The NBA trade rumors which led up to a Dwight Howard trade to the Los Angeles Lakers have really hurt his marketability. This is the conclusion that ESPN reached after doing some research on how fans perceive Howard after all of demands to get traded by the Orlando Magic.
According to Darren Rovell, Howard was liked "a lot" by 20 percent of consumers that knew of him back in May of 2010. In a recent poll, though, his number has dropped to 9 percent with more than a quarter of consumers saying they dislike him. That's a pretty big number, especially in a market where big names can sell a lot of products.
To put it in plainer terms, the comparison was made that fans liked him as much as Kevin Durant back in 2010, but now only like him as much as Stan Van Gundy. That's pretty bad, but maybe not all hope is lost for Howard to make millions of dollars in endorsements once again. As a member of the LA Lakers, he will certainly get his name in the spotlight again.
It will be interesting to see how the average fan treats Howard and whether it is better or worse than the response that LeBron James got for leaving the Cleveland Cavaliers. At least James played out his contract, whereas Howard demanded to get traded before his had ended.
Do you agree that all these 2012 NBA trade rumors about Dwight Howard have harmed his "brand?" Would you buy a product endorsed by Howard and the LA Lakers?
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