Are the Orlando Magic Really Winners in Dwight Howard Drama?

There’s been a lot of talk about who the winners and losers are in the Dwight Howard saga that ended with the big man joining the Houston Rockets. The Orlando Magic have been a popular answer to be seen as winners when Dwight put pen to paper with Houston.

However, is it really fair to be calling the Magic winners in this debacle?

The fact remains that the best big man in the game refused to stay in Orlando any longer, to which the Magic had no choice but to move him. Dwight Howard, regardless of his actions since leaving Orlando, still makes any team he goes to a legitimate threat.

Obviously things with the Los Angeles Lakers didn’t work out as many believed they would, but does the blame really fall on Howard? Kobe Bryant had vast stretches of play refusing to do anything but shoot the ball, the expectations on  Steve Nash were completely unrealistic, and the head coach decided against incorporating the big man into the offensive schemes.

The season Dwight had wasn’t as good as we’ve seen during his days in Orlando, but he still produced at a higher level than any other player in his position.

The Lakers may have a couple of down years as they recover from losing Howard and ridding the books of huge contracts to aging players, but they’ll always be a marquee destination for players which allows them to quickly rebuild in their own way.

Having said that, Orlando’s arrow is pointing sky high right now, and there’s a lot of young talent to be excited about. The players on the team are still unknowns at this stage because they haven’t reached their potential yet and the jury is still out on their ceiling as a unit.

Still, losing a player with that type of impact on both ends of the floor is never a good thing for a franchise. Let’s also not forget the Magic are coming off a season with the worst record in the NBA.

The Rockets are the only logical winners of this entire ordeal; in the end they got the superstar and maybe some stability back in Dwight’s life will see him return to his old self.

Again, the Magic look to have a very bright future in the coming years, but to call them winners just doesn’t feel right.