99 News Reporter

Dwight Howard vegetation Lakers eye rebirth by rocket

The inventory in Dwight Howard's Bel Air bedroom won out after all, that totem pole of tasks that began with the one that inspired him to join the Houston Rockets.

"1. Shall come to pass that the Lakers will be the 2012-13 champs," the paper that was taped on his mirror read.

All the noise about his warped priorities, all those signs that he cared more about his business than his basketball, and Howard got it right in the end by chasing the one dream so many wondered if he cared about any longer: a championship. This was a "Dwightmare" at almost every turn, from the Orlando chapter gone wide of the mark to drama in Laker Land that started at the outset and seemed to never stop.

ANALYSIS: Did Howard make right call?

REACTION: Kobe weighs in after decision

yet with the scorched earth he left at the rear in Los Angeles, where the Lakers are so unaccustomed to being left at the altar when it comes to the game's greats, Howard put only one thing first: winning. He wanted to win and win now. And that meant joining James Harden & Co. to give it a go.

That option wasn't quite so clear anywhere else, not with the aging Dirk Nowitzki and an unclear roster in Dallas, the overbearing Kobe Bryant and overhyped roster with the Lakers, the wide-open roster in Atlanta or the intriguing but complicated situation with Golden State. And so Howard joined the Rockets, heading for Houston with the hopes of restarting his mission after the Lakers' awful 2012-13 campaign in which they went 45-37 and were swept by San Antonio first the first round of the playoffs.

There was none of his now-infamous waffling this time, either. Howard made his judgment, first reported by USA TODAY Sports, before boarding a plane in Colorado headed back to Los Angeles, where he intended all along to inform the Lakers and announce his objective via Twitter.

TWITTER: Dwight Howard's new profile picture

MORE: Howard talks about his decision

He would eventually do just that, changing the jersey on his Twitter avatar to Rockets attire and allocation his enthusiastic opinion not long after the Lakers' general manager announce Howard would not revisit.

Reactions were swift on social media, and former teammates Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol quickly unfollowed Howard on Twitter.

But there should be no backlash, not with the indisputable reality that Howard is accepting $30 million less in order to chase a championship in a market that does less for his personal brand. Howard picked the right to-do list that hung on his mirror, ignoring – at least for now – the one that hung near the list of on-court goals andreads "Be an icon. Be iconic."

He may or may not reach that status with the Rockets, where Yao Ming positively proved that global acclaim is possible outside New York, Chicago or LA. Howard may or may not win a title, what with the Miami Heat obdurately standing their land and so much parity in the association.

But he will be a happier, healthier story of himself than the one we saw in that ruinous trial run in Hollywood. Onward and upward it is for Howard, then. His road to liberation has officially begin.