The Los Angeles Lakers have been no stranger to drama all season. A recent team meeting in Memphis apparently did nothing to improve the relationships between the players.
Instead of being a cohesive team there has been nonstop trash talking place between the players back to the media. All-star center Dwight Howard has taken a lot of that criticism for various reasons including not playing through his injuries.
On Wednesday, ESPNBoston.com’s Jackie MacMullan claimed Kobe Bryant challenged Howard to play through his shoulder injury.
“We don’t have time for [Howard’s shoulder] to heal,” Bryant stated. “We need some urgency.”
This didn’t sit too well with Howard, why responding by noting that Bryant is no doctor nor is he in the position to evaluate his physical condition.
Now Howard’s father has decided to speak out by defending his son and criticizing Kobe Bryant and coach Mike D’Antoni. Dwight Howard Sr. told Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal Constitution his take on the unfolding drama during an interview released on Saturday, Feb. 9.
“I told him before he said it publicly, it’s your career,” stated Howard Sr. “No person can say what you need to do or not do. You can’t worry about what Kobe or anybody else says.
“Nobody can say what Kobe said that’s stepping into another man’s shoes,” the elder Howard added. “I understand what Kobe was trying to do, but he went about it the wrong way. He’s trying to win a championship, but Dwight has to tell Kobe ‘I appreciate your opinion, but that doesn’t matter. We’re two men on this team. We need to be reasonable about this’.”
Howard Sr. also expressed his displeasure with Lakers head coach Mike D’Antoni, noting that he is partially responsible for controlling what is said by Kobe Bryant.
After practice Saturday the media asked Howard about his father’s comments.
“I’m not going to get into it,” Howard claimed. “My dad is a grown man. If that’s how he feels, then we’ll leave it at that. I’m not going to get into it.”
So too is Bryant looking to stay mum on the issue.
“Honestly I’m done talking about it, “Bryant said. “There’s nothing to talk about. I’m done with it. There’s nothing to discuss. It’s silly.”
The Lakers are presently in 10th place in the Western Conference and will play the Miami Heat on Sunday afternoon.