Plain and simple, Kobe Bryant isn't the person to blame for Howard's departure.
According to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo! Sports, Bryant and Howard clashed during the 2012-13 NBA regular season. While their lack of chemistry is well-documented, the latest report takes it to another level.
In typical Kobe fashion, he reportedly tore into Howard upon learning that D-12 was speaking behind his back:
Every time you trash me to teammates, it gets back to me, witnesses said Bryant told Howard in the visiting locker room of the FedEx Forum. Every time you do one of your impersonations when I walk out of the room, I find out. Everything tumbled out of Bryant, one grievance after another, and the Lakers coaches and players sat watching the two biggest personas in the room push closer together, or irreconcilably apart.
"Kobe talked to Dwight in a way that I don't think anyone one had ever talked to him – not in Orlando, not here, not in his life, I'm betting," one witness in the room told Yahoo! Sports. "He's been coddled, and Kobe wasn't going to coddle him."
Are we immature enough to label Bryant a villain for defending his name?
Bryant and Howard may have come to verbal blows, and in the end, the idea of playing with Kobe for another season may have been a turnoff. When it comes down to it, however, Bryant's approach to the game wasn't the issue.
It was the Lakers' stubborn nature and unwillingness to target their needs.
Disastrous 2012-13 Season
D-12 entered his tenure with the Lakers with mountains of expectation and unpredictability. From his...
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Los Angeles Lakers
