in L.A. next week.
It was reported earlier that D-12 would skip over Golden State, but now it seems he'll meet with Mark Jackson, GM Bob Myers and owner Joe Lacob. The Rockets are thought to be a slight favorite for Howard's services, with the Mavericks, Hawks and Lakers also making committed pitches once free agency opens on Monday.

Jun 29 - 6:11 PM Dirk Nowitzki and Mark Cuban will lead the Maverick's group in a meeting with Dwight Howard on Tuesday, according to Chris Broussard.
The Mavericks are considered to be one of the top three teams in the pursuit of Howard. The Rockets are believed to be the favorite and have added Clyde Drexler to join Hakeem Olajuwon in a meeting that is believed to take place in Los Angeles Sunday night at 9:01 local time. It's an interesting style in recruiting strategies with the Lakers attempting to gain in interest internally with Kobe Bryant, billboards, and photoshopping on their Twitter account while the Rockets have two Hall of Fame players behind them. Not to be outdone, Mark Cuban is one of the masters of showmanship and he'll have some tricks up his sleeve for Tuesday. If you're scoring at home, this is the seventh Dwight Howard update today.

Jun 29 - 1:39 PM The Clippers will be in play for Dwight Howard because Howard wants Chris Paul as a teammate, according to Shaun Powell of SportsOnEarth.com.
Powell reports the Clippers have the OK from owner Dwight Sterling to do whatever it takes to land Howard and retain Paul. However, the Clippers would need to work some cap magic in order to sign both players, including a sign-and-trade with the rival Lakers, which is highly unlikely. Adding to those problems is the fact that neither Paul nor Doc Rivers, who also wants Howard, want to give up Blake Griffin in any deal. All of this makes Howard to the Clippers extremely unlikely as currently constructed.