Two weeks before heading off to China on a promotional tour for Adidas, the newly acquired Dwight Howard of the Los Angeles Lakers cancelled his basketball camp in Orlando, Florida. The reason for cancelling the camp was to continue recovering from back surgery in his new home of Los Angeles.
Obviously, the cancellation of the camp was suspect for with the superstar center hoping on a plane for a very long ride to China. Supposedly, Howard had been cleared for the trip to China only one week after failing to appear in Orlando.
Adidas officials commented on Howard’s tour in China with the following statement via Orlando Sentinel:
“Since Dwight’s injury our focus has been on his recovery. His health has continued to improve and just last week he was cleared to travel. We are excited that Dwight is now able to participate in fan and community events as he continues to prepare for the NBA season. Dwight is an amazing athlete and outstanding partner with fans around the world.”
After the blockbuster trade that the sent him to the Lakers, Howard instantly became public enemy number one in Orlando. Even before the deal went down, the superstar center wasn’t exactly a popular figure in the city with every fan of the Orlando Magic extremely bitter towards the soon-to-be former face of the franchise.
It became abundantly clear over the summer that Howard wasn’t returning and wanted out of Orlando one way or another. With that being said, it’s no surprise that Howard would opt-out of a scheduled basketball camp in Orlando.
Flying overseas shortly after cancelling the camp for the reason of not being cleared to fly seems unwise to say the least. Regardless of whether or not it was a smart move, Howard made the trip to China and has angered fans in Orlando once again.
