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."

J.R. Smith admits he delayed his knee surgery so that he could sign his three-year, $18 million contract with the New York Knicks, instead of undergoing the procedure and potentially hurting his value.

"For one, I'm a father and I have two young children to look after," Smith said. "It made more sense for my family to get a deal done before [surgery]."

The surgery, a patellar tendon repair and an arthroscopy for a tear in the lateral meniscus of his left knee, is expected to sideline Smith through training camp.

"Without a doubt, the best part about it was we had the support of the team," Smith said. "The team supported us, the [team doctor] supported us all on the decision. At the end of the day it was more of a family decision than anything else."

When Carmelo Anthony heads for unrestricted free agency next offseason, Kobe Bryant could be the X-factor in Anthony's negotiations with the New York Knicks, according to a source.

The Lakers will have cap space next summer and Bryant could promise Anthony that together they can make a run at a championship in Los Angeles.

“For me, it’s about being part of a winning organization,” Anthony said on Monday.

The Knicks will be able to offer Anthony $30 million more than any other team in free agency.

Devin Harris will get the boot off his surgically repaired left toe on Thursday, and that is when the Dallas Mavericks' guard expects to learn of his timetable for a return.

"I feel fine,'' Harris said on Monday. "But everything's on hold until Thursday."

Harris signed a one-year, $1.3 million contract with the Mavericks in July.

Grant Jerrett will sign a deal and start the season with the Tulsa 66ers, the Oklahoma City Thunder's NBA D-League affiliate.

The move will allow the Thunder to keep the rights of their second round pick in this year's NBA draft.

Jerrett was not at the Thunder's media day or the team's early practices.

Nate Robinson is coming off a career season and signed a two-year deal with the Denver Nuggets in free agency. Tim Connelly is adamant the team is fortunate to acquire him.

"We were lucky (to get him), because Nate was sought after by playoff teams," the Nuggets' general manager said.

Robinson averaged 13.1 points and 4.4 assists last season for the Chicago Bulls, who elected not to re-sign him despite his consistent, energetic and dynamic year.

Robinson is expected to come off the Nuggets' bench this season.

Rajon Rondo discussed on Monday his growing relationship with Brad Stevens, regularly lunching, texting and sharing books and YouTube videos over email.

When asked how close the two are, Rondo described the relationship as "best friends."

"Me and Brad have become best friends," Rondo said. "We talk every day, we laugh and joke. We just had dinner the other night. I'm going to help him, he's going to help me.

"He has my full support. I told him from Day 1 when he came to my camcp that I'm behind him 100 percent. Whatever he wants to do, whatever he wants to change, I have an open mind. I'm ready to listen and to be accountable for what he wants to do."

Rondo still does not have a timetable about when he will return to the court from a torn ACL, but he expects to come back to the Boston Celtics at some point this season.

DeSagana Diop will play with the Cleveland Cavaliers in training camp.

Diop was a first round lottery pick by the Cavaliers in 2001 and spent four seasons with the organization.

Diop earned a long-term deal in the NBA after being an active rebounding and defensive presence for the Dallas Mavericks.

Steve Mills is known to be close to Isiah Thomas

“No, Isiah Thomas will not be coming back to the Knicks,” said Mills.

Mills was hired last week as general manager of the New York Knicks, fueling speculation that Thomas could also return.

The Knicks picked up their 14-15 option on Mike Woodson's contract on Monday.

The Portland Trail Blazers have exercised their third-year options on Damian Lillaard, Meyers Leonard and Thomas Robinson.

Lillard, the sixth overall pick in the 2012 NBA Draft, averaged 19.0 points, 3.1 rebounds and 6.5 assists in his rookie campaign with the Trail Blazers. Only the fourth unanimous Kia NBA Rookie of the Year in league history and fourth Trail Blazer to win the award, Lillard finished last season as one of three rookies in NBA history with 1,500 points and 500 assists.

Leonard, the team’s 11th overall pick in last year’s draft, posted averages of 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds on 54.5 percent shooting from the floor and 80.9 percent from the charity stripe in his first season with the Trail Blazers.

Robinson, entering his second season in the league, joined the Trail Blazers in a trade with the Houston Rockets on July 10, 2013 in exchange for the NBA rights to Kostas Papanikolaou and Marko Todorovic along with two future second round picks. In his rookie season, Robinson averaged 4.8 points, 4.1 rebounds and 15.1 minutes in 70 games with Sacramento (51 games) and Houston (19 games).