[Woj] Rockets give Dwight Howard what Lakers, Kobe wouldn't: unconditional love

I am guessing Golden State. Probably trying to sell him on how unselfish Steph Curry is. But Woj said "rivals" so maybe multiple teams were doing it.

Personally, I think that any issue that arise between Dwight and Harden will be easier to work out than the issues that arose between Kobe and Dwight. Kobe is older and treats Dwight like a little brother. Harden and Dwight are more of the same generation and can talk as equals.

Dwight Howard probably fits it better with this:



than he does with:

 

This may be all of my second or third post, but this seems like the same revisionist history that Laker fans are spewing and it needs to be pointed out. There are a lot of inconsistencies in what Woj is saying, and it's very disappointing from a guy with credibility.

To flame a guy for wanting to be the foundation of the team when Kobe Bryant is sitting across the locker room is absurd. This is the same Kobe who pushed Shaq out the door, and he just did it to Dwight. Why is the story line how selfish Dwight is and not how asinine Kobe is?

To flame a guy for not giving his all while a whole team of guys was doing the same is equally ridiculous. How does Woj think the debacle happened? The team didn't work well together, and the rough first few weeks caused all of them play with less passion. Kobe started hogging the ball, Pau and Metta stopped getting to all the rebounds, and the team defense became weak. That's not one guy. This is as clear a case of scapegoating as I've ever seen.

And to finish it by saying things like "Kobe didn't push him out" and "he needs unconditional love" is laughable. Kobe's team-killing attitude and insistence things must be done his way certainly did aid in pushing him out. Dwight didn't leave because he needed unconditional love. He left because Houston is a team with stronger players, a more amenable team leader in Harden, and a better chance to win in large part because it is a system Dwight can flourish in.

I'm not 100% sold on Dwight yet. Nobody should be until he reaches the court. It was a great move, to be sure. My problem with this article, and the bull-hockey the media on both costs, is that they feel a compulsive need to minimize Dwight's intentions. The root cause is they cannot understand why anyone would choose the center of the country over their beloved coastal meccas. It's why they paint us as rednecks from my home state of Texas to my current state of Wisconsin, and the whole thing is poop.

That would have been a whole lot more effective a rant if I hadn't avoided vulgarity.

 

Lofs?

 

Take it all with a grain of salt. Woj is one of the best when it comes to breaking news, but his writing is always over the top with sensationalism.

 

Excellent article.

 

I agree it had to have been Mark Jackson what a ****. How do allow a record setting 3pt game against us only to start to foul on purpose at the end cause his but got lit up all game. Mark Jackson is the biggest crybaby next to Doc Rivers all they do is cry about fouls no coaching ever comes from them its just silly defense rants.

 

Nice story by Woj. Unusual, putting his spin on things. I like it. It gave it depth and character.

From reading this. I have a feeling Dwight is going to be the face of the franchise more than Harden, but I think Harden is cool with that too. I wonder what the locker room dynamic is going to be like between those two. I know Dwight will want to be assertive being the most experienced and likely best player. Harden was an assertive leader last year, maybe too much at times and we were lucky to have Cisco and Delfino stand up to him at times. Ultimately, I think the chase for the chip will focus everyone and bring the team together. I don't think Dwight will cause any trouble on or off the court. I think he will change and this FA process was the start of that change.

A New Age!

 

Sounds like a pet

 

http://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/smush-parker-kobe-bad-teammate-stopped-passing/158031

“The two years in LA were a blessing to me,” he said. “People who ask me how it was playing for the Los Angeles Lakers. People ask me how it was playing with Kobe Bryant. I said in 2008 that it was an overrated experience.”

Though Parker termed playing with Kobe “overrated,” he respects the five-time champion’s game. He just doesn’t like his personality.

“You can’t knock the man’s legacy, you can’t knock what he’s done in basketball. His work ethic is tremendous. There’s not an ounce of hate in my blood whatsoever. The guy can play basketball — you’ve seen that throughout his career.

“What I don’t like about him is the man that he is. His personality. How he treats people. I don’t like that side of Kobe Bryant.

“Basketball is a team sport. It is team-oriented. It is not an individual sport. It’s not tennis or golf, it is a team sport. When you are the star of the team, you have to make your teammates feel comfortable. You have to make them feel welcome. And he did not do that at all.”

Though Kobe said Parker didn’t deserve to be in the NBA, Parker says he earned a spot on the Lakers. That didn’t matter to Kobe, who he says completely disrespected him.

“I had a workout with the Lakers, beat all the guards out for the starting position, earned a spot on the team. Midway through the first season, I tried to at least have a conversation with Kobe Bryant — he is my teammate, he is a co-worker of mine, I see his face every day I go in to work — and I tried to talk with him about football. He tells me I can’t talk to him. He tells me I need more accolades under my belt before I come talk to him. He was dead serious.”

 

No offense but why do people act like we have no standards? We'll love him unless he screws us over. It's not unconditional lol.

 

http://larrybrownsports.com/basketball/kobe-bryant-lakers-smush-parker/157988

Kobe Bryant ripped into his ex-Lakers teammates from the franchise’s dark years, and one of those players, Smush Parker, has fired back in response.

Kobe Bean was talking about the MVP voting for the ’05-’06 season in which he averaged a career high 35.4 points per game but finished fourth. His current teammate Steve Nash won MVP that season with Phoenix, and Nash’s Suns beat the Lakers in seven games in the first round of the playoffs.

“I tell Steve, you won MVP but I was playing with Smush Parker,” Bryant said on Wednesday. “He’s playing with [Leandro] Barbosa. I’m playing with Smush and Kwame [Brown]. My goodness.

“Smush Parker was the worst,” Bryant said. “He shouldn’t have been in the NBA, but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard. We let him walk on.”

Bryant was then asked about the criticism he faced for ballhogging during those seasons.

“Smush Parker, with Tierre Brown as the backup,” said Bryant, laughing. “I’m taking 45 shots a game. What was I supposed to do, pass the ball in to Chris Mihm? Chris Mihm?”

 

The quote made it seem like Morey was fine with other teams badmouthing the city of Houston or the team as a whole, but once they started specifically targeting Harden, he took offense and thought it was necessary to counter that nonsense and diffuse the situation.

 

Yeah I mean business is business, but if you go after people for things like Oh harden goes to strip clubs when he should be resting and practicing, it's just wrong...

 

Cuban, Mark Jackson and GSW brass and probably some Laker execs

Those were the main competition

 

Very intriguing to read this:

and recall this:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p>Impressive, but can you speak Mutombo? <a href="http://t.co/g75xuPX958">http://t.co/g75xuPX958</a> MT <a href="https://twitter.com/DwightHoward">@DwightHoward</a> Y'all gotta see me speak CHINESE! <a href="http://t.co/b4EMROvHfA">http://t.co/b4EMROvHfA</a></p>&mdash; Daryl Morey (@dmorey) <a href="https://twitter.com/dmorey/statuses/352114951852277760">July 2, 2013</a></blockquote>
<script async src="//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

 

Mark Jackson and Cuban.

They are both douchebags and doing something like this would fit their personalities.

 

It's blame Tracy again huh?

Some guys just can't forget and forgive

 

I don't even it's unconditional love ... it's simple respect. Kobe has gotten too big of an ego that he only knows one way to deal with his teammates--intimidate them.

Didn't he call out Pau Gasol and Bynum too, when the two just wanted more touches on the ball? And of course, he famously couldn't get along with Shaq also.

It was not the LAL stage that Howard couldn't handle; it was Kobe's ego. And MDA probably didn't do anything about it, that's why Howard wanted another coach.

 

Howard has a goofy, laidback personality. He'll fit in well with our young team. They'll probably laugh at/with him when he clowns around. McHale will probably take the lead in teasing him.

Harden may be the right fit with Howard. Harden has enough bad-assness to be cool (which I think Howard craves for) while at the same time, is a basic decent human being (as shown in his unselfish play). Harden will introduce him to his rapper circle of friends.

But they all also want to win and are willing to work hard. FO and coaches will find a way to mold an efficient offense-defense with Howard in the middle.

 

How many people has Kobe clashed with?

How many people has Dwight clashed with?