AP/Sue Ogrocki
There’s still no escaping the Dwightmare.
Dwight Howard has already chosen to play for the Houston Rockets, and Kobe Bryant continues to bleed Los Angeles Lakers purple and gold, but the two continue to dance around and toward each other.
Speaking with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith about his decision to spurn Los Angeles in favor of Houston, Howard admitted that it was difficult to play next to Kobe (via Kurt Heilin of ProBasketballTalk):
Was it tough playing with Kobe? Yea, it was very tough. But playing along with Kobe didn’t have any parts of my decision going to Houston. I just felt like Houston was a better situation for me and my career. Me and Kobe, we had our disagreements, we had our moments. Everybody knows Kobe likes to score and there were times we would get at it getting the ball. And that happens on a team.
Superman’s pointed denial of a detrimental rift between he and the Black Mamba is almost endearing, the key word being “almost.”
We know that Howard apparently wanted Kobe out one way or the other if he was to re-sign in Hollywood, so there’s no use pretending the problems between the two were minor.
Howard goes onto say that he blamed himself for allowing things to get as bad as they did, admitting that he could have done something about Kobe’s desire to have the ball in his hands during the season, rather than harp on hit afterward. Does that sound like a guy who didn’t let past problems affect his decision?
Of course Kobe played a role in his leaving Los Angeles. Everything about the Lakers played a part in the ultimate outcome. He says that Houston was a better situation. Part of what made it a better situation is that there was no Kobe to battle, only an equally as talented, but far less stubborn, James Harden.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IVCFj57Kf6Y&feature=player_embedded
Later in the conversation, Howard conceded to Smith about how much he wanted Phil Jackson to become the coach of the Lakers.
Asked about whether or not the Zen Master’s presence would have kept him in Tinseltown, Howard stopped short of offering a definitive yes, but made it clear he thought Jackson was the coach who should have guided the Lakers, not Mike D’Antoni.
Perhaps Kobe can take solace in knowing that he wasn’t the one Howard seemed to despise most. That honor belongs to Magic Mike. Had the Lakers hired Jackson instead of D’Antoni, it seems Dwight wouldn’t be calling Houston home. He would still be in Los Angeles, as a member of the Lakers, playing for Jackson and next to Kobe. So, there’s that.
Another interesting anecdote to come from Smith’s sit down with the perpetually smiling Howard was the big man’s assertion that he is a winner.
Despite not having a ring, Howard considers himself a winner because he’s lasted this long in the NBA, and because he has a gold medal. I’m inclined to throw the gold medal bit out the window, since Howard himself seemed hell-bent on reminding us that the hardware doesn’t make the winner, only to use tangible success as a means to prove he was winner.
Self-contradiction aside, Howard’s comments will draw criticism because he admitted that you don’t need rings to be a success. Charles Barkley and Patrick Ewing, among others, may have all said the same, but not while they were playing. And Smith points that out to Howard, letting him know people will use Howard’s stance as a means to prove he doesn’t care about winning.
I myself don’t buy it. For as scared as Howard seems of being held to lofty expectations, I believe he wants to win a ring more than he wishes to cash his next pay check. You can see it in the way he steadfastly resents the notion that he isn’t winner. Maybe he actually believes he is one, but he would give anything just to put an end to the conversation that he isn’t.
Such dialogue won’t cease to exist without a championship ring, though, hence his decision to chase titles in Houston. Time will tell if said decision paid off, if he made the right now choice.
Time will tell if he left the Lakers to win, or just left to get away from them. Kobe included.
Dan Favale is a firm believer in the three-pointer as well as the notion that defense doesn’t always win championships. His musings can be found at Bleacherreport.com in addition to TheHoopDoctors.com. Follow @danfavale on Twitter for his latest posts and all things NBA.
