Dwight Howard didn’t ingratiate himself to the public with his quest to leave Orlando and find a new team. James Worthy was no different than most others.
“I wasn’t a fan of Dwight Howard,” Worthy said during a conference call Thursday to promote his new role as a studio analyst for Lakers games for Time Warner, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Howard went back and forth multiple times with the Magic, saying he wanted to stay and then demanding a trade. He fought with coach Stan Van Gundy. He said he only wanted to play for the Brooklyn Nets. Howard became a daily soap opera.
Worthy didn’t appreciate any of it.
“There was too much conversation,” Worthy said. “”Who said this, I don’t like this coach.’ To me, that’s nonsense. Your job is to come in and play and deal with the situation that’s there.”
The acquisitions of Howard and Steve Nash from the Suns make the Lakers “look really good on paper,” Worthy said – with a caveat.
“So does a counterfeit $100 bill until you try to spend it,” the Hall of Famer and three-time NBA champion said. “They have work to do.”
Worthy said his “favorite move of the summer” was bringing in Nash. He didn’t have many nice things to say about Howard, though. Worthy said the Lakers “already have one Superman in this town,” referring to Kobe Bryant and that the team has a history of great big men, like George Mikan, Wilt Chamberlain, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Shaquille O’Neal.
“It’s not like he’s bringing this one-time thing to the Lakers,” Worthy said.
With all of that being said, Worthy does think the new Lake Show will be a success.
“They should be expected to make the Western Conference Finals, at least,” he said.