NBA Second Half: The NBA's Six-Foot-Eleven Albatross

It's been a while Boston sports fans, but Ed B. is back and ready to talk about the NBA. It's been a strange first half of the season, with a lockout, blocked trades, Linsanity, and the faltering Celtics (but more on that Sunday).

After a sub-par All-Star weekend (it seems like fans have been saying this on loop for five years now), NBA fans look forward to the exciting second half of the shortened season. There are many interesting story lines this season, one of which regarding Dwight Howard, the center of the Orland Magic.

Howard's situation affects many teams who are waiting to pull the trigger on moves but are reluctant to in the hopes that the gifted big man may join their squad. The "Dwight Saga" has implications on nearly every NBA squad, and the longer it continues, the longer teams will wait to make crucial roster moves.

Howard, like most petulant NBA players that plague today's game, wants out of Orlando for various reasons; the Magic management is not building around him enough (understandable), he wants to play with friends (inexcusable), he wants to play in a bigger market to expand his brand (ditto). Do you think Jordan wanted to play with friends over winning? Magic? Bird? Not a chance, because they wanted to win on their own merit. That's why we never saw a big three of Magic, Isiah Thomas, and Mark Aguirre back in the day; although great friends, they wanted to win and be immortalized. They realized that the future legendary status was much more important than temporary fun with friends.

Dwight's main point, however, has always been that the Magic (specifically GM Otis Smith) haven't provided him with enough pieces to make a serious run. On top of that, the gang that did make a run to the finals was blown up the next season with Hedo Turkoglu's departure. Although Howard has other motives for leaving Orlando, the Magic are not helping their own cause by giving Howard peanuts to work with. Howard is a top-five player in the league, and while great, cannot do it alone. He needs more than MIP candidate Ryan Anderson to truly lead the team past the Heat and Bulls.

The era of disgruntled stars is in full-swing, but sports fans must remember that there are some basic things a team should do to keep its most valuable commodities happy, say building a solid core around one of the game's best. Athletes also have a responsibility, however, to realize that the contracts they sign go both ways, and optimal effort has to be given to the team, along with respect. Remember when Chris Bosh tweeted, "Where should I go?" while still a member of the Raptors? On a scale of 1 to 10, with one being keeping your elbows off the dinner table and ten being spitting in the host's face, it was about an eight. If you're dead set on leaving because of lack of talent around you, fine; but you don't have to stoop to outrageous levels of disrespect to do it.

Howard needs some help in Orlando, and if Smith and management get it for him, the ball is squarely in Howard's court; if he stays with a better supporting crew, fans can infer that his intentions were winning and winning only from the beginning. However, if he does get some talent around him and still decides to leave to play with friends or to boost his brand, he would be no better than Lebron James or Carmelo Anthony. As fans, we can only hope that Howard puts his foot down on the petulance-riddled NBA and brings about a new era.