It’s a decision every veteran NBA player faces at one point or another, playing time versus a chance at a championship. Title contenders are always looking for those veteran guys they can underpay to give them one last shot at a ring. It’s not sneaky or underhanded, it’s just the nature of the business. Teams love to bring in those experienced guys to set an example and be role models for the younger players.
Josh Howard is 31 years old. He’s getting up there in years, but it’s the injuries that really show his age. He’s coming back from surgery on his knee and says he feels like he can play again, but now he has to decide where. Last year, Howard turned down offers from some contending teams to play for the Washington Wizards.
When the lockout is over, Howard will have to make that decision again. He could stay with Washington, where he’d probably get a lot more playing time and more money, or go to a team like Boston, where he’d get paid less and not play as much.
That must be such a tough decision. It’s a game you love, one you’ve grown up playing. You want to be out there competing, giving everything you’ve got while you’ve still got it to give. You don’t want to ride the bench while some younger guys are out there carrying your team. On the other hand, you want to go down in NBA history as one of the guys who won a championship, you don’t want to be forgotten.
I imagine the older you get, the easier the decision is. If you’re only giving 15 minutes a game, it might as well be for a winner, right? Howard is at that age where the decision is the hardest, and he’ll have to really think about what he wants. Does he want to show he can bounce back from injury and still compete, or does he want to show he can be part of a team that wins it all? I imagine he’ll lose some sleep over this one. I would.
