Houston Rockets center Dwight Howard (L) embraces Portland Trail Blazers' Damian Lillard after a playoffs series. (Photo : Getty Images)
Reports are out that the Portland Trail Blazers are considering to sign Houston Rockets' Dwight Howard in free-agency if the All-Star center would be willing to be the team's third option in offense behind Damian Lillard and CJ McCollum.
The Blazer's Edge reported, citing former Blazers executive Tom Penn, that the team would possibly acquire the 30-year-old, eight-time NBA All-Star "if Howard was willing to be the second or third option behind Lillard and CJ McCollum".
Penn reportedly said that Howard's career issues "at its core, I think it is a lack of self-awareness, a reality of accepting what he (Howard) is."
The former Portland official then said that the three-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year awardee had always thought of himself "as the go-to guy, the number one option, the main guy" of all the NBA squads he has been in, such as the Orlando Magic, Los Angeles Lakers, and currently, the Rockets.
However, Penn continued, "he does not develop the skill set that warrants that. So he has a misconception about himself which is flawed, and frankly, infixable."
Penn's comments do make sense as even during his one-season debacle with the Lakers, Howard allegedly refused to listen to advice from anyone within the team, both from the coaches and senior players, on how to improve his play on the basketball court as well as his work ethic off it.
Howard always wanted to be the alpha dog of his squad much like when he was still with the Magic, but he had arguably failed to make himself ready for the billing.
However, Fansided suggested that the Blazers "should do all they can to sign the center" if Howard indeed decides to opt out of his contract in Houston.
The report noted that the mercurial big man "is a risk worth taking" because Portland's current centers, Mason Plumlee and Ed Davis, both "cannot take over a game and neither of them are great on defense, which is why the Blazers need to go after a dominant frontcourt player in the offseason".
While Howard is really an improvement over Plumlee and Davis at the said position, the real question goes back to Penn's concerns as mentioned above: will he be willing to play third fiddle to Lillard and McCollum?
If he had not been happy as Kobe Bryant and James Harden's sidekick early in his career, what is the guarantee that things will change with Lillard and an unrecognized McCollum while he is arguably still in his prime?
