NBA

Orlando: Are You Going To Boo Dwight Howard?

Dwight Howard is all in on his request to leave Orlando. Even though new Magic GM Rob Hennigan flew out to LA to try and persuade him to come back for one more year and a chance to sign an extension, Howard remained adamant that he wants out. The guy really doesn’t want to stay with this team.

With a bevy of suitors, including poor Daryl Morey in Houston and the recently relocated Brooklyn Nets, the Magic have been inundated with possible trade deals since the NBA free agency period started earlier this summer. But since Howard has refused to sign an extension with any team but Brooklyn– and they’re already locked in to a contract with Brook Lopez, effectively ending any possible trade involving Lopez before January 15th— Hennigan might have to keep Howard in uniform until at least 2013. Recent reports have clouded the issue further, since Orlando is again shopping their big man. But because of Howard’s reluctance to sign an extension with any team he’s traded to, the Magic may not find a GM willing to take the gamble that he doesn’t walk next summer when he becomes an unrestricted free agent.

This all means Dwight could very well suit up for the Orlando Magic next year. If that happens, how will the hometown Orlando Magic fans respond? Here are some possibilities:

1. They boo him like he beat up Mickey Mouse.

This is probably what I’d do if I was a Magic fan and my team’s superstar publicly wanted out.

A rumbling chorus of boos from his home crowd until they’re hoarse and out of obscenities might very well be the remedy for those fans that have felt a personal sting from Howard’s dissatisfaction. It would also be a nice way to stick it to the psychologically fragile Superman. One thing it definitely won’t hurt: his free throw shooting, which can’t get any worse than it already is.

Anyway, booing Dwight like he took Mickey’s lunch money is the most cathartic way to deal with his wishy-washy last couple of years.

2. They cheer him even louder.

This would be a signal to Howard (if he’s paying attention) that the Orlando fans want him to stay, even when he’s repeatedly said he wants out.

Their loyalty to their disloyal star might be a last gasp to keep the big man in town. Howard doesn’t deserve this kind of treatment, but the Magic fans have shown patience with him in the past, so maybe that trend will continue.

3. No sound comes from the crowd at all.

This would indicate fans are just as tired of the Dwight circus as everyone else. Why cheer or boo when you don’t care one way or the other? Since Howard has been such a lightning rod for controversy these last two seasons, the Magic faithful will probably be too polarized to make this mass “meh” happen, but it’s a possibility, and one that would be crazy to see or (not) hear live. A deadly quiet stadium would show Dwight just how far his popularity has fallen in Orlando.

Plus, it would be super creepy.

4. There’s a smattering of boos and cheers.

This is the likeliest scenario, since there will probably be a pastiche of people from each of the first three groups. This would also do the least amount of damage to Dwight’s notoriously sensitive psyche.

Personally, I’d hope the Magic fans find some way to avoid this ambiguity amongst their ranks, and they go with one of the options above to show their loyalty or discontent. Something should be done by the fans to show Dwight the damage he’s caused, but it remains up to them how they handle it.

This could all be null and void if Rob Hennigan finds a deal he likes and pulls the trigger, but as the fall approaches we could see some fireworks from an Orlando fanbase that’s been living on a precipice of doom for the last two seasons. Enough is enough, and it’s time to show it.

Photos: Douglas Jones/U.S. Newsire, Via; Joshua C. Cruey/Orlando Sentinel, via

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