Dwight Howard's free agency period is over and the center has left $30 million on the table that the Los Angeles Lakers were offering for the Houston Rockets.
His decision, coming on the heels of Bryant allegedly imploring Howard in a meeting to stay with L.A. and "learn how to do it [win championships]" from him, because he knew how and learned from the best.
Kobe unfollowed Howard on Twitter, and later posted a photo of himself with Pau Gasol accompanied by the hashtags "#vamos #juntos #lakercorazon #vino."
Lakers' reserve guard Jodie Meeks stepped his Instagram game up for the occasion of Howard ditching Hollywood as well, posting a photo of Howard photoshopped into women's clothes and pigtails.
The harshest criticism came from a familiar source regarding comments about Howard; Shaquille O'Neal. Shaq, a TNT commentator and frequent thorn in Howard's side said at Daytona Speedway, "We've all been in L.A., and not a whole lot of people can handle being under the bright lights. Everybody wants to do it, but when you get there, there are certain pressures. I think it was a safe move for him to go to a little town like Houston. That's right, little town. I said it."
For video of Shaq dissing Dwight click here
Howard didn't take any parting shots on his way out, telling ESPN.com that he liked living and playing in Los Angeles for the most part, but that the timing wasn't right for him to be there.
"Maybe two years ago, or 2-3 years from now, it would have been the right time. But I just think right now the timing was off for me. That's not saying that L.A. is a bad place, but I just think it's all about timing and fit when you're talking about basketball."
Last season Howard battled injuries and finished the season averaging 17.1 points, 12.4 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game. He joins shooting guard James Harden, who leapt into stardom last year by averaging 25.9 points a night.
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