StrengthAndHonor
07-06-2013, 09:13 AM
Dwight Howard*reportedly wanted the Lakers to hire Phil Jackson*after they fired Mike Brown early last season.Jim Buss obviously didn’t acquiesce Howard’s request, the Lakers got swept in the first round and Howard left in free agency for the Rockets. Could this all have gone differently if Los Angeles had hired Jackson rather than Mike D’Antoni?Howard in a Q&A with Alex Kennedy of Hoops World
If Phil Jackson had been more involved with the Lakers or coaching the team, would that have affected your decision?DH: “Well, I asked to have him as my coach earlier in the year. (pause) The best decision for me was to do what’s best for Dwight. I think this is the best thing for me. This wasn’t a decision about anybody else. I didn’t have anybody pushing me to do anything.
This is what Dwight wanted.”Putting aside Dwight referring to himself in the third person – that was an unfortunate blunder in*an otherwise respectable interview you should read in full*– it’s nice to see Howard discuss his coaching preferences on the record and with sincerity. The Stan Van Gundy mess in Orlando got ugly, and Howard deserved criticism for how he handled it.
If Phil Jackson had been more involved with the Lakers or coaching the team, would that have affected your decision?DH: “Well, I asked to have him as my coach earlier in the year. (pause) The best decision for me was to do what’s best for Dwight. I think this is the best thing for me. This wasn’t a decision about anybody else. I didn’t have anybody pushing me to do anything.
This is what Dwight wanted.”Putting aside Dwight referring to himself in the third person – that was an unfortunate blunder in*an otherwise respectable interview you should read in full*– it’s nice to see Howard discuss his coaching preferences on the record and with sincerity. The Stan Van Gundy mess in Orlando got ugly, and Howard deserved criticism for how he handled it.