Howard to the Lakers: I'm Outta Here!

Reports out of LA and Houston are that Dwight Howard will sign with the Houston Rockets.

In fact, reports out of Howard confirm the same thing:

Not that Howard has been the most reliable source on Howard, but this time, it seems accurate.

The wayward center took this past week to talk to the Rockets, Lakers, Hawks, and Warriors about playing for their team. Most NBA experts were reporting last week that Howard's return to the Lakeshow was unlikely, so this wasn't much of a surprise.

What may have tilted Howard towards the Rockets was his meeting with Kobe Bryant and the Lakers. Bryant did not sugar coat it for Howard, which may have turned him off. Bryant is not known as the warm and fuzzy type, so if Howard expected him to do a lot of butt kissing, he was sadly mistaken.

The Lakers reportedly gave Howard an honest pitch, which included reminding him how many rings Kobe has compared to him. Kobe supposedly said this to Howard:

"You need to learn how it's done first, and I can teach you here. I know how to do it, and I've learned from the best – players who have won multiple times over and over.

"Instead of trying to do things your way, just listen and learn and tweak it, so it fits you."

Sounds reasonable enough, but apparently the truth hurt Howard's feelings, so he took his ball -- so to speak -- and ran to the Rockets.

It's going to be interesting to see how well -- or how long, in this case -- Dwight Howard will do in Houston before he tries to get another coach fired or before he pouts and demands to take his ball elsewhere again.

Good luck, Houston. In the end, you may need it.