Newly signed Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard became an unexpected target of Lakers legends Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant on Wednesday after comments from Bryant about O’Neal surfaced. O’Neal’s lack of respect for Howard was such that he refused to even spell his name correctly. But as the eight-time All-Star and future Hall of Famer prepares to join the Lakers for a second time while fighting for his NBA livelihood, he says he has no time or energy to worry about what O’Neal says.
Howard was asked about Shaq’s comments during a stream on Instagram Live and Howard referred to whatever Shaq or anyone says as “irrelevant.”
Howard reportedly made a good impression on the Lakers front office, coaches and players, leading to them extending him a contract that leaves the Lakers with basically no liability if things don’t workout. Although there’s less than two months to go until the season starts, Howard’s mindset should be an encouraging sign for the Lakers, LeBron James and Anthony Davis.
O’Neal has seemingly gone out of his way to criticize Howard for the better part of the decade, which didn’t stop on Wednesday. But should Howard commit himself to doing the dirty work to help alleviate that burden from Davis and James, what O’Neal, Bryant or anybody else has to say will truly be irrelevant. If he can do that and stay healthy, a return to the playoffs, where they haven’t been since Howard was last in a Lakers uniform, is highly probable.
