Lakers center, Dwight Howard recently sat down with Stephen A. Smith to discuss everything from leaving Orlando and people calling him a franchise killer and stepping in the shoes of Lakers legends such as Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal. Dwight went on say building a championship team takes time which he went on say Shaq didn’t initially win when he first came from Orlando saying it took their team 3 years to win a first championship.
The issue with Kobe Bryant taking twice as many shots as him in the season so far which he initially got upset at Kobe not giving him enough touches, but has had a change of heart in wanting to do anything to help this team win putting all ego’s aside. Coming fresh off a back surgery, Dwight says he’s nearly 75% recovered but has been dealing with a recent shoulder issue which has affected his production this season.
Dwight says the hardest thing he’s had to deal with a people thinking he wanted to pull the Orlando Magic down which he had no intentions of tearing the franchise down. The two then jumped into him playing under Mike D’Antoni’s system which he’s never had a superstar center which Dwight says he can only control how he can play.
Stephen A. brought up his expectations for the Lakers which Dwight said his expectations haven’t changed since coming to Los Angeles as he expects to make the playoffs and win a championship. Howard’s an unrestricted free agent after the 2013 season as he’s non-committal to signing a contract until after the season. The clip concludes with him wanting to set the record straight saying he’s not indecisive and didn’t “cry” his way out of Orlando last year.
OS REWIND: Kobe Bryant Discusses The State Of The Lakers
OS REWIND: NBA All-Star Starters & Reserves Announced