Howard Glad He Joined Summer League

<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">LAS VEGAS - Magic second-year forward Dwight Howard is playing in the NBA's Las Vegas Summer League with Orlando's team, which seems odd at first blush. Howard finished second in rookie-of-the-year voting to Charlotte's Emeka Okafor and has superstardom written all over him. All he can do here is get hurt.

"We have a new coaching staff," Howard said, "and they wanted me to come out and learn the offense, get a heads-up view of what we're trying to do this year. I'm just trying to learn. I'm still 19. I've got a lot of basketball in me. At first, I wondered the same thing - why am I coming up here? But now I'm glad I came."

Howard is noticeably thicker across his upper body and has toyed with the wanna-bes and no-hopers who are here. But he's still young. He was hurt when the Magic traded Cuttino Mobley to the Kings for Doug Christie ("He was like my big brother," Howard said) and still is upset that Orlando didn't retain assistant coach Clifford Ray after hiring Brian Hill as head coach.

"Cliff was like a father to me off the court," Howard said. "And on the court, he was always there to tell me what I did wrong and what I need to work on. But he also gave me chances to make mistakes. He would tell me about it after the game. I miss that. But I know it's a new year and the Magic are going in a different direction."

Howard's going places, too. China, for starters. A source intimately involved with the selection process for the 2008 U.S. Olympic team said that Howard is one of the locks for a position on the team as the team shifts away from older players who are harder to recruit.

"I would love to be on the Olympic team," Howard said.</div>

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