Late September/October. Media day opens up a little earlier for Houston because of the games in Taiwan/Philippines.
"Me and Hakeem have been working out for years. The biggest thing I try to take from him is just watching his feet. It's not all about the flair, the glare, the move but just watching his feet and how he does it, certain moves. We had a good time being together. He's very excited. Kevin is very excited. I think we're gonna have a great year." "...I'm just looking forward to regaining all my strength and quickness and all that stuff that I really didn't have last year. It's coming back." Dwight said he enjoyed his time with McHale. "It's fun. He's a lot of fun. We've been having some great days like I said. His biggest thing, he just wants me to go out there and just play. Play and dominant and do what I've been doing for years. I'm really looking forward to it." "It's a lot of hard work. The biggest thing he's been telling me this whole time is use your speed, your quickness and then your power. He's been really studying a lot of my games and I've doing a lot of studying myself. We're looking forward to doing the best we can to bring a championship here to Houston."
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Kobe on Dwight: "He's actually a good kid. We have different perspectives on what it takes to win and what it takes to be successful."</p>— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi/statuses/368221983671988225">August 16, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Kobe says he was at the meeting for Dwight "for the organization, it was about their future. It wasn't about me."</p>— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi/statuses/368222240921239552">August 16, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script> <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Crowd is loudly booing a kid wearing a Dwight Lakers jersey. Kobe says, "He got that jersey for sale."</p>— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ArashMarkazi/statuses/368225830519844864">August 16, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Still can't believe we landed Dwight Howard, amazing. Never forget July 5th, 2013. Best day ever in Rockets history regarding free agency.
http://www.nba.com/rockets/video/2013/08/15/HowardAlexanderInterviewmp4-2567303 good Interview by csn 21min long
There's nothing to take from that bro. The term 'kid' is always used on athletes who are still young. Kevin McHale referred to his team last year as "kids". Why? Because he was much older than all of them.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>ESPN Summer Forecast, Best Newcomer (first place): Dwight Howard - <a href="http://t.co/7JjFINKefX">http://t.co/7JjFINKefX</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/search?q=%23ESPNForecast&src=hash">#ESPNForecast</a></p>— The NBA on ESPN (@ESPNNBA) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNNBA/statuses/368416938126356480">August 16, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Dwight Howard = 27 Kobe Bryant = 34 Kevin McHale = 55 slight difference..... Yes the term 'kid' is condescending and it is one thing for your coach to talk down to you and it is another thing for a teammate to do it. Especially in the context Kobe used the term. Kobe might as well of said 'Dwight and I disagreed about how to win, but he is just an immature kid so he doesn't know what he is talking about'. Also Dwight isn't young.
Here's the clip of Kobe's comments: <iframe width="480" height="360" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yyF4SIFyotk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Tonight FOX 26 News more of interview w/ Dwight Howard b4 he left 4China."My main concern is getting back 2Houston &helping this team win"</p>— Mark Berman (@MarkBermanFox26) <a href="https://twitter.com/MarkBermanFox26/statuses/368524752148635648">August 17, 2013</a></blockquote> <script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
You gotta love the unique stories behind the current Rockets' players. Lin - Released by Rockets. Linsanity in NY. Returns to team that released him and wants to prove he has what it takes to help lead this team. Harden - Former 6th man, fell out in the finals vs. Miami, and gets traded to be "the man". Out to prove he can take the next step. Parsons - Drafted in 2nd round. Out to prove that he should have been drafted higher. Beverley - Played overseas before coming and is now a fan favorite. Probably most hated man in OKC. Howard - Heavily criticized for his offensive game, leaving ORL and LAL, and even considered to have reached his potential. Has the opportunity to prove them wrong with a fresh start, team. I'm loving this team more and more by the day.