The Hater certainly has his fun with Dwight Howard's diva-like qualities but he's going to have to back Howard and clown Los Angeles Times reporter Eric Pincus for this head-scratching piece:

Dwight Howard doesn't get it.

The Lakers star center correctly senses that fans haven't fully embraced him, but he doesn't see how easy it would be to win them over.

"I understand why they're hesitating," Howard said after the Lakers' 91-85 victory over the Phoenix Suns. "Because I haven't signed a deal."

Howard is in the final year of his contract, but since his opening news conference with the team, he's refused to talk about his plans beyond the season.

"What's needed to be said, I've said," Howard said. "Right now I'm committed to this team, and the only thing that matters is right now. Nothing else matters beyond what we do the next game and what we do for the rest of the season. There's no need for us to go back and forth and cause a circus about anything."

That's his blind spot. The circus exists because he won't talk about life after his current contract.

First, The Hater thinks the circus surrounding the Lakers is more about their public bickering as they continue to fall out of playoff contention after building a supposed super team. Howard's reluctance to commit to the team beyond this season seems to be way down the list of problems for the Lakers.

But let's just say Pincus' underlying theory is true. How does he think Howard can diffuse the circus?

The fans want to know there's a tangible future as Kobe Bryant nears the end of his run. They want to know that Howard is a Laker for life.

That's certainly a big commitment from Howard -- one he can't make yet. That's fair. It's also not the point.

"I expect to finish my career here, but that's a decision for another day," is all it would take -- not that he's uttered those words.

An empty promise would dramatically defuse the tension. . . . A white lie in February isn't going to make things better or worse for him in July. The fans will resent him regardless, if he leaves.

So Pincus says Howard really shouldn't be expected to commit to the Lakers, but that he should make some \mealy-mouthed statement about a desire to stay in Los Angeles while actually saying he's not decided, and then everything will be OK until Howard eventually leaves.

Or something.

The Hater gets the feeling it's not Dwight who doesn't get it on this one.

The Hater is in the house.

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