Watching Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard play together on the Los Angeles Lakers during the 2012-13 NBA season was pretty awkward. It seemed like the two never had chemistry, so it wasn't a surprise Howard left in free agency take his talents to the Houston Rockets.
Howard never really fit with Kobe and the Lakers. Howard has always been seen as a light-hearted, goofy guy. As for Kobe, he was all serious and competitive, so the two never gelled and it led to a poor relationship.
With that said, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Kobe viewed Howard leaving in free agency as "a positive."
From CBS Sports:
Only weeks before his comeback from the Achilles injury ended so abruptly, Bryant signed a two-year, $48.5 million contract that will pay him $25 million next season at age 37. While the arrangement virtually assured that Bryant will retire as a Laker, it also hindered the team’s quest for a free-agent star around whom it could forge a new path once he’s gone. Though Bryant viewed Dwight Howard’s free-agent departure in 2013 as “a positive,” according to a person close to him, the Lakers barely got this past summer’s prime free agents, James and Anthony, to give the franchise a passing thought. Why is that?
Howard will most likely be the last superstar-caliber player to pair with Kobe Bryant for his career. It's unlikely Bryant will have a superstar to be paired this season or next season, especially if these next two years are supposed to be his last in the NBA.
