Black Mamba interview

GAME TIME · Post #1 » by **GAME TIME** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 4:14 am

"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."

"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."

"(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."

Edit: Added link, cut story down to ~3 paragraph rule. -Ty

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/stor ... rustration

ennui · Post #2 » by **ennui** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 4:23 am

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.

Yet he is non-committal regarding whether he is signing to the Lakers in the offseason or not. Can't have your cake and eat it too, Dwight.

Post #3 » by **TyCobb** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 4:26 am

GAME TIME · Post #4 » by **GAME TIME** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 4:35 am

Kobe usually has been more discreet keeping things in house, especially after the Shaq media circus early in his career. Is this something he can tell Howard in person, which I'm sure he has, but probably a conscious choice of Kobe's to push Dwight's buttons, and yes we do need him, but I'm won't be the one to call him out about his toughness

Post #5 » by **TyCobb** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 4:37 am

Kobe has a good pulse on the city. If anybody is qualified enough to call out his teammates about toughness, it's him. However, I don't think this leadership approach will work with Dwight.

Post #6 » by **Kilroy** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 4:59 am

TyCobb wrote:Kobe has a good pulse on the city. If anybody is qualified enough to call out his teammates about toughness, it's him. However, I don't think this leadership approach will work with Dwight.

Don't think so either. Dwight seems like he's more likely to go Cartman and say 'Screw you guys, I'm going home.'

Still don't think he leaves money on the table to leave LA, but I could see him taking an extended vacation to heal.

Kobe System · Post #7 » by **Kobe System** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 5:03 am

Dwight wanna take his time. He wanna win when he's the man. And right now, he knows that this is still Kobe's team.

Post #8 » by **Slava** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 5:05 am

I thought we dealt away one 7ft guinea pig and we inherited another one. FML!

H00PDREAMS · Post #9 » by **H00PDREAMS** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 5:27 am

Yeah DWight is chillin' thats all there is to it.

Post #10 » by **TyCobb** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 5:35 am

Kilroy wrote:Don't think so either. Dwight seems like he's more likely to go Cartman and say 'Screw you guys, I'm going home.'

Still don't think he leaves money on the table to leave LA, but I could see him taking an extended vacation to heal.

I think Kobe feels that way too, which might be why he's so vocal about this situation because he knows Dwight doesn't have many options. I also think he's trying to 'teach' him the Laker way of thinking, but all it is doing, in my opinion, is putting the Front Office in a tough position. I don't think they want to choose sides--on one hand you have a Hall of Famer who has brought the organization many championships and on the other you have a potential future face of the franchise who isn't committed long-term yet.

I tend to think the Front Office/Management would secretly side with Kobe, as they too want D12 on the court now. However, as Dwight likes to point out frequently, he's the one in the driver's seat.

dub81 · Post #11 » by **dub81** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 5:37 am

Kobe should of kept this private. He hated when Shaq criticized him in public and I think he should do the same in Miami...

I know Kobe's a differenct type of cat but Dwight could bounce next year if he want's to. He should keep that in mind.

Minge · Post #12 » by **Minge** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 6:06 am

Comment removed.

moonpie · Post #13 » by **moonpie** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 6:18 am

"I got hurt on company time, so I'll rehab on company time."

TheHartBreakKid · Post #14 » by **TheHartBreakKid** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 6:22 am

question for you guys: I repeatedly see "Dwight isn't leaving money on the table", but if he says he's signing with Houston, and we could (and correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure we still could with a team under the cap) sign and trade him, as Lebron and Bosh were, what makes this situation any different than theirs? Do you guys think our organization has the balls to not take the cap exemption and 2 picks or whatever it is to prove a point? I hope they do, but Toronto and Cleveland didn't. Basically my point is, do we have that much leverage? I'm not trying to call anyone out, I'm just not as optimistic about our leverage as others here.

Post #15 » by **Kilroy** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 6:25 am

I thought next year the new Sign and Trade rules go into effect. I'm pretty sure teams over the cap can't sign and trade.

albasuna · Post #16 » by **albasuna** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 7:57 am

Kobe essentially begging Dwight to come back. If I was Howard I'd be reading this article and thinking "Kobe can't win without me, HE NEEDS ME".

GAME TIME · Post #17 » by **GAME TIME** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 5:31 pm

Rambis did say a torn labrum and if you play though it, their is a chance of reinjuring it and making it worst than before and could make Howard be out for a longer time

I can see it both ways for Dwight and Kobe in their stance.

Kobe is trying to make Dwight play through it but understand how to change your game around it.

Howard is a big man and will go through more physical contact than a guard, but Kobe's been around long enough in the league about playing through injury, since he is the best in that realm.

contract · Post #18 » by **contract** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 5:44 pm

dub81 wrote:I know Kobe's a differenct type of cat but Dwight could bounce next year if he want's to. He should keep that in mind.

If Dwight's going to be soft, Kobe may rather not have him around. He's too old to be coddling spoiled brats.

contract · Post #19 » by **contract** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 5:49 pm

GAME TIME wrote:Rambis did say a torn labrum and if you play though it, their is a chance of reinjuring it and making it worst than before and could make Howard be out for a longer time

Longer than what? If he doesn't get back, he's got nothing to look forward to but the off-season. If it gets worse, then he can have surgery to fix it, and he's got all off-season to heal. It's not as if this injury could cost D12 a max contract or anything.

GAME TIME · Post #20 » by **GAME TIME** » Thu Feb 7, 2013 5:52 pm

contract wrote:
GAME TIME wrote:Rambis did say a torn labrum and if you play though it, their is a chance of reinjuring it and making it worst than before and could make Howard be out for a longer time

Longer than what? If he doesn't get back, he's got nothing to look forward to but the off-season. If it gets worse, then he can have surgery to fix it, and he's got all off-season to heal. It's not as if this injury could cost D12 a max contract or anything.

lol easier for you to say, when you don't have it or have your future riding on this up and coming free agency :lol: