If Shaquille O'Neal is the retired Los Angeles Lakers bull in a china shop regarding his comments on ex-Laker Dwight Howard, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar is the retired Lakers' graceful sage.
Abdul-Jabbar took to his Facebook page Monday to give his two cents on Howard's impending exit from Los Angeles, which he made public on Friday.
Abdul-Jabbar said:
"Dwight Howard is a perfect example of the fact that "potential has a shelf life." Laker fans should be patient and allow Mitch & company to prepare themselves to do some serious work in the free agent market."
Abdul-Jabbar likely was referring to the summer of 2014 when LeBron James leads a star-studded cast into free agency, and believing Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak can lure players to L.A..
O'Neal was more critical in assessing the Howard situation on Saturday, saying, "It was expected. We've all been in L.A. and not a 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 (Dwight) to go to a little town like Houston."
Abdul-Jabbar also has been critical of Howard in the past. In March, he told the San Francisco Chronicle about his first encounter with Howard after he left Orlando sign with the Lakers.
"I had a real good meeting with (Howard) when he first came to L.A.," Abdul-Jabbar said. "He was like, 'Yeah' (indicating a willingness to be coached). That was the last time I spoke with him. ... He's charming, he's charismatic, very nice young man. Maturity-wise, he doesn't get it.
"Offensively, he doesn't get it. Hasn't made any progress. We (the Lakers, when Abdul-Jabbar was a special assistant coach) played them in '09, and when I saw him this past season, he was the same player."
The Lakers didn't clinch a playoff berth until the final week of the season during 2012-13 with Howard - although injuries to Howard, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and Steve Blake kept the team from developing any chemistry - and their playoff chances were doomed without Kobe Bryant, who ruptured an Achilles ' heel during the last week of the regular season.
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