Former Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard shares his honest take on Luka Doncic and Jimmy Butler’s recent drama with ex-NBA teams.
Days before the 2025 NBA Trade Deadline, the Dallas Mavericks decided to trade Luka Doncic to the Los Angeles Lakers, a move that no one saw coming.
Evidently, the fanbase expressed anger over the decision, but it was just the start of a series of actions that will make fans angrier than ever.
The Mavericks leadership is doing everything in its power not only to disregard Doncic’s achievements with the team but also to label him as a locker room cancer.
Dwight Howard has been out of the NBA since 2022 and this extra time has allowed the 3x NBA Defensive Player of the Year winner to start his own podcast.
In a recent episode of ‘Above The Rim with DH 12’, Howard explained why NBA teams label player a locker room cancer.
“It’s when they don’t want to give you a contract. They got to find something to say. Just think about what they were saying about Luka when he left Dallas. Now, Luka is out of shape. He’s been having problems with the team internally,” Howard said.
He added: “Why wasn’t any of this stuff talked about when he was there? As soon as he leaves, all of this bad stuff [comes out]. It’s always happening and it’s not fair to the players.”
Now, that’s a major accusation against NBA teams. However, keeping the recent events around Doncic’s image being dragged through the mud by the Mavericks, it’s not hard to believe.
As opposed to Doncic, Jimmy Butler had a very public fallout with the Miami Heat. During the scuffle, Butler was painted as the bad guy while the Heat remained relatively unscathed.
Howard also commented on the Butler-Heat drama, saying: “Even with Jimmy Butler, we don’t know the whole situation in totality and what was done behind closed doors. We just know what happened to the player. What the player was doing or saying, stuff like that.”
But what is the reason behind such behavior?
“They want drama. They want to make it look like the player is the worst player in the world. On top of that, he’s getting paid millions of dollars. So, now, everybody’s like, ‘Oh, he’s a real _______, he’s a jerk. It’s not cool!” Howard concluded.
If there is one common link between Doncic and Butler’s departure from their respective teams, it’s that the two superstars were eligible to sign humongous contract extensions.
But following the trades, Doncic and Butler have lost millions of dollars in future extensions. While Jimmy has already agreed to a deal with the Golden State Warriors, the same cannot be said for Doncic and the LA Lakers.
