For the past handful of years, as Dwight Howard bounced from franchise to franchise — Houston to Atlanta to Charlotte to Washington, with fans cheering his exit in each city — the sentiment from front office types around the league has been the same: If he would just accept a role he could still be an important part of a winning team. If he could just accept that the offense is going to flow through others — stop demanding post-up touches — and focus on defense and rebounding, if he could stop being a distraction off the court, there is a role for him in the league. Howard, however, was not ready to accept that reality.