Dwight Discussion: Griffin for Dwight?... Naaaa (1011)

Kit wrote:If Dwight is gone this summer, any good FA we can sign w/ the money?

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/page/FreeAgents-12-13/nba-free-agents-2012-2013

JoelMyersScrotalSack wrote:Also we will NEVER hear the end of it if Dwight gets injured again tonight. Kobe will be absolutely slaughtered by the media for "forcing" Dwight to play.

abeer3 wrote:dwight's right: it's his career. the lakers don't have a great track record diagnosing injuries, and he has no reason to feel loyalty to this organization at this point.

King of Clutch wrote:

abeer3 wrote:i get both sides, but dwight's right, imo. he can't say it, but why risk next season on the very slim and shrinking-by-the-day chance that you can be slaughtered by okc in the first round? so kobe and nash don't have "missed playoffs" on their hof resume?

Because your on this team as well. And if you think this will be your team in the long run, you'd do whatever you can to win every year. He didn't sit out for an extended time with his injury last year in orlando. Why? Because it was his home, and his team for the foreseeable future. If you don't see this team as being your team in the future, you would then say, "why risk next season on the very slim and shrinking-by-the-day chance that you can be slaughtered by okc in the first round? ".

Dfishman wrote:I honestly don't understand why people are reacting this way. If Dwight is really injured, he shouldn't play. He's supposed to be the future of our team and we need him to be healthy for the long-run. We were all too happy to rush him back from BACK SURGERY and it's clearly taking its toll on him. Now he has a torn labrum and instead of crossing our fingers while he heals and hoping it doesn't need surgery till the off season, we're calling him names and telling him he needs to rush back? This feels like lunacy to me.

I get that he comes off as a wuss and a baby, but the guy is clearly hurt. I'd rather he continued to rest and get better while we take our chances against Boston and Charlotte...rather than rush back and potentially make things worse. And don't lose perspective: Kobe is superhuman when it comes to injuries. Nobody has ever played through injuries like he has, ever. And he doesn't know what it is to be Dwight's size and weight. Very few people do. I hope Dwight DOESN'T play tonight or tomorrow. We need him for the next 7-8 years, not the next 2 regular season games.

lakerfan2 wrote:wanna stop injuring your shoulder? stop holding the ball low and getting stripped.

every time he gathers himself for a dunk, he always brings it down low, and gets stripped. if he just kept the ball high, there wouldn't be a problem.

Reporter: Have you talked to Kobe about it, just your situation?

Dwight Howard: "What situation?"

Reporter: In terms of your injury and all that?

DH: "Have I talked to Kobe?"

Reporter: Yes, just as far as outlining, like, telling him your perspective?

DH: "Of what?"

Reporter: Of you wanting to take the long view?

DH: "Why do I have to explain that to Kobe?"

Reporter: Well, because he’s a teammate …

DH: "He’s a doctor?"

Reporter: No, but he’s a teammate.

DH: "OK. So I should explain that to all my teammates then, right?"

Reporter: I’m not insinuating that. I’m just asking, have you talked to him?

DH: "I’m asking you …"

Reporter: I don’t know if you’ve talked to him.

DH: "I’m asking you, I’m supposed to tell all my teammates?"

Reporter: No, I’m just asking if you talked to him.

DH: "Just Kobe. Just Kobe."

Reporter: Considering the comments he made yesterday …

DH: "I don’t know what he said."

Reporter No. 2: He says we don’t have time for Dwight’s shoulder to heal. We need urgency. We need him back on the floor. This is the Lakers. It’s either a championship or a complete failure.

DH: "OK."

Reporter No. 2: What do you say to that?

DH: "That’s his opinion."

The Laker Link wrote:if he is just feeling a slight tingle, then do it. But his Interview with SAS and his legs going numb and stuff, that is concerning.

Snake Eyes wrote:Dude, LakerLink, that is an awesome avatar!

The Rock wrote:

Reporter: Have you talked to Kobe about it, just your situation?

Dwight Howard: "What situation?"

Reporter: In terms of your injury and all that?

DH: "Have I talked to Kobe?"

Reporter: Yes, just as far as outlining, like, telling him your perspective?

DH: "Of what?"

Reporter: Of you wanting to take the long view?

DH: "Why do I have to explain that to Kobe?"

Reporter: Well, because he’s a teammate …

DH: "He’s a doctor?"

Reporter: No, but he’s a teammate.

DH: "OK. So I should explain that to all my teammates then, right?"

Reporter: I’m not insinuating that. I’m just asking, have you talked to him?

DH: "I’m asking you …"

Reporter: I don’t know if you’ve talked to him.

DH: "I’m asking you, I’m supposed to tell all my teammates?"

Reporter: No, I’m just asking if you talked to him.

DH: "Just Kobe. Just Kobe."

Reporter: Considering the comments he made yesterday …

DH: "I don’t know what he said."

Reporter No. 2: He says we don’t have time for Dwight’s shoulder to heal. We need urgency. We need him back on the floor. This is the Lakers. It’s either a championship or a complete failure.

DH: "OK."

Reporter No. 2: What do you say to that?

DH: "That’s his opinion."

http://sulia.com/channel/la-lakers/f/89fa0ae2-ee2f-4212-9e7e-ec40e68e8888/?source=twitter

Bryant said that his comments on Wednesday weren't meant to turn up the pressure on Howard in light of the news that Pau Gasol has a torn plantar fascia in his right foot.

"There's an urgency to be out there, but it's not at the cost of making his shoulder worse," Bryant said after shootaround. "I've always said if he was healthy enough to play and there was a situation where he wasn't going to make it any worse then he should be playing. There should be an urgency about that, but I don't think I said anything that was different (then he said before)."

Bryant wasn't the only one of Howard's teammates to clamor for the All-Star center's return, however.

"I think everyone has got to play through some pain in this league and I'm not sure where Dwight exactly with his (injury), but hopefully he's ready to come back soon," Steve Nash said. "I think it's inevitable he's going to feel some discomfort and pain."

Metta World Peace spoke up in support of Howard, citing how effective he has been while coming off offseason back surgery.

"He's doing great and (he is) a great teammate," World Peace said. "He's out there, he had a couple 20-20 games and is averaging 18 and 11 or something like that playing hurt coming off that back surgery. I would say he's a soldier and I'm not going to question his injury. He's hurt to me. We have to go out there and we have to hold it down for him."

Howard said that Gasol's injury has not sped up his timeline to return and added that the way he feels he mishandled his back injury last season in Orlando is shaping how he deals with his shoulder this year.

"I don't want that situation to happen again," Howard said. "Last year I wanted to prove and show people that I can play through injuries, but the back is something serious and I don't want that to happen again."

Howard was asked if he could see his shoulder injury becoming worse if he gets back on the court.

"Yes, (with) the way I play," Howard said. "The post is not an easy position. You're pushing guys (who weigh) 260-270 (pounds) and you have to use a lot of force to do that. If play tonight, we'll see how I feel later on. If I don't, we'll just have to move forward."