Unlike many Mavericks fans and local media, I was initially disappointed to learn that we had traded Josh Howard away. While I understood that a change was necessary, and the Mavericks did receive a package of equal, if not greater, value in exchange, I still hated the idea that J-Ho's last game in a Mavs' uniform was played prior to the All-Star break.
I'll admit it, I have a soft spot for Josh Howard. He was the first Maverick I actually had a chance to sit and talk with back in 2007. I won a barbecue dinner for myself and 20 friends with Josh Howard, courtesy of Blue Rhino. Upon meeting Josh, I was able to sit at a table and speak with him for nearly half an hour before he signed autographs and took pictures with the remaining guests. It was just after he had been suspended for two games for punching Sacramento's Brad Miller in defense of Devin Harris, after Miller had intentionally floored Harris with a hard pick. I asked Josh about the situation, and he said he did what was right in defending Harris; he couldn't just let someone with Miller's size run all over Devin because he was smaller. I respected Josh for that then, just as I do now.
Like him or not, Josh has never been one to be shy about anything, even when it sparked controversy, such as his remarks on ESPN 103.3 FM's Michael Irvin Show about how he smoked marijuana in the off-season, and how many NBA players did as well. He was caught drag racing in North Carolina, and someone posted a video of Josh making disparaging remarks during the national anthem a few summers ago. Don't get me wrong; I know Josh Howard is no altar boy. But I also know that he is not the same person he was when he first became a Dallas Maverick, either, and I didn't have to be a member of the team to figure that out.
When Josh was drafted by the Mavericks, he proved he could play some hard-nosed defense and would hustle and scrap for loose balls, and was rewarded with more playing time, and an eventual starting position. Josh's offensive skills evolved, and before too long, he became the engine that jump started the Mavericks offense in the first quarter of the majority of our games, allowing Dirk to save his skills and energy for crunch time. Josh showed flashes of great potential, and even progressed to the level of being named an All-Star. But not long after, things started to spiral downward for J-Ho, and it seems as if he never quite recovered.
Josh suffered a series of personal tragedies, losing family, loved ones, and his college coach and mentor, Skip Prosser, in a short amount of time. Not long after that, his best friend on the team, Devin Harris, was traded to New Jersey in return for future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd, leaving Josh alone and appearing to suffer from some sort of depression from which he has never quite been able to recover. He also suffered what seemed like an endless series of injuries the past two seasons and, especially this year, never seemed to regain his form on the hardwoods either.
Earlier this season, when I had the chance to observe Mavericks' practices and pregame shootarounds as the HP Insider, watching Josh, it just seemed like something wasn't quite right. I don't know if it was his body language, or his psyche, or maybe his desire to play, but he just didn't seem to have his head in the game, and I even commented on that to several others who were observing the same things I was during the experience. Even then, I knew in my heart that Josh's days as a Dallas Maverick were numbered, though unlike others (fans and media alike), I don't blame all of the Mavericks' problems on Josh Howard. Josh was a symptom, not the disease itself.
But adoring Josh the way I do, I prefer to focus on his positive aspects, like all the work he does with underprivileged children in his home community, and how he chose to run the basketball clinics for those kids over being a member of Team USA basketball. Or I did, until I heard the spiteful, vindictive comments he has made in the days since he joined the Washington Wizards. Josh has come out saying how he felt like he didn't get a fair shake here in Dallas, particularly from the media, and how he is happy to be in Washington and eager to play well because he wants to "stick it to the Mavs." Ouch, that hurt. Not only am I disappointed that Josh would have the nerve to speak badly of an owner and a team who gave him chance after chance to prove himself, and stood behind him every time he made another stupid mistake, but it shows how little class Josh has, and makes me rethink my perception of him entirely.
I understand how Josh could have hard feelings at being named as the root cause of all that ails the Mavericks, but where is the good that comes from speaking publicly about that? For the last six seasons, Dallas has been his team, his community, his fan base. How can he so easily turn his back, not only on the fans, but on the friends he has made here and the team that gave him his first big break? Maybe he feels like everyone turned on him first, I don’t know. I’m not inside his head and can’t speak for him. But if I could, I surely wouldn’t have started by badmouthing an organization that had been my home for the past six seasons. Of course there will be hurt feelings when a trade has been completed, but in the end, basketball is a business, just like anything else.
Unlike Josh, Mavericks players, coaches, and ownership had all taken the high road when discussing Howard, speaking of how hard it was to part ways with him and what a great player he is and will continue to be, and wishing Josh well in the future. It was only today, after Josh had made derogatory remarks about the Mavericks, that a story broke, claiming that the real reason Howard missed the January 20th game against, of all teams, the Washington Wizards, was due to him suffering from a hangover. Multiple Mavericks sources said the team listed Howard as being out with a “stomach illness” because the team was still actively looking to trade Howard and did not want his market value to be diminished in any way. Josh has denied the rumors, saying that his lawyers are handling it, and he will not comment on the "lies" that are being tossed around by local media.
Are the allegations against Josh true? I really don’t know, and I don’t know if I want to know. I firmly believe that had Josh kept his mouth shut for once and not been so eager to speak poorly about the Mavericks, maybe this story wouldn’t have suddenly appeared all around town. Maybe it would have just fallen through the cracks, and Josh and the Mavericks could have gone their separate ways and left the past where it belongs…behind them. This whole ordeal has turned into an ugly mess unnecessarily, and for that, I do blame Josh Howard.
I'll admit it, I have a soft spot for Josh Howard. He was the first Maverick I actually had a chance to sit and talk with back in 2007. I won a barbecue dinner for myself and 20 friends with Josh Howard, courtesy of Blue Rhino. Upon meeting Josh, I was able to sit at a table and speak with him for nearly half an hour before he signed autographs and took pictures with the remaining guests. It was just after he had been suspended for two games for punching Sacramento's Brad Miller in defense of Devin Harris, after Miller had intentionally floored Harris with a hard pick. I asked Josh about the situation, and he said he did what was right in defending Harris; he couldn't just let someone with Miller's size run all over Devin because he was smaller. I respected Josh for that then, just as I do now.
Like him or not, Josh has never been one to be shy about anything, even when it sparked controversy, such as his remarks on ESPN 103.3 FM's Michael Irvin Show about how he smoked marijuana in the off-season, and how many NBA players did as well. He was caught drag racing in North Carolina, and someone posted a video of Josh making disparaging remarks during the national anthem a few summers ago. Don't get me wrong; I know Josh Howard is no altar boy. But I also know that he is not the same person he was when he first became a Dallas Maverick, either, and I didn't have to be a member of the team to figure that out.
When Josh was drafted by the Mavericks, he proved he could play some hard-nosed defense and would hustle and scrap for loose balls, and was rewarded with more playing time, and an eventual starting position. Josh's offensive skills evolved, and before too long, he became the engine that jump started the Mavericks offense in the first quarter of the majority of our games, allowing Dirk to save his skills and energy for crunch time. Josh showed flashes of great potential, and even progressed to the level of being named an All-Star. But not long after, things started to spiral downward for J-Ho, and it seems as if he never quite recovered.
Josh suffered a series of personal tragedies, losing family, loved ones, and his college coach and mentor, Skip Prosser, in a short amount of time. Not long after that, his best friend on the team, Devin Harris, was traded to New Jersey in return for future Hall of Famer Jason Kidd, leaving Josh alone and appearing to suffer from some sort of depression from which he has never quite been able to recover. He also suffered what seemed like an endless series of injuries the past two seasons and, especially this year, never seemed to regain his form on the hardwoods either.
Earlier this season, when I had the chance to observe Mavericks' practices and pregame shootarounds as the HP Insider, watching Josh, it just seemed like something wasn't quite right. I don't know if it was his body language, or his psyche, or maybe his desire to play, but he just didn't seem to have his head in the game, and I even commented on that to several others who were observing the same things I was during the experience. Even then, I knew in my heart that Josh's days as a Dallas Maverick were numbered, though unlike others (fans and media alike), I don't blame all of the Mavericks' problems on Josh Howard. Josh was a symptom, not the disease itself.
But adoring Josh the way I do, I prefer to focus on his positive aspects, like all the work he does with underprivileged children in his home community, and how he chose to run the basketball clinics for those kids over being a member of Team USA basketball. Or I did, until I heard the spiteful, vindictive comments he has made in the days since he joined the Washington Wizards. Josh has come out saying how he felt like he didn't get a fair shake here in Dallas, particularly from the media, and how he is happy to be in Washington and eager to play well because he wants to "stick it to the Mavs." Ouch, that hurt. Not only am I disappointed that Josh would have the nerve to speak badly of an owner and a team who gave him chance after chance to prove himself, and stood behind him every time he made another stupid mistake, but it shows how little class Josh has, and makes me rethink my perception of him entirely.
I understand how Josh could have hard feelings at being named as the root cause of all that ails the Mavericks, but where is the good that comes from speaking publicly about that? For the last six seasons, Dallas has been his team, his community, his fan base. How can he so easily turn his back, not only on the fans, but on the friends he has made here and the team that gave him his first big break? Maybe he feels like everyone turned on him first, I don’t know. I’m not inside his head and can’t speak for him. But if I could, I surely wouldn’t have started by badmouthing an organization that had been my home for the past six seasons. Of course there will be hurt feelings when a trade has been completed, but in the end, basketball is a business, just like anything else.
Unlike Josh, Mavericks players, coaches, and ownership had all taken the high road when discussing Howard, speaking of how hard it was to part ways with him and what a great player he is and will continue to be, and wishing Josh well in the future. It was only today, after Josh had made derogatory remarks about the Mavericks, that a story broke, claiming that the real reason Howard missed the January 20th game against, of all teams, the Washington Wizards, was due to him suffering from a hangover. Multiple Mavericks sources said the team listed Howard as being out with a “stomach illness” because the team was still actively looking to trade Howard and did not want his market value to be diminished in any way. Josh has denied the rumors, saying that his lawyers are handling it, and he will not comment on the "lies" that are being tossed around by local media.
Are the allegations against Josh true? I really don’t know, and I don’t know if I want to know. I firmly believe that had Josh kept his mouth shut for once and not been so eager to speak poorly about the Mavericks, maybe this story wouldn’t have suddenly appeared all around town. Maybe it would have just fallen through the cracks, and Josh and the Mavericks could have gone their separate ways and left the past where it belongs…behind them. This whole ordeal has turned into an ugly mess unnecessarily, and for that, I do blame Josh Howard.
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