Last week Dwight Howard mentioned that he would be working with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar when he was healthy enough to resume basketball activities following last season’s back surgery. This came as a pleasant surprise to many Lakers fans, who had seen what Abdul-Jabbar’s coaching had done for young Andrew Bynum while he was in L.A.
Now, Abdul-Jabbar has stated via Twitter that while he wouldn’t mind coaching Howard, he hasn’t actually ever talked to the newly acquired big man.
Lots of news about me and DH – would be great to coach him but as of now still haven’t met him. Laker fans hope for the best always!
— Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (@kaj33) September 3, 2012
Well, this is awkward.
There’s a chance Howard does indeed intend on working with Abdul-Jabbar and just hasn’t had the chance to talk to him yet, but it might be a good idea to at least have a conversation with someone before you publicly declare you’re going to be working together.
On the bright side, Kareem sounds more than willing to work with Howard and help him improve. So, if both sides are serious about the issue, this shouldn’t be nothing more than a mere technicality. At least let’s hope so.
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In case you missed it, here’s Kareem’s response to the Lakers initial acquiring of Howard:
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