Dwight Howard Joins Houston Rockets, Officially

13 Jul, 2013

Dwight Howard is officially a Houston Rocket.

The center was formally introduced in Houston on Saturday after spurning the Lakers to sign with the Rockets. He was greeted by some of the brightest stars in team history.

Hall of Fame center Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming were among those on hand to celebrate Howard’s signing. Also joining the party were Ralph Sampson, Clyde Drexler and Elvin Hayes.

“It means a lot to me just to have a fresh start and have an opportunity to write my own story,” Howard said. “I don’t think people understood the fact that I got traded to L.A., and now I had a chance to really choose my own destiny, and this is the place where I chose and I’m happy about it.”

He will be the latest in a storied line of centers to play for the Rockets. He has long worked with Olajuwon to improve his game, and “The Dream” was among the contingent that flew to Los Angeles to woo him into joining the Rockets.

Olajuwon didn’t shy away from raving about his student.

“He is the missing piece where he can really bring the team to a championship contender,” he said.

Howard joins a team starring James Harden that reached the playoffs for the first time since 2009 and battled back from a 3-0 deficit before being eliminated by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 6.

General manager Daryl Morey, who led the effort to land Howard, is excited about upgrading his team and knows this puts the Rockets among the preseason favorites to contend for a championship.

“I think it absolutely gives us a chance,” he said. “What you do this job for is to have a chance. The reality is five to seven teams have a chance any given year. The way it is in this league, you’ve got to have multiple All-Stars, you generally have to have dominant top players and we have two guys that we think are in the top 10 in the league in James and Dwight.”

Howard was traded from Orlando to the Lakers in a four-team trade that also included Philadelphia and Denver last year. He recovered from back surgery last season and averaged 17.1 points and 12.4 rebounds

His one season in Los Angeles was filled with unrest, including an admission that there were times that he wasn’t having fun and what many believed to be a less than positive relationship with Kobe Bryant.

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