But, Kobe Bryant addressed the media hype surrounding Dwight Howard at the Lakers facility this morning, by saying that any conflict has simply been manufactured.
“It’s conflict that is actually manufactured. I didn’t say anything wrong…I wasn’t hammering him over the head or taking a run at him.”
Much of this supposed conflict stems from comments Kobe made about the urgency of the current Lakers situation and for Dwight Howard’s return, which many took as Kobe telling Dwight to play through injury. After Dwight caught wind of these comments (via the media), Howard responded with, “He’s not a doctor.” A statement that many took as proof of the drama in Laker Land between the two superstars. But, according to Kobe this isn’t true at all.
“I’ll own up to my [expletive] if I took a run at somebody”
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After Kobe once again shot down any conflict in the locker room, he then thought for a second before comparing him and Dwight’s situation to the media attention surround the Kobe-Shaq era.
“At least the Shaq stuff was actually warranted.”
After laughing that statement off, Kobe also informed reporters that although he wasn’t one to address media stories with his teammates, he did reach out to Howard to clarify that he was not calling him out, and that his quotes were taken out of context. LakersNation.com’s Serena Winters then asked if they were able to laugh off the stories in the locker room.
“I think they’re entertaining. I have a sick sense of humor I guess.”
Since Dwight seems to be having a much more difficult time mentally dealing with some of the media hype, we can only hope some of Kobe’s “sick sense of humor” starts rubbing off on Howard.
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Reporter: Serena Winters, Follow on Twitter @SerenaWinters