REPORT: Kobe confronts Dwight Howard According to...

12:20 am - Thu, Jan 24, 2013: 214 notes

REPORT: Kobe confronts Dwight Howard

According to Lakers’ beat reporter Dave McMenamin, the Los Angeles Lakers held a team meeting today before their game/loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. D’Antoni asked players to speak freely, and after Steve Nash squeezed a few words out of his old, Grandpa mouth, Kobe took the floor.

Bryant asked Dwight Howard if he was bothered by playing alongside him…

Bryant acknowledged he could be “hard to play with,” according to the Times, and challenged Howard to speak up if he had a problem with it.

Howard was “despondent” and did not offer much of a reply to Bryant, according to a team source.

That is - how shall I put it - very bad. Dwight folded. Kobe losing respect for a guy is WAY worse than him hating you. Kobe hated Shaq, and still won 3 titles. Crazily, this apparently isn’t the first time Dwight tucked tail:

One example of the rocky relationship between the two Western Conference All-Star starters, according to a league source, was a game this season when Howard harped to a teammate about the disparity between his and Bryant’s shots while sitting on the bench. The teammate called Bryant over so Howard could tell it to Bryant’s face, but Howard refused to speak up.

I went in on twitter:

I think Dwight is still injured. I think Dwight is a Top 5 talent in the NBA, and the best C. I think he’s LA’s best shot at future, but…
— Got ‘Em Coach (@GotEm_Coach) January 24, 2013

…if he can’t play with Kobe THIS early, it’s a wrap. Kobe’s not going anywhere, for better or worse. Might have to trade him.
— Got ‘Em Coach (@GotEm_Coach) January 24, 2013

#Lakers can get rid of both, or just fire D’Antoni, but you cannot move Dwight and keep the coach. That…cannot happen.
— Got ‘Em Coach (@GotEm_Coach) January 24, 2013

The Lakers not choosing Phil hurt them this year, but it killed them for the future. Jackson was Dwight’s best chance to mature.
— Got ‘Em Coach (@GotEm_Coach) January 24, 2013

I think Lakers lose to Utah, OKC. If they lose 2 out of 3 to New Orleans, PHX, or Minny, something’s happening: Dwight trade or MDA fired.
— Got ‘Em Coach (@GotEm_Coach) January 24, 2013

Follow me: @GotEm_Coach