Lakers News: Why Kobe Bryant Knew Dwight Howard Union Wouldn't Work In LA
Hall of Fame Los Angeles Lakers shooting guard Kobe Bryant knew almost instantly that his shotgun marriage to center Dwight Howard, who was flipped to LA from the Orlando Magic in the summer of 2012, was not going to work, based purely on a brief post-trade phone exchange.
Longtime Lakers adversary Jalen Rose, now an ESPN personality, revealed that he was with Bryant when news of the deal broke.
"The day he heard Dwight Howard was going to get traded to them [Howard called Bryant]," Rose said. "So Kobe takes the call and I might've heard some of the conversation, and I might've heard Dwight asking him about LA and some of the off-the-court things, whatever. And Kobe got off the phone and said, 'This s--- ain't going to work.'"
"That's exactly what he said," Rose continued. "This is before he even laced up with [Howard] one time. He said, 'His head ain't right.' He said, 'M---, I'm here to help you get championships. You're asking me about producers?'"
The 2012-13 Lakers comprised four future Hall of Famers in Bryant, Howard, power forward Pau Gasol and point guard Steve Nash. But only two of those stars, Howard and Gasol, were still in their primes. Nash was plagued by back injuries and suited up for just a handful of games. Bryant tore his Achilles tendon in April, just prior to the playoffs, and was never the same.
LA finished as the Western Conference's seventh seed with a 45-37 record under head coach Mike D'Antoni. Without Bryant for the playoffs, the Lakers got swept by the second-seeded San Antonio Spurs, en route to their fifth NBA Finals appearance in the Tim Duncan era (they would fall in seven games to LeBron James' then-team, the Miami Heat).
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