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

khmrP wrote:wtf happened to hawaii, I thought they're pro-lakers with all our mini-camps starting over there?

Doc Brown wrote:F*** you Alaska. Just jealous you don't have a basketball team and your claim to fame is Carlos Snoozer. Middle finger to you.

Kobe Bryant once again has urged Dwight Howard to play through some pain while claiming that the Los Angeles Lakers center "worries too much" about media and fan criticism.

Howard has missed the past three games because of a torn labrum in his shoulder, aggravating an injury he initially suffered earlier this season.

Despite winning the three games Howard has missed, the Lakers (23-26) are 10th in the Western Conference playoff race. They also will be without star forward Pau Gasol, who could be sidelined four-to-six weeks with a tear in the plantar fascia of his right foot, an MRI revealed Wednesday.


"We don't have time for (Howard's shoulder) to heal," Bryant said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with ESPNBoston.com's Jackie MacMullan. "We need some urgency."

The interview with MacMullan came one day after Bryant publicly challenged Howard, stating that playing through an injury is "something that you have to balance out and manage."

Bryant also asserted that Howard is preoccupied with how he is perceived by fans and media.

"Dwight worries too much about what people think," Bryant told MacMullan. "I told him, 'You can't worry about that. It's holding you back.' He says, 'OK, OK, OK,' but it's always hovering around him.

"He just wants people to like him. He doesn't want to let anyone down, and that gets him away from what he should be doing."

Bryant also speculated that Howard, in his first season with Los Angeles, may not be accustomed to the Lakers' standards.

"(Howard) has never been in a position where someone is driving him as hard as I am, as hard as this organization is," Bryant told MacMullan. "It's win a championship, or everything is a complete failure. That's just how (the Lakers) do it. And that's foreign to him.

"When you think about it, there aren't many organizations that look at it that way. There are only two that can really honestly say that's what they live by -- Los Angeles and Boston."

Howard preached patience in a recent interview with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, pointing to the fact that Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal needed three years before winning a championship with the Lakers.

But the 34-year-old Bryant, who is averaging 27.6 points per game in his 17th NBA season, is approaching this season with more desperation.

"We don't have three years," Kobe said. "We've got this year."

Howard is listed as day to day, and his status is uncertain for Thursday's game against the Boston Celtics.

The Lakers are hopeful Gasol's injury will prompt Howard to return "sooner than later," a team source told ESPNLosAngeles.com.

wcsoldier81 wrote:

Kobe Bryant once again has urged Dwight Howard to play through some pain while claiming that the Los Angeles Lakers center "worries too much" about media and fan criticism.

Howard has missed the past three games because of a torn labrum in his shoulder, aggravating an injury he initially suffered earlier this season.

Despite winning the three games Howard has missed, the Lakers (23-26) are 10th in the Western Conference playoff race. They also will be without star forward Pau Gasol, who could be sidelined four-to-six weeks with a tear in the plantar fascia of his right foot, an MRI revealed Wednesday.


"We don't have time for (Howard's shoulder) to heal," Bryant said Wednesday in an exclusive interview with ESPNBoston.com's Jackie MacMullan. "We need some urgency."

The interview with MacMullan came one day after Bryant publicly challenged Howard, stating that playing through an injury is "something that you have to balance out and manage."

Bryant also asserted that Howard is preoccupied with how he is perceived by fans and media.

"Dwight worries too much about what people think," Bryant told MacMullan. "I told him, 'You can't worry about that. It's holding you back.' He says, 'OK, OK, OK,' but it's always hovering around him.

"He just wants people to like him. He doesn't want to let anyone down, and that gets him away from what he should be doing."

Bryant also speculated that Howard, in his first season with Los Angeles, may not be accustomed to the Lakers' standards.

"(Howard) has never been in a position where someone is driving him as hard as I am, as hard as this organization is," Bryant told MacMullan. "It's win a championship, or everything is a complete failure. That's just how (the Lakers) do it. And that's foreign to him.

"When you think about it, there aren't many organizations that look at it that way. There are only two that can really honestly say that's what they live by -- Los Angeles and Boston."

Howard preached patience in a recent interview with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith, pointing to the fact that Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal needed three years before winning a championship with the Lakers.

But the 34-year-old Bryant, who is averaging 27.6 points per game in his 17th NBA season, is approaching this season with more desperation.

"We don't have three years," Kobe said. "We've got this year."

Howard is listed as day to day, and his status is uncertain for Thursday's game against the Boston Celtics.

The Lakers are hopeful Gasol's injury will prompt Howard to return "sooner than later," a team source told ESPNLosAngeles.com.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8924249/kobe-bryant-challenges-dwight-howard-return-shoulder-injury-play-pain

Center Court wrote:^^^ Kobe is doing a great job as a leader. he really understands different people have different personalities and though it may not be your style, you have to cater to their needs/style to get the best out of them. that is exactly what Dwight likes/wants/needs to hear. (close sarcasm)

seriously though, Kobe is an [Swearing is not permitted at Clublakers. You must edit this post prior to submitting.]. If I were Dwight I would want no part of this organization if this is the guy you are supposed to share with. Dwight has got to feel extremely slighted by that comment. I mean, Dwight is not some young player who ust stepped into the NBA. He's had a great career so far. No way he wants to hear that "he has no urgency and winning championship mentality it foreign to him".

I'm worried as a Laker fan because I'd say it's more likely for Dwight to leave then stay. Houston seems like a pretty attractive situation. Sign Dwight, trade Asik for a good PF and they've got something very attractive to Dwight.

wcsoldier81 wrote:

Center Court wrote:^^^ Kobe is doing a great job as a leader. he really understands different people have different personalities and though it may not be your style, you have to cater to their needs/style to get the best out of them. that is exactly what Dwight likes/wants/needs to hear. (close sarcasm)

seriously though, Kobe is an [Swearing is not permitted at Clublakers. You must edit this post prior to submitting.]. If I were Dwight I would want no part of this organization if this is the guy you are supposed to share with. Dwight has got to feel extremely slighted by that comment. I mean, Dwight is not some young player who ust stepped into the NBA. He's had a great career so far. No way he wants to hear that "he has no urgency and winning championship mentality it foreign to him".

I'm worried as a Laker fan because I'd say it's more likely for Dwight to leave then stay. Houston seems like a pretty attractive situation. Sign Dwight, trade Asik for a good PF and they've got something very attractive to Dwight.

I wouldn't lose any sleep over Dwight leaving ... I haven't changed my mind over his mentality since he arrived in LA ... he hasn't what it takes to be a leader of a championship team ...

Sure we'll get worse if he leaves but we are definetely not winning ish with this guy as the "future" of this franchise ... unless he's going to change and stop caring so much about people/medias and be a cry baby about everything