Upon Further Review

Much has been made recently of Addidas’ supposed role in the Chicago Bulls absence from Dwight Howard’s “teams I want to play for” list. Bulls Co-GM John Paxson went so far as to mention on radio when asked about D12 that “marketing and stuff” gets in the way. (Pax toed the tampering line a bit too closely methinks, no doubt the league office has also listened to the interview.) His reference to an agents cock-blocking a team due to endorsement concerns also makes sense, for no stakeholder has more to gain from the shoe companies than agents who want to place as many of their clients as possible in as many endorsements deals as possible. However, it’s at least debateable that D12 would be worth more to Addidas in Chicago winning titles with DRose (even with Rose’s rumored $250 million “lifetime” deal with Addidas) than in Orlando. 

As such, Addidas seems periphery rather than central in the mystery of why Dwight Howard doesn’t want to come to Chicago. Here’s the real reason: an extreme personality mismatch between D12 and DRose. For all of Rose’s sincere, aw-shucks “I just want to win and spend time with my family” perfection, he is the most serious of the league’s young stars. This, in combination with his position as Chicago’s unsurpassable native star, is off-putting and socially intimidating to the D12 man-child, who is very much the young boy in Superman pjs that wants a best friend more than anything else. (Chris is soooo lucky to get to hang with Bron-Bron and Dwade anytime he wants!)  

And that’s the problem—DRose isn’t in this to make friends, and D12 wants a friend more than anything else in the whole wide world.  In DRose’s “I just wanna wee-un” simplicity there is a seriousness of purpose that is entirely misaligned with D12, who is looking for love. Dwight’s immaturity has never been more on display than in his recent on-again, off-again trade request (“they never make any of the moves I want”), and totally telling that one of Magic GM Otis Smith’s “keep Dwight” tactics this offseason was to trade for Big Baby Davis, one of D12’s besties. Like all kids, Dwight is just unpredictable enough that Chicago still can’t be ruled out as a possible destination. D12 to the Bulls just makes sense, but using reason is a mark of a mind of a person who’s all grown up.