Dwight Howard had a revealing interview with Stephen A. Smith. In it, Dwight said his health is at 75%, he’s still having shooting pains, he doesn’t have a close relationship with Jim Buss and that he’s not a cry baby. Check out a few of the excerpts.
Dwight on his current health:
“With my back, you know, it’s not all the way there. 75 percent. And my shoulder is day-to-day”
“Even sitting down in this chair right now is causing my legs to go numb. Just having this tingly sensation go all the way down my legs. That happens when I’m playing, that happens when I’m just sitting on the bench for a couple minutes, and it’s not easy.”
Dwight on playing with Kobe Bryant:
“There were a lot of times early in the season where I would get upset because I felt like he shot the ball a lot and I wanted some touches down low. Do I want touches? Yeah. But, whatever I have to do to help this team win. I have to keep my mind in that area.”
Dwight on his future with the Lakers:
“Right now, my only focus is to get us into the playoffs and win a championship. Nothing else matters at this point”
“I’m committed to this team, and us winning a championship.””I understand what the Lakers what, and I also understand that right now there’s no need for all the circus, and all the stuff that happened last year to start back up. I don’t want it, our team doesn’t need it. I don’t need it, and frankly our fans don’t need it.”
Dwight also pointed out that it took the Lakers 3 years to win a title when Shaq and Kobe joined the Lakers in ’96. What is most concerning for me in this interview are the health concerns. Back injuries are serious and have derailed the careers of several prominent NBA players, most recently, Tracy McGrady. The Lakers are in a precarious position, do they trade Dwight to try to get something in case he decides to leave them with nothing in free agency or do they ride it out? Championship aspirations for THIS season look bleek. Dwight doesn’t seem to be all in with head coach Mike D’Antoni, this is a career make or break for Jim Buss.
