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Dwight Howard: Blackmail Speculation

OK, this is a stretch. I have long believed that Dwight Howard wanted to win a championship in Orlando, and felt he had a team last year capable of doing it. I felt he wanted to come here as a free agent, and when Orlando threatened to send him to LA instead, he opted in, so that he could chase that championship in Orlando, and figure out his future afterwards.

Now he's saying he was blackmailed, and my first instinct was, "Yea Right, Dwight." But then I went to sleep, and I thought about this whole Dwightmare, and a possibility occurred to me. What if Orlando, black balled us. What if they told Dwight, that he was not going to be traded here, and if he tried to sign with us, they would move forward with the tampering allegations, effectively blocking us from signing him. What if they told him that they had proof we tampered, and there was no way they were going to let him come here.

If they told him that the Brooklyn Nets were not a possibility for him, and he could opt in, and they would figure out a trade with us, or figure out how to appease him in Orlando, or they were going to send him to the Lakers for Bynum. If that is the case, I certainly can understand some delicacy around details. I would also consider it blackmail.

Again, this is pure speculation. I don't believe that happened at all. But, I remember at the deadline reports that Howard got bad advice. Reports that Howard wanted to fire Feagan. This 'theory' would support those stories. If they presented this to Dwight at the 11th hour it's certainly possible that he fell for it.

Anyway, just throwing an alternative out there. I think we're all looking for how to explain the inexplicable.