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"FacebookPinterestGetty Images\n\nDwight Howard has a funny way of being both boorish and understated. He mugs for the camera and enthusiastically plugs product like no one since Shaq. Yet he's almost too eager to play the salesman, to the point where he now comes off as a nuisance, a huckster. At one point, Howard seemed poised to become the Peyton Manning of the NBA; over the last year or so, though, he appears to have worn out his welcome. Maybe it was the Ed Hardy endorsement.\n\nAs a player, Howard\u2014a no-brainer for Defensive Player of the Year until further notice\u2014is somehow underrated, or at least underappreciated. Howard is a two-time Sprite Slam Dunk Champion, whose props and costume changes set a new standard for well-meaning decadence. Yet there is little fun, or expressive, in Howard's dominant play around the rim. His dunks are huge, but matter-of-fact. His rebounding is all power; his blocked shots, however emphatic, lack the drama of LeBron's chase-down blocks. They're the wonted last line of defense, the culmination of a possession. At the other end of the court, Howard has gone from cumbersome, halting, to a serviceable weapon in the post. His impact on a game is measured not in big play, or even gaudy stats, but in how thoroughly he controls the painted area. No player except LeBron James has as convincing a year-in, year-out case for MVP as Howard, and yet he's never been the favorite, much less won the award.\n\nHoward's contract is up this coming summer, with a player option for one more year. He has made no secret of his desire to be moved before then, and like Paul, his list of potential destinations is public knowledge. The loudmouthed, headstrong Howard, the one that enjoyed such success as a marketer, would seem an obvious choice for this year's Carmelo Anthony or LeBron James\u2014charismatic figures whose futures held the entire league in thrall. Instead, except for that brief moment where it seemed like the Lakers might nab Paul and Howard, this trade demand has failed to inflame message boards like it should. Howard's trade demand is being judged on his (supposed) merits as a player, not his celebrity.\n\nThat suggests that the disconnect between the two has broken in favor of Howard's less exciting side. The Magic are playing well, and Howard shows up to work every day, a bind that nearly shattered Carmelo Anthony's psyche (at least if his wife's excellent reality show is to be believed). It's like LeBron's 2009-10 pushed to the next level of DefCon. Howard, though, is seen as a fun guy and very good, if not scintillating, player. Chris Paul lacked Howard's public profile, but his play has never been short of breathtaking. Dwight Howard, is a victim, or a beneficiary, of the big man's burden. Never mind that his presence virtually guarantees a team the edge in rebounding, and keeps any hotshot scorer from getting to the basket. Its lack of glamor has detached the more colorful side of Dwight Howard, setting it adrift as inessential. This says something dismal about what we value in basketball. But it's good for Dwight Howard\u2014or maybe for the Magic\u2014that what should be an untenable situation can play itself out, with a minimum of agony, over the rest of the season."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.gq.com/story/somehow-dwight-howard-goes-about-his-business>