Dwight Howard doesn't get it.
The Lakers star center correctly senses that fans haven't fully embraced him, but he doesn't see how easy it would be to win them over.
"I understand why they're hesitating," Howard said after the Lakers' 91-85 victory over the Phoenix Suns. "Because I haven't signed a deal."
Howard is in the final year of his contract, but since his opening news conference with the team, he's refused to talk about his plans beyond the season.
"What's needed to be said, I've said," Howard said. "Right now I'm committed to this team, and the only thing that matters is right now. Nothing else matters beyond what we do the next game and what we do for the rest of the season. There's no need for us to go back and forth and cause a circus about anything."
That's his blind spot. The circus exists because he won't talk about life after his current contract.
"I'm here right now, so there's no need for me to have one foot in and one foot out," he said. "I'm here. I'm going to do everything I can to help this team win right now, and that's the only thing that matters."

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