Dwight Howard never wavered from his decision to sign with the Houston Rockets and was in the air returning to Los Angeles when reports came out that he was reconsidering.

"That was not the case," Howard said in an exclusive interview with Amick. "I was very upset about it when all that stuff started to come out because that's not what was going on. I decided … the night before it came out, and my thinking was, 'Let me get back to L.A. and sit in front of (Lakers general manager) Mitch (Kupchak) and give the Lakers that respect.' I wanted to tell them in person.

"There was no (thought of), 'Oh man, hold up, let me think about this again.' The night before, when I had decided, I sat down with everybody – my agent, my best friend who was there, and my bodyguard, and we talked. I said this is where I want to go. I told my Dad that this is where I want to go. I said tomorrow, when I get home, we're going to talk to the Lakers. I'm going to tell the other teams on the phone, and that's what I did."

Howard had planned on informing Mitch Kupchak that he wouldn't re-sign with the Los Angeles Lakers and then announce his decision on Twitter.

"I just didn't like the way that it happened," Howard said. "I wanted to wait as long as possible until I talked to the Lakers. I didn't want Mitch to turn on his TV or get an e-mail from somebody saying this is what Dwight did and I didn't contact him first. I wanted to give him the respect, and the Lakers the respect, in telling them before it got put out there.

"I felt like for them it wouldn't have been personal enough. They were the team that decided to take me from Orlando, so I wanted to give them that respect – especially Mitch, because that was somebody who I had conversations with all summer. I wanted to let him know personally, and to thank him for the opportunity to play for the Lakers."

Dwight Howard has steadily worsened as a free throw shooter in his NBA career, shooting just 49 percent last season.

Now with the Houston Rockets, Howard is aiming to have a career season at the foul line. His career high at the free throw line came as a rookie, when he shot 67 percent.

"This season, I want to win a championship," Howard said. "I want to shoot 75 to 80 percent from the free-throw line. I want to win defensive player of the year."

Howard left the Los Angeles Lakers in free agency in the offseason.

Josh Howard is still seeking a training camp invite from a team.

Howard had good workouts for the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.

Howard is coming off knee surgery.

Omer Asik did not comment about his reported trade request this offseason, after the Houston Rockets acquired Dwight Howard in free agency.

"I'm a basketball player," Asik said on Friday. "I'll do what the coaches ask me."

Asik had a career season with the Rockets last season, averaging 10.1 points and 11.7 rebounds per game.

Jeremy Lin admitted that he has "a lot of holes" in his game, but he expects the Houston Rockets to be a title contender.

"I think our team can be deadly," said Lin.

"I think Dwight Howard himself is already pretty deadly of a player," Lin said. "For us, it's just a matter of getting on the same page and buying into the system, and I think adding [Howard] as a piece to the puzzle, it's incredible. I think we're all extremely excited and we know what we have, and he looks healthy, he looks explosive, and he's looking better and better in terms of recovering from his [back] surgery."

Lin had a somewhat disappointing first season with the Rockets.

"One thing I have to remind myself is I just turned 25 years old, and to be honest I really have only been playing consistent basketball in the NBA for a season and a half, if that, and so I'm very young in my career. And because the expectations of Linsanity are so big and the shadow is so large ... sometimes I have to take a step back and remind myself the journey has just begun.

"I don't have as much freedom or the usage rate that I had in New York. I have to learn how to play a little more off the ball, how to cut better, how to shoot better, how to defend better. There are a lot of holes in my game, and I'll be the first one to admit that. ... It's just a matter of trying to become better and repair and improve. Teams know what my strengths and weaknesses are now, and I don't have that element of surprise anymore."

The Houston Rockets are in discussions with Billy Lange about becoming head coach of their D-League affiliate.

Lange is currently an assistant coach at Villanova under Jay Wright.

The Rio Grande Valley Vipers are the defending D-League champions and their past two head coaches have moved on to assistant coaching jobs.

The Rockets are heavily involved in the operations of their D-League affiliate.

Marcus Camby admits when he was younger he would not have considered signing with a team that acquired a franchise center like Dwight Howard, but the veteran big man embraced joining the Houston Rockets.

Camby also received a recruitment from Howard prior to signing.

"Ten years ago, no," Camby said of signing on to a team that just acquired Howard. "Now, I just got off the phone with him. He's a great guy. Even before I signed, when I got my buyout in Toronto, he was one of the guys that was texting and calling me, trying to sell me on Houston. I told him he didn't have to."

Howard left the Los Angeles Lakers to sign a free agent deal with the Rockets.