Minutes after Dwight Howard officially announced he was moving on to join the Houston Rockets, ex-Los Angeles Lakers teammate Kobe Bryant reacted by unfollowing him on Twitter.
Fellow Lakers star Pau Gasol soon followed suit, but according to TMZ, he changed his mind about 20-minutes later and re-added the 27-year-old All-Star center.
After days of talks and meetings with the Rockets, Lakers, Mavericks, Warriors and Hawks, Howard proclaimed on Friday he will be joining James Harden and Chandler Parsons, both of whom were part of the official Rockets team that recruited him, in Space City.
ESPN reported Howard was also intrigued about the prospect of being able to work out with Coach Kevin McHale and Rockets legend Hakeem Olajuwon, both Hall of Fame post men, every day. Adding to the appeal for him seems to be reports the Rockets now plan to pursue childhood friend and fellow free-agent Josh Smith.
Meanwhile, for the Lakers this summer truly shapes up as a time of transition. With a finally healthy Howard now gone and little space under the salary-cap, the team’s options for improving a squad that struggled in becoming the Western Conference seventh-seed last season seem few and far between.
Reserve forward Earl Clark also announced last week he was moving on, signing a free agent deal with Cleveland. Any wonder Bryant is in no mood to talk--- even electronically?
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