It’s no secret that Dwight Howard and Kobe Bryant did not get along last season. Howard’s fun-loving personality and Bryant’s super-serious approach clashed during Howard’s lone season with the Los Angeles Lakers, and their teammates saw it coming a mile away. Lakers point guard Steve Nash knew right away that it wasn’t going to work out.
From a Friday BS Report interview with Grantland’s Bill Simmons:
Mark J. Rebilas, USA TODAY Sports
The Lakers’ trades for Nash and Howard in 2012 appeared to signal the arrival of a new superteam to challenge the Miami Heat and Oklahoma City Thunder, but drama with Howard and injuries to several key players derailed the season.
Howard left the Lakers to sign with the Houston Rockets in July, and Nash has battled leg and back injuries all season. Bryant is also out for the year, and the Lakers appear destined for their first trip to the draft lottery since 2005. Nash has one more year left on his contract and insists that he won’t retire.
It’s clear at this point that the Dwight Howard era in Los Angeles was not meant to be, and Nash admits that.