Former NBA superstars Dwight Howard and DeMarcus Cousins believe that internal politics are keeping them from returning to the league.
Both centers, who were already out of the NBA by 2022, discussed if they still have a future left in the league despite being advanced in age in Howard’s Above the Rim podcast recorded from Taipei.
The conversation began when Howard asked Cousins and his other guests, including their teammate with The Asian Tournament’s Taiwan Mustangs, Quinn Cook, why Derrick White was called up to Team USA for the Paris Olympics instead of his more stellar Boston Celtics teammate Jaylen Brown.
DeMarcus Cousins, a two-time medalist with Team USA in the 2014 FIBA World Cup and 2016 Rio Olympics, answered, “Same reason you ain’t in the NBA: politics.”
Later in the podcast, Howard sounded off and expressed displeasure that one team did not sign him up because he was “overqualified” for the job.
“I spent the last two years trying to figure that out just getting the same runaround. [They said,] ‘Well, we like you, but bro, you might be overqualified.’” Howard recalled one conversation he had to the surprise of his guests.
“What the f*** does that mean?” they asked in unison.
DeMarcus Cousins then thought that one reason Dwight Howard could not make an NBA return was that he does not know what to expect from the team that wants him.
“The reason you’re ‘overqualified’ is because they don’t want to allow you to be you. They want you to be what they want you to be. They want you to be the guy at the end of the bench waving a towel,” Cousins said.
Although he clarified that sacrificing the significant minutes they had before during their prime for the sake of the team has nothing to do with it, Cousins said that he is not happy that the teams would tell them to “turn it (their previous dominance) off and be happy about it.”
Where is Dwight Howard’s current team now?
The Mustangs were fresh from winning TAT’s fourth leg at home when Dwight Howard released the latest episode of his podcast.
Cousins, though, packed up for Zamboanga City to join the said city’s Valientes squad for the final leg of the league’s inaugural season. This led to speculation that Filipino fans would be seeing a Cousins-Howard face-off.
However, Cousins confirmed that Howard would not make the trip to Zamboanga City, and, as sources revealed to Hardwood Heroics, the entire Taiwan squad had to beg off to get a much-needed break.
One source said Howard flew back home to the United States while mapping his next career move.
Some key Mustangs have also left the team.
Filipino center Geo Chiu joined Cousins with the Valientes in the TAT finale, while Alex Cabagnot, Taiwan’s primary point guard, returned to the PBA and joined the Converge FiberXers in what could be his final playing year before the 41-year-old star calls it a career.
Will we see the Mustangs again? Only time will tell.
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