Rumor: Dwight Howard prepared to sit out next season?

[WsAllDay]

Howard wants to expand his "Brand" I wonder if he really knows how much he tainting it! Dude is being a Idiot just play the final year of the deal that you agreed to like a big boy, i swear he's acting like a spoiled child that's not getting his way. To think I used to like Howard but these Days id rather be a fan Of the other Howard, Juwan(sp)

[Bombastic Jones]

If he sits out the entire year he doesn't get  paid but are there any  other negative consequences?

  So what happens if he sits out the year? Does his contract remain in effect the next year, or is he a free agent? Can the Magic fine him (beyond his check) for not playing?

These questions got me wondering if a typical professional sports contract has a liquidated damages clause or a waiver of consequential damages in it?  I assume they probably do but I have no actual idea.  Anyone have any knowledge on this?  If Dwight sat out could Orlando bring an action against him for business losses?

[BballTim]

If he sits out the entire year he doesn't get  paid but are there any  other negative consequences?

  So what happens if he sits out the year? Does his contract remain in effect the next year, or is he a free agent? Can the Magic fine him (beyond his check) for not playing?

These questions got me wondering if a typical professional sports contract has a liquidated damages clause or a waiver of consequential damages in it?  I assume they probably do but I have no actual idea.  Anyone have any knowledge on this?  If Dwight sat out could Orlando bring an action against him for business losses?

 I'm pretty sure in the nfl, if you sit out an entire year you'd have to play the following year under the terms of your old contract.

[byennie]

Howard wants to expand his "Brand" I wonder if he really knows how much he tainting it! Dude is being a Idiot just play the final year of the deal that you agreed to like a big boy, i swear he's acting like a spoiled child that's not getting his way. To think I used to like Howard but these Days id rather be a fan Of the other Howard, Juwan(sp)

Have you seen how many casual fans LeBron and the Heat have? It's impossible to taint your brand in the NBA as long as you end up in the spotlight. Sadly those of us who care about this stuff are in the minority overall.

[BUTerrier]

If he sits out the entire year he doesn't get  paid but are there any  other negative consequences?

  So what happens if he sits out the year? Does his contract remain in effect the next year, or is he a free agent? Can the Magic fine him (beyond his check) for not playing?

These questions got me wondering if a typical professional sports contract has a liquidated damages clause or a waiver of consequential damages in it?  I assume they probably do but I have no actual idea.  Anyone have any knowledge on this?  If Dwight sat out could Orlando bring an action against him for business losses?

My understanding of this from friends who study/practice "sports law" (for lack of a better term) is, no, they couldn't. Well, I mean, they COULD -- anyone can sue anyone pretty much -- but they'd have virtually no chance of winning it, because while it may seem like it's easy to prove that "No Dwight = bad ticket sales", the number of variables that could impact ticket sales on a year to year basis are so large in number that it would be near-impossible to formally quantify how much Dwight sitting out hurts them as opposed to other things. Hey, people could be dropping their tickets because they don't like how the organization treated Howard, for example.

Anyway, my grasp, limited though it may be, on the NBA's CBA is that his rights would be retained if he sat out, similar to what happened to Jason Williams when he rejoined the league after retiring and similar to what happens with overseas players (ex: Arvydas Sabonis). So he's going to have to play out that year eventually, but meanwhile he's getting older and not proving he's recovered from the back surgery.

Honestly, I have no earthly idea why he doesn't give Orlando the chance to trade him to Houston or the Lakers. Even if you dislike both teams, you have to admit that both have a long legacy of marketing their super-talented centers (Hakeem, Ralph Sampson, Yao Ming, Elvin Hayes, Moses Malone for Houston; Mikan, Wilt, Kareem, Shaq for the Lakers), and you've never heard anyone argue that one of those guys got lost in the shadows of those who came before him. Both teams could make the Magic an offer that, in my opinion, blows the Nets' offer out of the water, and in both places he'd get the credit for any success they had (even in LA, it'd be "Well, it took Dwight coming there for them to get another title!"). It just boggles the mind.

[TA9]

This is just hilarious and you guys wanted him on our team? hahhaa
Dont get me wrong he is a great talent, but i just can handle the attitude.
The Magic should just trade him already and move on! Take the best you can get.

[ItsHarold]

I doubt the rumors are true about him sitting out.

But too bad you can't buy maturity with all those millions of dollars.

[Shoot the J]

This guy is a stooge in my opinion. I don't know if he's getting bad advice or what his excuse is, but day after day the topics surrounding him are getting increasingly ridiculous. Does he even like basketball? He claims he wants to win, yet he refuses to play for 29 of the 30 teams. QUIETLY GO AWAY DWIGHT HOWARD!!!  

[Roy H.]

Honestly, I have no earthly idea why he doesn't give Orlando the chance to trade him to Houston or the Lakers.

LA, sure.  That team is built to win now, and has a track record to suggest that it will find a way to win later, as well.

But Houston?  If they take on all of Orlando's bad contracts as rumored, plus give up all their young players and draft picks, what is Howard left with?  A boat load of money, stuck on a roster with no realistic way to improve itself in the near future.  That sounds like a nightmare scenario if I was a star player.  He'd be better off staying in Orlando.

[pearljammer10]

i would let the whiney fill in the blank sit. he would cause less of a distraction to orlando, they could start rebuilding and still look to trade him. this is unreal. youre in a contract with orlando dude, you arent god, give it a rest shut the crap up and play ball. its obvious he doesnt have a love or passion for the game with antics like these.

[AshyLarry]

This guy needs a reality check. I'm not sure how he's get it, but it's necessary. Lock him in a room with Garnett, and he might learn summin. Wow.

[indeedproceed]

But Houston?  If they take on all of Orlando's bad contracts as rumored, plus give up all their young players and draft picks, what is Howard left with?  A boat load of money, stuck on a roster with no realistic way to improve itself in the near future.  That sounds like a nightmare scenario if I was a star player.  He'd be better off staying in Orlando.

Allegedly Houston's offer is one bad contract, and one of their picks this past draft.

Although you'd have to think this also involves Patrick patterson and likely Chandler Parsons as well.

[StartOrien]

Honestly, I have no earthly idea why he doesn't give Orlando the chance to trade him to Houston or the Lakers.

LA, sure.  That team is built to win now, and has a track record to suggest that it will find a way to win later, as well.

But Houston?  If they take on all of Orlando's bad contracts as rumored, plus give up all their young players and draft picks, what is Howard left with?  A boat load of money, stuck on a roster with no realistic way to improve itself in the near future.  That sounds like a nightmare scenario if I was a star player.  He'd be better off staying in Orlando.

Competent general manager and ownership.

[Fafnir]

Honestly, I have no earthly idea why he doesn't give Orlando the chance to trade him to Houston or the Lakers.

LA, sure.  That team is built to win now, and has a track record to suggest that it will find a way to win later, as well.

But Houston?  If they take on all of Orlando's bad contracts as rumored, plus give up all their young players and draft picks, what is Howard left with?  A boat load of money, stuck on a roster with no realistic way to improve itself in the near future.  That sounds like a nightmare scenario if I was a star player.  He'd be better off staying in Orlando.

It depends on how much they're offering. If they're offering all of their assets and taking back all of Orlando's bad players/deals the this is true.

[Roy H.]

But Houston?  If they take on all of Orlando's bad contracts as rumored, plus give up all their young players and draft picks, what is Howard left with?  A boat load of money, stuck on a roster with no realistic way to improve itself in the near future.  That sounds like a nightmare scenario if I was a star player.  He'd be better off staying in Orlando.

Allegedly Houston's offer is one bad contract, and one of their picks this past draft.

Although you'd have to think this also involves Patrick patterson and likely Chandler Parsons as well.

This is the report I was going on:

The Houston Rockets have reconstructed their trade proposal to the Orlando Magic for superstar center Dwight Howard, vowing to take back even more long-term salary from the Magic in hopes of convincing Orlando to consent to trade Howard directly to Houston, according to sources briefed on the trade talks.

Sources told ESPN.com the Rockets, after going ahead Friday with their plans to release starting power forward Luis Scola via the NBA's amnesty clause, are now able to absorb the contracts of Glen Davis, Jason Richardson and Chris Duhon -- in addition to offering Orlando various combinations of future first-round draft picks and players drafted in the first round by Houston last month -- to give the Magic an opportunity to wipe their payroll virtually clean for their post-Howard rebuilding effort.

General manager Daryl Morey is trying to construct a trade that will allow the Rockets to take back, in addition to Howard, multiple players from a group that includes Davis, Richardson, Duhon and Hedo Turkoglu. With Scola's three remaining seasons valued at roughly $21 million off the books, Houston will have increased flexibility to help the Magic shed salary. ...

Houston officials, though, have remained steadfast in their belief that, no matter what happens with Asik, no team in the running for Howard can offer a bigger menu of trade options to Orlando. Sources stressed that the Rockets are not prepared to trade all of the following assets just for Howard, but they're inviting the Magic to shed a significant amount of long-term salary while also likely shipping Kevin Martin, Patrick Patterson, Marcus Morris and Chandler Parsons to the Magic from their current roster to make the salary-cap math work.


The Rockets also have the draft rights to three players selected in last month's first round -- Jeremy Lamb, Royce White and Terrence Jones -- and, according to sources, are prepared to combine an asset or two from that group with future first-round picks they have stashed.

Houston, sources say, has also aggressively dangled a potential lottery pick acquired this week from Toronto in the Kyle Lowry deal.

If all of that is true, then the Houston roster is going to be very, very bad after any D12 trade.  Even if they retain a couple of their young pieces, there's no way that team makes the playoffs, meaning Dwight would be likely to bolt.