Dwight Discussion: Dwightmare on Figueroa St. Part Boo

D'Antoni asked for no more "B.S. on the outside." Well, Dwight's dad just criticized D'Antoni and Kobe to ...

Jeff Schultz of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Dwight's hometown paper.

Here are the quotes from Dwight Howard Sr.:

* "The problem is the coach. (D’Antoni) needs to step in and say, ‘You guys have got to be quiet. We’re trying to secure something here. Dwight is probably looking at the coach, thinking, ‘What are you going to do?’ I promise, if that had been Stan Van Gundy, that wouldn’t have happened. (Howard) wouldn’t have been admonished publicly. I think the coach has a lot to do with who controls Kobe’s mouth right now."

* "I told him before he said it publicly, ‘It’s your career. No person can say what you need to do or not do. You can’t worry about what Kobe or anybody else says,’” the elder Howard said. “Nobody can say what Kobe said -- that’s stepping into another man’s shoes. 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."

* "When he spoke up, he asked me what I thought, and I told him I applaud him for standing up for himself. But I still think he needs to have a sit down with the coach and Kobe."

* "L.A. has been like humble pie for him. When you go from being the man in one city (Orlando) to second or third tier, it takes a toll on you mentally."

Dwight Sr. told Schultz he still thinks his son will re-sign with the Lakers this offseason.

Doc Brown wrote:And the good side of bipolar Dwight has come out to play.....

In what is solid progress for him, Dwight said he doesn't want to talk about his shoulder anymore: "I really ...
don't want to talk about it. It’s not going to change."

Dwelling on how the labrum tear is limiting him or how dangerous it feels or whatever fears he has isn't helping him do his job, so letting go of that in his head should help him play more freely -- as he did in the fourth quarter Friday night in Charlotte.

"It’s not going to change," he said. "It’s torn. There’s nothing I can do about it. Hopefully I don’t have an issue where I re-aggravate it.

kosstick wrote:Anyone think this is Dwight just overreacting to his Shoulder Injury, he has been extremely Healthy his whole career and now that he has these injuries it seems like he is overreacting due to the unfamiliar territory he finds himself in.

therealdeal wrote:I got two things from that:

1. Dwight respects his father so much that he listens to what he says above reason a lot of times. I think literally at times Kobe and Dwight's father are butting heads in Dwight's mind as far as elder men go. Kobe wants him to man up. Dwight's dad is looking out for his son. Dwight's dad says Dwight should stick up for himself. Kobe says he should stop caring about what other people think. We assume he means us and the media, but maybe he's talking about Dwight's dad.

2. Dwight's dad expects him to stay here and so I expect that'll give us a HUGE push this summer. Considering the reports about how much Dwight listens to his father... I'm thinking we have a pretty huge edge right now.

Dwight's not wrong in wanting to wait, Dwight's dad isn't wrong for looking for him. But at some point you really do have to man up and either accept the situation or ask for a different one. If Dwight is unhappy to the point where he needs a change, he's got to say so. If he's not then he's got to buck up and go do what's got to be done.

khmrP wrote:

therealdeal wrote:I got two things from that:

1. Dwight respects his father so much that he listens to what he says above reason a lot of times. I think literally at times Kobe and Dwight's father are butting heads in Dwight's mind as far as elder men go. Kobe wants him to man up. Dwight's dad is looking out for his son. Dwight's dad says Dwight should stick up for himself. Kobe says he should stop caring about what other people think. We assume he means us and the media, but maybe he's talking about Dwight's dad.

2. Dwight's dad expects him to stay here and so I expect that'll give us a HUGE push this summer. Considering the reports about how much Dwight listens to his father... I'm thinking we have a pretty huge edge right now.

Dwight's not wrong in wanting to wait, Dwight's dad isn't wrong for looking for him. But at some point you really do have to man up and either accept the situation or ask for a different one. If Dwight is unhappy to the point where he needs a change, he's got to say so. If he's not then he's got to buck up and go do what's got to be done.

I think Howard and his Dad will only stay on board if things dont get worse, that means no more talking to the press anymore outside of answering basic game questions, no more exclusive interviews from anyone, etc. I'm sure Howard and co. can handle more losing if it happens I just dont think they can handle anymore media negativity coming from our own players no matter what was "meant" to be said it never comes out that way thanks to the media.

But with Dwight Howard facing endless scrutiny regarding his injured right shoulder and how he fits in with the Lakers, his father, Dwight Howard Sr., told the Atlanta Journal Constitution he needs to have a sitdown with Kobe Bryant and coach Mike D’Antoni to hash things over. After all, Bryant has received plenty of attention for comments attributed to him in an ESPN.com report this week suggesting Howard needed to return quickly even if his shoulder isn’t fully healed. Although he denies it, D’Antoni also indirectly has suggested the same thing.

But the involved parties don’t have any interest on the idea. Instead, the Lakers (24-27) say they’re strictly focused on Sunday’s game against the Miami Heat (33-14) at American Airlines Arena.

“Honestly, I’m done talking about it,” Bryant said. “There’s nothing to talk about it. There’s nothing to discuss. It’s silly.”

D’Antoni wasn’t necessarily opposed to it. He just believes the Lakers have already gone down that path, including having an air-it-out meeting two weeks ago against Memphis. Part of that meeting involved Bryant confronting Howard about his frustration surrounding his offensive role.

“That’s cool,” D’Antoni said. “He’s his father. He should defend his son. But I thought we had that in Memphis. We’re good.”

It remains to be seen what Howard thinks of the idea.

He’s publicly defended his decision to sit out two games last week because of his aggravated labrum in his right shoulder. Howard also bristled at Bryant’s comments attributed to him that suggested he needed to return even with an unhealthy shoulder, quotes Bryant maintains were blown out of proportion.

“It’s really not that big of a deal,” Bryant said. “In Boston, they made something out of nothing. There wasn’t anything I said that was out of the ordinary or nothing I said before talking to him. They made a really big deal out of something that is really nothing.”

Howard also had little interest in adding to the storyline.

“I don’t want to get into it,” Howard said. “My dad is a grown man. That’s how he feels. We’ll leave it at that.”

Howard offered a similar comment on his dad’s assertion that he will re-sign this summer with the Lakers.

Whether Howard Sr’s comments reflects his son’s level of thinking remains to be seen. The ACJ article quotes his father as saying his son has talked to him frequently about this season and his frustrations. Howard conceded they talk everyday but nothing about basketball.

“That’s what’s he’s supposed to do, support his kid,” Howard said of his father’s comments. “He’s going to do the best at that.”

The Lakers will soon find out if they make the best of their situation too.

“It’s people who try to harbor and hang onto stuff all the time,” Bryant said of the dynamic between him and Howard. “He just has to do his job, go out and defend. We do our jobs and do what we need to do to help us win. It’s not rocket science.”

Kobe on Dwight's dad suggesting KB & DH have a sitdown: "Honestly, I’m done talking about it ... There’s nothing to discuss. It’s silly."

Doc Brown wrote:Should he have 10 assists and 10 blocks and 12 steals as well?

Ice-Fire wrote:

Doc Brown wrote:Should he have 10 assists and 10 blocks and 12 steals as well?

If he can't get 28 points / 15 rebounds in a marquee match-up... then he doesn't deserve any max money he's demanding PERIOD.