Dwight Howard gives his farewell speech – Orlando Magic ...

Dwight Howard gives his farewell speech – Orlando Magic ...

Dwight Howard gives his farewell speech 

Dwight Howard expressed his love for the city of Orlando, thanked the Magic franchise and even forgave critical media members Saturday night in what passed as a farewell speech.

Howard conceded he asked GM Otis Smith to trade him.

“It hurts,” Howard said.

Some of the key points from Howard:

1. He said he wanted to be more “involved” in the decisions that Otis Smith made, but his voice wasn’t always heard. Howard wanted to have a relationship with Smith that Dirk Nowitzki has with owner Mark Cuban in Dallas, which is, not surprisngly, on Dwight’s wish list.

Magic say baloney. Howard knew every move and trade the team was going to make.

And if you want to know why players play and GMs GM, Howard didn’t want Smith to waive Gilbert Arenas via amnesty.

2. Howard wants to go somewhere where he has a better chance to win.

Hard to argue that the Magic are title contenders.

Smith’s moves did not work the past two years — bottom line. He got them to the Finals in 2009, and the Magic regressed, losing in the first round to Atlanta last season. Howard said he takes some of the blame.

“You only get one time around,” Howard said Saturday night. “You get one chance at this. You can’t press the reset button. It’s not ‘Call of Duty,’ where when you die, you get back up. Once this is done — once I’m done playing — I can’t turn back the hands of time and play again.”

3. Howard admitted he had been on the fence until recently.

“The back-and-forth for me is based on the people here: the town and the city,” he said. “I really love Orlando. I’ve given a lot for this community, and it’s not because I want people to say, ‘Well, he gives us money.’ I do it because I care.”

There’s really nothing Dwight can say that will make Magic fans feel any better. They deserve better, especially the ones who have lived through the Shaq departure.

Dwight Howard gives his farewell speech – Orlando Magic ...