Dwight Howard Going to Houston

Looks like Texas just got a little bigger.

As first reported by USA Today, Dwight Howard has chosen to join the Houston Rockets. Howard had met with the Rockets earlier this week and also several other teams vying for the affection of Dwight. Howard now joins James Harden and Jeremy Lin in hopes of bringing a championship back to Houston.

This might not be the only star player the Rockets get. Houston and Atlanta might make a sign-and-trade deal involving sending Josh Smith to the Rockets in exchange for Omer Asik who doesn't want to play with Dwight Howard.

A huge day for the Rockets as their bar has been raised to championship highs and instantly with this news. It's probably fair to expect a championship now that Howard is on the team but unless they can get Josh Smith as well, I'm not sure whether they are the best team in the West. OKC is still strong with Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook, San Antonio has proven to never count them out, and even Golden State can surprise you.

As for the Lakers, they are apparently still in denial. It's a first that an all time great player has walked away from the Lakers. Though to be fair, the Lakers sort of drove Howard away. While Dwight and Kobe might've never gotten along anyway, the Lakers hurt their chances of keeping Howard long term when they hired Mike D'Antoni as head coach. Combine that with how everything else went in LA during Howard's one year there and how do you expect him stay?

The Rockets now look like title contenders while the Lakers just look like another borderline playoff team at best. Oh what a difference a year makes.

Lakers Owner Jerry Buss Dies at Age 80

Jerry Buss, owner of the Los Angeles Lakers, passed away today at the age of 80. Buss had been undergoing cancer treatments for the last 18 months but the immediate cause of death was kidney failure. Jerry Buss had owned the Lakers since 1979 and now leaves the franchise to his surviving family to run.

Certainly a sad day for the NBA to lose one of it's greatest owners. He had several legends play on his teams including Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, and Kobe Bryant. His desire to win and love of the Lakers made him a huge part of the LA community. His drive was evident to all his players.

"He was a visionary, he was a trailblazer," Magic Johnson said. "He did things that were, at that time, people thought wasn't cool, wasn't proper. He was a man who walked the walk and talked the talk. He produced championships, because he was the most competitive owner you could ever meet in your life."

The Lakers would win ten NBA titles with his will to win with the last one coming in 2010. In the 34 seasons under his ownership, the Lakers have made the playoffs all but 2 of those seasons. He's even perhaps the most successful owner in North American Sports history, even greater than the late George Steinbrenner.

Brilliant owners may come and go but there might not be one that had such impact on one team, on one sport, on one city like Dr. Jerry Buss.