After making his way out of Los Angeles to join the Houston Rockets, All-Star Dwight Howard says his reasoning for his departure from the Lakers was simply because he wanted to win via CSNHouston.com.

"The biggest part was leaving a storied franchise and also leaving a lot of money on the table, but in order to win you've got to sacrifice something. It would have been great to have that stuff, the money and all that stuff, but I want to win."

Howard clearly was struggling on the Lakers as he faced a high level of scrutiny, pressure and backlash from fans he has yet to experience in his career. Many speculate that was the real reasoning that led to his ultimate departure, but he maintains it was for a better chance to win.

"I just looked at both teams and I felt like Houston was going in one direction -- they got a lot of young players, they got a good coach in Kevin McHale and I just felt like having him as a coach, he could really help me in the post and help me develop like I want to," Howard said in an interview with ESPNLosAngeles.com back in July. "That was mainly the big reason right there, and having the opportunity to grow with a team, a young team, like the Rockets. That's the reason why [I decided to leave]."

Howard added:

"It was tough," Howard said of leaving Los Angeles. "I enjoyed, for the most part, living here in L.A. I just really think the timing in L.A., it wasn't right for me. Maybe two years ago, or 2-3 years from now, it would have been the right time. But I just think right now the timing was off for me. That's not saying that L.A. is a bad place, but I just think it's all about timing and fit when you're talking about basketball. You can put anybody together on the court and expect them to win, but the pieces have to really fit in order for a team to be successful and it was very, very tough, man. It's probably one of the toughest decisions I've ever had to make in my life."

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