Jeff Van Gundy: Dwight Howard, passive-aggressive, immature

[milesfides]

"When you lose games and you're going around after the game with a stat sheet in your hand and you're saying, 'Look at the stat sheet' to reporters and to your teammates -- you know what it is? It's passive-aggressive, immature stuff," said Van Gundy. "It's sad. This guy has so much to offer that is good for the game, to the game and to the Lakers. They're paying him huge money and they gave up a lot to get him."

"Unfortunately right now his attitude towards the game is impacting his production on the court and the Lakers are not getting his very best," said Van Gundy. "At his very best he'd still be a dominant defender, rebounder and 18 point-per-game scorer. He doesn't like his role. You can see from his comments, from his play, he has very high role-frustration right now."

"He has rudimentary offensive skills," said Van Gundy. "He's not a good ball handler. He doesn't have a really well-defensive low-post game - a poor free-throw shooter. But he can have a huge impact on the game defensively - rebounding, screening, rolling, the occasional post move because he's so athletic - but he doesn't want to do it that way."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakersnow ... 9880.story

[moonpie]

Max Kellerman said it best on ESPN710 today regarding Dwight: Instead of trying to be a Shaq or a Hakeem, strive to be a Bill Russell.

[nashill]

for LA fans, do you still want howard to be your franchise player in the next 5 years?
if howard wants to be the 1st option, do you really think he can lead the team for a championship?

[Kobe System]

Max Kellerman said it best on ESPN710 today regarding Dwight: Instead of trying to be a Shaq or a Hakeem, strive to be a Bill Russell.

Very well said.

[Doormatt]

or course we want howard to be our franchise player. i dont put much blame on him. he could be better, and hes REALLY not reacting to this pressure well at all, but this teams problems go well beyond howard. his effort as of late and overall demeanor has been rather pathetic though.

that said i think i speak for a lot of people when i say it doesnt matter much if he leaves or stays, although i personally would like to see him remain a laker. i still think its highly likely he resigns, dont see how he could walk away. the positives dont outweigh the negatives for him walking.

[Jakay]

Smiles too much, passive aggressive, lost on D, useless in the post, injured, leaving, overpaid.

Them's some bright lights Dwight, tonight the fight took flight, amirite?

We haven't really seen him do his thing yet either though, which we may not here.

[semi-sentient]

for LA fans, do you still want howard to be your franchise player in the next 5 years?

No.

if howard wants to be the 1st option, do you really think he can lead the team for a championship?

No.

[myersia]

This article sums up all our opinions.

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

These quotes made me even more angry at Dwight. Not the fact that he posed for photo's but that he just doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself.

All of the Los Angeles Lakers -- the players, the coaches, the trainers, everybody -- sat on the bus and waited late Wednesday night. They'd all just suffered a demoralizing 106-93 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the team's fourth defeat in a row, seventh straight on the road and 10th in its past 12 games overall, and Dwight Howard was out on the court with a pack of about a dozen teenage boys and girls posing for photographs.

Howard eventually made his way to the bus, and the Lakers drove out into the night. Another season started, another loss added, and much more waiting to go before they can attempt to climb out of their 17-25 hole and have anything truly worth smiling about.

[TruSkool]

if dwight stays, he's easily the cornerstone of this franchise; and rightfully should be, given he's the best big man in the game.

the lakers future depends on the retirement of kobe. its about as simple as that.

[RamonSessions7]

This article sums up all our opinions.

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

These quotes made me even more angry at Dwight. Not the fact that he posed for photo's but that he just doesn't seem to care about anyone but himself.

All of the Los Angeles Lakers -- the players, the coaches, the trainers, everybody -- sat on the bus and waited late Wednesday night. They'd all just suffered a demoralizing 106-93 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the team's fourth defeat in a row, seventh straight on the road and 10th in its past 12 games overall, and Dwight Howard was out on the court with a pack of about a dozen teenage boys and girls posing for photographs.

Howard eventually made his way to the bus, and the Lakers drove out into the night. Another season started, another loss added, and much more waiting to go before they can attempt to climb out of their 17-25 hole and have anything truly worth smiling about.

Sounds like he was taking photos for kids, do not see anything at all here

[Cashin out]

That's right keep blaming D12, watch him walk away as a FA. Next year he will be healthy and we will look like fools for not trading him.

[Run-MKE 311]

This whole mess is much larger than Dwight's attitude, but I have never been a fan of his whole schtick.

Obviously D12 has had very few people in his life, or in his inner circle now, who want to hold him accountable and see that he carries himself in a professional manner.

Dwight cries a lot, he always has. My single biggest hope throughout this entire process, was that Kobe's no nonsense attitude would rub off on D12 and you would see a focused beast.

Having the coach that he does and this disaster of a "system" has only made the problem worse.

Clearly much depends on what the FO does with the staff, but right now, I do not think there is a chance in hell Howard would want to remain here.

[Kevaroo]

Smiles too much, passive aggressive, lost on D, useless in the post, injured, leaving, overpaid.

Them's some bright lights Dwight, tonight the fight took flight, amirite?

We haven't really seen him do his thing yet either though, which we may not here.

No you are seeing him do his thing. This is him, whine and complain and be a selfish prick, you are seeing all of Dwight Coward.

Also you guys are giving him way to much credit on his injuries. Dude just isn't trying.

[Kevaroo]

This whole mess is much larger than Dwight's attitude, but I have never been a fan of his whole schtick.

Obviously D12 has had very few people in his life, or in his inner circle now, who want to hold him accountable and see that he carries himself in a professional manner.

Dwight cries a lot, he always has. My single biggest hope throughout this entire process, was that Kobe's no nonsense attitude would rub off on D12 and you would see a focused beast.

Having the coach that he does and this disaster of a "system" has only made the problem worse.

Clearly much depends on what the FO does with the staff, but right now, I do not think there is a chance in hell Howard would want to remain here.

Quit blaming the system and coach, the Lakers are the 3rd best rebounding team and 6th best in ppg. It's not the systems defense that is that bad, it's the fact that non of the players are applying the system to the games. Their is no communication in that team. They are all doing their own thing. The only one that try's is Nash but he just can't keep up with the likes of a "Kirk Heinrich"

[Ghost Snack]

This is exactly what I was talking about in the beginning of the season. Although I didn't think the lakers were a lock for the finals, giving OKC the credit and having to go through them first. I didn't know the lakers were going to be THIS bad. I remember posting about the media having a bit to deal with pushing D12 out of LA. With their stories similar to the bus one, that's really making something out of nothing. I'm not so sure dwight will stay if the Lakers don't make the playoffs. The only reason I can see it happening if the lakers convince him about their 2014 plan. I mean its the Lakers where FA will be drawn to LA. Other the. That, Atlanta is looking like the favorite for his services. I can care less if he leaves or stays, like many I am not very attached to him as a laker. You can clearly see he is not happy here with his body language. I hope Kobe retires in 2014, but at the same time I'm not so sure he does.

[milesfides]

Some of you guys missed the last part of Jeff Van Gundy's comments. Dwight is just not that good.

Best big man in the game? A dubious title right now. The league's dominant talent, game-deciding players are all on the perimeter.

The only center in almost two decades who changed the game simply on talent was Shaquille O'Neal. He was an unstoppable force, and that's not Dwight. And when Shaq was on the court, he was all business.

Character is a big part of winning it all. Winning championships is extremely difficult. It takes an obsessive, deadly serious drive to win rings. Guys like Kobe, Kevin Garnett, of course Jordan, and even Jerry West and Greg Popovich are pathological when it comes to winning and losing.

Some players need adversity to elevate their game to win it all. Nowitzki was haunted by the loss in the Finals, and the year he won, he was unconscious. He was a madman. Lebron became a lot more serious, downright nasty as he led the heat who bulldozed their way to a championship.

If Kobe does retire or move on, who's going to drive this team to win rings?

Jim Buss? Mike D'Antoni? Dwight Howard?

Do any of them have the heart of a champion?

[Tdot24]

Not many people realize this, but, Dwight is not a franchise player. There is no way he can lead a team, he doesn't have the same passion and drive to be a team leader. A lot of people throw the term "franchise player" around, but the fact of the matter is there are very few "true" franchise players in the league. A franchise player is not only the best player on the team, but the leader and the voice of the team.

If you look at guys like Tim Duncan, Dirk, LeBron, Kobe, CP and Durant. They all have a certain demeanor about them. They all attract attention and people look to them for motivation. They are taken seriously. Dwight doesn't exude those same traits. He never has and I'm not sure if he'll ever get to that point. He is way too caught up with the lifestyle and feels like he needs to fulfill his role outside of basketball. He really is trying to emulate Shaq, except he doesn't understand the kind of focus it took to leave the other part of Shaq outside the basketball court.

He clowns on and off the court. He just doesn't know when to turn it off. If it were up to me, I'd say trade him before the deadline and get someone better to step up after Kobe retires. I just can't see Dwight as that corner stone player. He's not Shaq and he'll never be anywhere near that.