Dwight Howard said Friday that he based his free agent decision on two factors: coaching preference and comparative age of rosters.

After a couple days of deliberation, Howard whittled his choices down to the Los Angeles Lakers and Houston Rockets.

"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. "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.”

Howard believes the Rockets will give him his best chance to win a championship.

"That's the priority," Howard said. "That's the priority. S---, I'm betting $30 million on it. That's the priority. That's what I want.”