Dwight Howard, you just GOB'd up your career.

Howard, who agreed to opt-in to play out the 2012-13 season with the Orlando Magic, has made a huge mistake. Obviously, this preemptive promise was a result of Dwight's capricious, little girl attitude about where he wants to play (this just in, Dwight Howard has decided that he wants waffles for breakfast, not pancakes). He whines about wanting a trade all season long, and then - whoa, it's the trade deadline, and the Magic are THIRD IN THE EAST? All of a sudden, our impulsive little center wants to stick with his old team! No more Nets. No more Lakers. He thinks that the Magic can win a championship, and now he wants to stay (don't get me wrong, this is a legitimate reason for any player to stay with a team, but there's absolutely no chance that the Magic is even making it to the finals).

As evidenced by the spanking that the Magic took tonight at home against the superior Bulls (85 to 59. Yeah, you read that correctly), Howard's Magic aren't going to be making a deep playoff run any time soon. I suspect that that Orlando's statement win against the Miami Heat on March 13 partly fueled Dwight's desire to opt in, but if the Heat and Magic are to face off in a 7-game series, there's no way that the Magic's inconsistent backcourt paired with abysmal 49% FT shooting of Dwight Howard will allow the Magic to survive against the lockdown Miami defense in crunchtime.

Here's the major problem with the Magic: their only light other than Howard is the great play of Ryan Anderson this year (reppin' El Dorado Hills). But seriously, look at the Magic's stats. Dwight Howard, their CENTER, leads the team in four of the five major statistical categories (points, rebounds, steals, blocked shots). Today's game is facilitated by point guards and floor generals. A center can't make as large an impact as a great facilitator such as Chris Paul or Lebron can.

The bottom line: Dwight, unless you get traded by the 2012-13 deadline, it looks like you'll be waiting until your tenth season before you even have a shot at getting a ring. Until then, try to shut up. You chose this, so please tone down the bitching for the next twelve months.