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Kobe Bryant wrote:Things better with Shaq

"It was good to see him," Bryant said after O'Neal sat in courtside seats for the Lakers' 91-85 win over the Phoenix Suns on Tuesday. "I had a chance to kind of catch up with him a little bit after the [Miami] Heat game here at Staples [on Jan. 17], and tonight we got a couple good laughs, a couple good inside jokes."

Bryant met with O'Neal before the game under the basket on the end of the court near the Lakers' bench by the 40-year-old former center's baseline seats.

"Shaq and I have a really, really good relationship now," Bryant said of the 15-time All-Star with whom he teamed to capture three straight NBA championships from 2000 to '02.

"It's good. I think it's a good lesson for all of us."

"I think we appreciate each other more now than ever," Bryant said. "I think the further you get away from the history that you had together, the more you put perspective on it on how dominant we were.

"It's fun for us to kind of get together again and kind of reminisce on some of the old stories. It's fun. It's good to see him."

"The challenge for me was to show [O'Neal] and show everybody else that I could win without him," Bryant said. "And point proven. So, I'm fine either way. I took it as an honor and as a challenge to be a player that could play a supporting role and then move from that and take the leading role and win that way as well. I took a lot of pride of that, but I also took a lot of pride in kind of being a floor general and letting [O'Neal] do his thing."

O'Neal will be back in the Staples Center on April 2 when the Lakers will retire his No. 34 jersey at halftime of their game against the Dallas Mavericks.

"I didn't really pay attention to him," Howard said of O'Neal.

b shaw20 wrote:If only he could take this "life lesson" and ensure it does not happen again with Howard.

Howard could easily be his 2 punch and "paint protector" that can allows us to compete for a championship. All he has to do is cater to D12's ego - talk hi up, keep him consistently involved and make a sincere attempt at creating a meaningful friendship.

I agree that not all teams have to get along in order to succeed, but D12 thrives in positive reinforcement and NEEDS to be liked. Give the dude what he needs and turn this ship around NOW.

Kilroy wrote:If Dwight has to be coddled in order to be productive, the Lakers are even more screwed than if he walks. There's no end to the concessions someone like that can demand...

Kobe's already done more than many thought he would for Dwight. He's said he's ready to hand the team over to him. He's talked to him. He's confronted him. He's gone into full-pass-the-ball mode... He's even joked around with him more than I thought possible.
The only thing he hasn't done is retire.

b shaw20 wrote:kobe and dwight just need to realize they need each other to get what they both want. Period.