May 31st, 2011 
Russ Loede 
Posted in 
Magic Hold Title Aspirations If Howard’s Still In Middle
Not so fast.
You may be able to squash all the talk of Howard leaving like some of the other big name superstars.
“I’m not trying to run behind nobody like Shaq or be behind somebody else,” Howard told the Orlando Sentinel. For every LeBron and Melo, there’s a Dirk and a Durant who stays. Could Dwight follow the ladder rather than the former?
“I want to start my own path and I want people to follow my path and not just follow somebody else’s path. I want to have my own path, and I want to start that here in Orlando. But I can’t do it alone. Not only do I need the right teammates, but I need the city behind me. That’s the only way it’s going to get done. We can change this small city that we have — this small market that we have — and we can make it a big market.”
Speculation has already drove him out of town. Again, not so fast.
“As of right now, I’m a part of the Orlando Magic and I plan to be here,” Howard told the newspaper.
“And I want the Magic to do whatever they can to make sure that we can get our city behind us. That’s the only thing that I want to happen: just to have the city behind me and the support of our fans.
With Howard, the Magic will always be a threat to represent the East in June.
“I never said I was leaving. I never, ever thought about leaving. That’s basically where my head is right now. I never said anything to them (the Magic) about what my plans were because that’s not what I’m focused on right now.”
Right now, let’s assume he will be the face of the Orlando Magic for at least the next four to five years.
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