I never really believed Dwight Howard would leave the Lakers. Right up till it leaked today that he would do just that.

Who leaves the Lakers? Especially when leaving them means walking away from the extra $31 million in guaranteed money the Lakers could pay?

But I also never thought committing $118 million to the guy for five years was a great idea.

So, now that he is gone?

No problem.

At age 27, Howard just had his worst season since he was 20. The notion that he is already in decline seemed strongly rooted in the minds of many pundits, and the numbers seemed to bear that out.

We often find, in team sports, we don’t have a clear sense of how good a player is until he plays for a team you follow. Then you see the whole of the athlete. The little things he does or doesn’t do. The big things, too.

Dwight Howard can’t make free throws (49 percent) and, in fact, is worse than ever. Dwight Howard apparently is nowhere near the 6-11 he claims. Dwight Howard seems to have lost his explosiveness.

How much of that was about back surgery, and how much of it can he regain? When the Lakers were going to give him $118 million, Lakers fans had to hope like hell he regained much of what he had seemed to have lost from 2009, 2010, 2011. Otherwise, he would be a very expensive mistake.

Team issues are at play, too. Dwight Howard ruined Pau Gasol. The two of them didn’t seem able to coexist on the floor. Gasol is older, but he seems less broken down, and has more skills. Now he plays center again.

Howard also didn’t have a very good relationship with coach Mike D’Antoni. Professionally or personally. Howard is ponderous and has no game further than five feet from the basket, and D’Antoni, who prefers that his teams run, didn’t seem able to figure out what to do with him.

His minutes were down. His scoring average of 17.1 was his worst since his second year in the league. His rebound average of 12.4 was his poorest since his third year.

But a case could be made that he was worth the five-year commitment. Even with shrinking statistics, he has a presence in the lane that is rare in the NBA. He is a strong guy. And he is still only 27. Maybe a worn 27, but it’s not like he’s done. Plus, the Lakers were better, statistically, when he was on the floor.

But, too, I don’t blame him for leaving. Much has been made of his difficulty in making decisions, and his ability to adapt to systems not built around him.

Let’s be honest: He was going to be Kobe Bryant’s sidekick as long as Kobe is around, and Howard may have decided Kobe would be around for most of those five years with the Lakers — if not all of them.

Houston has some players. James Harden, in particular. Short term, this coming season and the one after, the Rockets have more upside than the Lakers.

Howard could have assessed the situation in Los Angeles and, even setting aside the notion of Kobe regularly pointing out to him his deficiencies, decided he did not like the expectations that come with playing for the Lakers. Los Angeles has pretty much usurped New York as the epicenter of the league, and it is not for everyone. Just as the Yankees are not for all baseball players.

Not paying Dwight Howard $29 million a year gives the Lakers some flexibility to go out and get someone else, someone who realizes what playing for the Lakers (and in Los Angeles) can mean for a career. Someone who wants to be here. Someone who fits better with D’Antoni’s system, who is better able to take Kobe’s, uh, advice, and doesn’t cost remotely as much.

In Houston, this will be spun as Howard wanting to win so much that he settled for $87.6 million over four years. Because he is all about winning and the Lakers were not going to do that anytime soon.

But the thing about players … once you have had a full season to look at them, you get a sense of their “want-to” and how invested they are in a team, an organization … in winning … and sometimes you like them a lot less. Such was the case with Dwight Howard.

He surprised nearly everyone in L.A. with what appeared to be his muted passions, his eroding skills and his generic whining. It was believed he was a big tough guy who would be Kobe’s partner. Instead, he seemed tentative and felt like Kobe was picking on him.

Giving up a good player may never seem a good idea. But the Lakers (typically) think long-term. Whoever plays, instead, is unlikely to put up the same numbers as Howard. But let’s see what this turns into in a couple of years. When Howard is 30 and the Lakers have spent that $29 million on someone else.

Maybe it will be better for him to be in Houston. Maybe it will be better for the Lakers, too.